Ever Northward

 Thursday 20 October

Wongaling Beach

Had a lie in until 0820.  I poured hot water into a mug to make tea only to discover water dripping from a crack in the bottom.  Not a good start to the day.  Rain is forecast for later in the day.  After completing domestic chores I went for a long (11/4 hours) walk along the beach to Mission Beach. 

I stopped at a beachside bar for a beer and was persuaded to stay for lunch.  I ate red emperor, a reef fish, which was simply delicious.  On my way back it began to rain accompanied by thunder.  I reached Woolworths, the local supermarket, only slightly wet and had a coffee whilst waiting for the rain to stop.  On return to the site of course my washing was still wet!  I spent the remainder of the day reading and chatting to the occupants of adjacent units.  It continued to rain heavily and was forecast to be the same for the next few days.  Consequently I booked accommodation in Cairns.  When will I have clear days?

Friday 21 October

Wongaling Beach - Cairns

Following heavy rain throughout the night, and thunderstorms forecast for Cairns, the rain had stopped and it looked brighter when I awoke.  I decided not to wear waterproofs.  I left at 0830 and rode through some nice twisties in rainforest.  Rain looked imminent after half an hour and I stopped under a truck inspection shelter to don waterproofs.  As I was doing so the heavens opened.  I was following the Bruce Highway and as I approached Innisfail I saw a sign for the Canecutters Way Tourist Route.  I had stacks of time to spare so I turned off and followed it.  I noticed that I was heading south rather than expected north but reasoned that it would soon change.  But it didn’t and I found myself back on the Bruce Highway near Silkwood, a spot I had passed an hour earlier!  No matter.  I stopped for refreshment at Mourilyan beside the Sugar Museum but because of the rain and my apparel I decided not to visit but to continue travelling.  I reached Cairns just after 1300, more wet inside than out as it had stopped raining by then.  Ten minutes later it began to rain again.  It brightened a little later and I walked to a nearby mall to have new nose pads fitted to my glasses at a Specsavers shop and to stock up on provisions and beer as I was staying for the weekend.  I ate a tasty goat curry at a very disorganised Indian restaurant which appeared to be run by east Europeans.

Another example of Australian political correctness!

207 kms travelled.

Saturday 22 October

Cairns

An awful night’s sleep: the tv in the room next door appeared to be on full volume until 0230.  Unable to speak to the occupant I complained to the owner this morning and all was silent thereafter.  I walked to the Esplanade tourist office to book a trip on the Kuranda scenic railway and Skyrail.  It hadn’t yet opened so I had breakfast at an adjacent cafe.

I had a conversation with a bloke who apparently had lost his home, his money and savings to scammers but he was still in contact with the girl he had met online which led to the scam!!!!!  The tourist office was a waste of time and I was merely given the telephone number of the rail booking office.  I rang but it became far too complicated so I went to a travel agent and made the booking.  The remainder of the day was spent meandering along the Esplanade and harbour, shopping and finishing off with a couple of refreshing beers.  I returned to the Esplanade in the evening and enjoyed a sumptuous burger whilst being entertained by two aboriginal women fighting on the Esplanade opposite.  The tide was high and it was interesting walking back along the shoreline with groups (a flock?) of pelicans floating very close to the boardwalk.

Sunday 23 October

Cairns

Tourist Day.  I was picked up at 0845 in an air conditioned coach to be taken to Freshwater to catch the 0945 train.  The Kuranda Scenic Railway is a tourist railway service that operates along the heritage-listed Cairns-to-Kuranda railway line rising from sea level to 327 metres.  Constructed in 1891 to service the extensive gold mining industry, the line runs from Cairns over the Great Dividing Range into the stunning Barron Gorge and to the town of Kuranda on the Atherton Tableland. 

The trip was accompanied by a commentary of incredible stories of its construction in the late 19th century.  One story that resonated told of a rockfall that prevented supplies being transported to the workers on one section.  Fearing being deprived of beer they walked down the track and rolled barrels of beer, the dimensions of which allowed them to be rolled on the track!  

