Lyell Highway & the 99 Bends

The Lyell Highway crosses Tasmania from Hobart to the west coast through the Franklin–Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. Its final descent into the mining town of Queenstown, down a bare, mineral-stained mountainside, is known as the 99 Bends and has long been one of the signature stages of Targa Tasmania.

The drive

The first half through the Derwent Valley is fast and open. Past Derwent Bridge the road enters rainforest and climbs over Mount Arrowsmith, another Targa stage, on smooth, cambered corners with almost no traffic.

The 99 Bends drop about 6 km into Queenstown through corner after linked corner on a hillside stripped of vegetation by a century of copper smelting. From Queenstown, the road on to Strahan is 40 km of non-stop bends through forest.

In your Lotus

Lotus cars have a strong record on Targa Tasmania; Exiges have been front-runners in the modern classes for years. Driving these stages at touring pace gives you an idea why: the corners are tight and constant, and a light car is never working hard. The west coast is one of the wettest places in Australia, so expect rain.