Upfront: I am NOT offering to run a 2014 Zedfest in Tasmania however, It's far enough in the future for me to get a few things done first and then give some thought to a Tasmanian Zedfest. I imagine it would run similar to every other Zedfest, cruises to the superb winerys, a golf day, some runs at symmonds plain in the North or baskerville raceway in the south, Salamanca market in Hobart (Not sure what Day market is open). As far as I recall the only club to get a Targa Tasmania road closure for a Targa style run was the Porsche club and I believe it cost a fortune to stage. They also had a mini bus transporting all their bags to hotels which is a good concept if your moving about the state. A zedfest in Tassie could be staged over the usual 3 days sharing both North and south of the Island. Hence, starting North Drivers still get to enjoy their Z's and the scenery without the 'hassle' of luggage worry or even weight. Tasmania has some awesome scenery and of course roads as evidenced by Targa Tasmania and although, we will NOT be racing along them we can still "enjoy" them . I guess a Tasmanian Zedfest would be a mixture or enjoying the scenery, whilst 'enjoying' the driving between the two racetracks Possible scenario: (Days are dependant on ferry departures + I think the Ferry comapny (TT line) offers discounts for groups) Day 1 Arrive in North West Tasmania on Ferry in the morning (Devonport). Highway Drive to Symmonds plains raceway for 'session' at track Scenic drive to Hobart via east Coast (superb fast flowing hills and fast flowing coastal roads) Overnight in Hobart - Dinner and night time entertainment Day 2 in Hobart either Basketville raceway, Royal Hobart golf course or Derwent river tall ship cruises, Mt wellington mountain bike ride or 101 bushwalks, The Tarkine forest walk (a walkway suspended above the trees it is just awesome) Overnight in Hobart Zedfest formal dinner and like stuff Day 3 Whole day Drive back to Devonport ferry terminal but via West Coast with very tight corners and extremely challenging hill climbs (Zed really needs to be in good condition for a fast flowing run if not just drive to enjoy). Note of caution lots of "sports club members get caught out on some bends because you literally do 80kph then hammer into a tight 25kph corner and at road speed people still crash because they get caught out going too quick with too little road to slow. There are some some free flowing to help cool down your Z but mostly it's quite challenging with mainly tight corners. There is also the 99 corners along 1 km of road just as you enter Zeehan which has to be experienced to believe. the West coast has some of the worlds most rugged and awesome beaches because there is nothing to stop the ocean swell it literally comes from the Antartic ocean (Big huges swells and massive waves with wind swept beaches) Day 3 (evening Ferry depart) or Day 4( Morning Ferry depart) Ferry departure depends on TT line timetable to Melb. If Day 3 evening departure arrive Melb Day 4 morning or if day 4 Morning depart depart arrive Melb day 4 evening. As a school teacher I do have the luxury of a lot of "holiday breaks" so this at least affords me the time to dedicate to such an event. I've never run an event and I've only been to 1 event in my whole life (NDSOC nationals in 2001). Tasmanian does not have the number of Zedders that Vic, NSW, QLD or WA has so a Tasmanian Zedfest is totally dependant on interstate zedders supporting it. Has Tasmania hosted a Zedfest? Some feedback is welcome (NOTE: I must stress I am not at this stage starting a Tassie Zedfest 2014) but that said It's an interesting concept.
a great idea, Pete and well worth exploration ... the idea of a cruise to Tassie has come up a few times in recent years but then seems to just drop away ... the biggest drawback really does seem to be the time it would take to get to Tassie, do the Zedfest thing and then the time to return home ... say, for a QLDer, this would consume some 7-8 and possibly 9 days .. this would be beyond the time availability of most especially for those unfortunate enough to work .... lol ...
Yes, that was my concern as well. The time off work or just time off required to get to Tassie is quite a distracting factor. Cruisers will lose at least 2 days (1 day each way with with the Ferry return crossing) although, the time to cross Bass strait on the Ferry is 12hrs that still equates to a day (7am - 7pm). If the Strait crossing is a night sail that's better because it becomes 7pm to 7am. Once my Z is up to scratch I plan on making pretty much ALL Zedfest as an annual holiday and look about the rest of Australia but as mentioned I teach so have the luxury of 11 weeks paid holiday break periods off over the year. Also, there is only a small contingent of 300ZX zedders in Tassie so it's easier for us to travel out of Tassie than a large number to Travel to Tassie. Where as Most Zedfest are a road trip to a superb 3 days of Z action I think a Tasmanian Zedfest will need to be planned as more of a Holiday with 3 days of action (most notably for the further states Qld, NT and WA) Although, the larger and more demanding travel and time constraints for our further state members may be a distraction for a Tas Zedfest, indicators point to a Tasmanian Zedfest as a superb Z'ing festival with awesome roads that will bring a smile to any sports car owner, beautiful scenery that will make people think just how lucky we are to live in Australia and spectacular tourism attractions that can only make celebrating all that is wonderful with the Z and its followers all the more enjoyable. Cheers, Pete I'll continue to investigate a Zedfest and if it looks like a valid festival and can include enough quality it may just have enough going for it to sway the Z'ing community to come along. PS: This is not in coming events section because it's only an idea and EOI and I did not want to confuse with an event that may not come to fruition.
Possibly instead of a "short" ZedFest 2 day activity, how about a week self drive/tour of Tassie. Wife and I did a 12 day motor home tour in March 2 years ago and had a ball. Warm days and cool nights. We got to see most of Tassie, top to bottom, up the eastern side, and across the top. So much to see and well worth it. Suggest a week stay at selected group booked motels and that way we could see a couple of sights each day and a Party at night. It would be a waste to go all the way to Tassie for a couple of days and miss out on the great stuff there. PM me if you would like suggested itinerary of sights BTW do you not mean Tahune airwalk not Tarkine?
Do we mainlanders know your country better? What do you think of the extended stay idea? Loved the cable hang glider at the Tahune Airwalk. Was fun
lol ... how can you have warm days in Tassie when summer falls on 15 January each year ??? .... lol.....
Haa haa Yes I agree. Summer for one day. but a warm day for you GC guys is 38c. You don't call it hot till it passes 40c+