It truly is scenic with spectacular views. 

.... although not everybody appreciated the view from the train

On disembarking at Kuranda I was surprised at its size.  Clearly a tourist destination there were numerous shops and eateries.  I was there for just over 4 hours and although there were additional attractions such as a butterfly farm and a small zoo with local animals, I chose to wander.  I ate a locally made pie sitting in the park where I had a conversation with an old fellow who was visiting from a cruise ship.  I had lunch of a peppered calamari salad, watched by a large lizard,

wandered around the shops and narrow lanes of a hippy market section (there was a hippy community in Kuranda before it was developed as a mainstream tourist destination).

Clearly many tourists come from the Middle and Far East!

  I ended up in the local hotel drinking a cold beer listening to the Ukelele Bad Guys, a surprisingly versatile group of middle aged musicians/singers performing a wide range of music.  I then boarded Skyrail, cableway gondolas seating 6 people.  Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is a 7.5-kilometre (4.7 mi) scenic tourist cableway running above the Barron Gorge National Park, in the Wet Tropics of Queensland’s World Heritage Area.  It journeys through the Wet Tropics Rainforest, home to the world's oldest tropical rainforest, older than the Amazon Rainforest. It was the longest gondola cableway in the world when it was completed in 1995. 

I shared a gondola with an ICT nurse from Adelaide and two young lads from Saudi Arabia. They were good company and we enjoyed stimulating conversation for the 40’ minutes ride.

Souvenir photo purchased by Saudi lads who kindly shared link.

A coach transported me back to Cairns where I spent a quiet evening in.

Monday 24 October

Cairns - Cape Tribulation

I left Cairns at 0845 at 31℃.  My intention was to merely visit Cape Tribulation on the way to Cooktown.  The road from Smithfield, just north of Cairns, to Port Douglas was good with many bends and gentle ups and downs often flanking the seashore.

I meandered around Port Douglas on the bike revisiting old sites (The Courthouse pub, Tin Shed (grouper feeding bar), Mantra (accommodation in 2009)).  I stopped for coffee and had an interesting conversation with a couple from Victoria, the husband had worked as an aerospace engineer, who lived on a remote hilltop plot which was totally self sufficient in terms of utilities and which entailed a weekly journey to their nearest town to shop, collect their mail and dispose of what little garbage they had accumulated.  The road to the Daintree Ferry was fine but largely flat, again through fields of sugar cane.  Once across the river ($17 return) the road through the Daintree National Park was fantastic - fairly narrow with numerous tight bends and inclines all the while flanked by impenetrable rainforest and often under a tree canopy. 

I reached Cape Tribulation at around 1200.  I walked to the beach, got a good vibe, and decided to camp for the night.  My first choice of site, Safari Lodge, told me they had no grass pitches but PK’s opposite did.  PK’s reception was unmanned and whilst waiting I discovered that tent pitches were $30 whilst a budget air conditioned cabin was $70.  I weakened, again, and went for the cabin.  After settling in I went for yet another beach walk starting off on a boardwalk through a mangrove swamp. 

I had a snooze, showered and walked a short distance to the Whet restaurant where I enjoyed a tiger prawn linguine and a couple of beers.  This was real tropical dining with an open terrace under a palm thatch roof with fans and oil lamps burning.

(Cape Tribulation is one of the iconic places in Australia's European history. It was here that Captain James Cook, who had successfully navigated H.M. Barque Endeavour through the treacherous waters of the Great Barrier Reef, was finally beaten by the reef.)

154 kms travelled.

Tuesday 25 October

Cape Tribulation - Cooktown

I had pondered over travelling the unsealed Bloomfield Track to Cooktown.  It had quite a reputation consisting of steep hills and several river/creek crossings.  I decided to take the long way around (a day rather than several hours) as my bike is very heavily laden with all my camping gear, tools and personal belongings and would be difficult to handle over rough terrain.  I left at 0845 at 28℃.  The overnight temperature in the rainforest was very pleasant.  The sun was scorching during the day but I ended up sleeping without air conditioning or the ceiling fan.  I repeated the great ride back to the Daintree Ferry and then most of the way to Mossman where I stopped for breakfast.  As I was returning to the bike I was approached by a fellow ‘Himmy’ owner.  In his forties and a resident of Mossman he had ridden dirt bikes for years but loved his Himalayan, so much so that he had persuaded two mates to buy one.  He had ridden his Himalayan on the Bloomfield Track several times unladen of course) and reckoned I should have tried it.  Too late!  I crossed the ‘Range again on a very good road surface and through hairpins and great sweeping bends.

 

I joined the Mulligan Highway and the road crossing the Tablelands was undulating if not mountainous.  I stopped at the Palmer River Roadhouse to refuel - the only other servo in 150 kms was closed.  I crossed the Buyerstown Range and Lakeland Downs, all part of the Cape York Peninsula before passing the Black Mountain on the approach to Cooktown.

The temperature crossing the Tablelands had risen to 39℃ so I decided it was too hot to camp and on arrival in Cooktown I phoned to book a cabin with air conditioning in the Peninsula Caravan Park. 

On leaving Cape Tribulation I felt that the headstock bearings on the bike felt a little loose, i.e. a thumping noise on going over bumps.  I do not have the correct tools to make the necessary adjustment and there was no motorcycle workshop in Cooktown.  I phoned a couple of general engineering companies to seek assistance but with no luck.  There were several tradesmen staying in adjacent cabins and I was able to borrow a large adjustable spanner and long screwdriver to tackle the job.  Having removed the handlebar with great difficulty, fearful of shearing a bolt because the locking compound used on them at manufacture was like cement, I was able to remove the large cap nut and use the long screwdriver as a drift to move the adjusting ring.  Either by luck or judgement, dripping with sweat and assisted by a couple of cold ciders, the adjustment has worked and the steering has been fine since.  I walked a lengthy distance to the RSL where I enjoyed a dinner of creamy chilli prawns and had an interesting chat with a rep of an agricultural chemical company and his inebriated mate.

306 kms travelled.

Wednesday 26 October

Cooktown

Sightseeing Day.  I rode to three spots that had been recommended by several people, Archer Point, Trevathlan Falls and the Lion’s Den Hotel.  The turnoff to Archer Point was 12 kms south of Cooktown on the highway onto a gravel road.  Immediately I felt the benefit of the tyres fitted in Townsville.  On the Michelin Anakee IIIs the bike would have been squirming under me.  On the Mitas E07s it felt stable and planted.  Another motorcyclist passed me going in the opposite direction and he was riding at quite a lick.  Not long afterwards several small groups followed, all going fast in clouds of dust, one not making a corner and ending up in the scrub, and another almost taking me out.  They all appeared to be kitted out the same and their bikes were very similar.  I guess they might have been part of an organised tour.  There is an unmanned lighthouse at the top of Archer Point and I rode up to it.  The track was steep, rutted and loose and when I reached the top I suddenly realised that descending might be a problem.  After taking photos I gave myself a good talking to and made a careful, controlled descent.  Phew!

I stopped and explored a small palm fringed beach.  I felt as though I was the only person on the planet. 

Returning to the highway I travelled a little further to the turnoff to Trevathlan Falls.  Gravel road again but this one in a slightly poorer condition.  Again, the tyres boosted my confidence and I rode at a comfortable 40mph, standing often to make the corrugations less uncomfortable.  As I arrived at the small parking area close to the falls a family of 5, Dad, Mum and 3 young daughters were making preparations to swim in the falls.  They were touring Australia for almost a year from their home in Victoria and their daughters’ schools had given their approval.  “It will do their education good.  Just make sure they keep up with their reading.”  The falls were accessed via a very narrow, sloping path and were delightful.  There were 4 other people swimming.  Although I had packed my trunks on the bike I didn't swim. 

I returned to the highway and took the sealed turnoff to the Lion’s Den Hotel (famous among travellers in these parts) where I had lunch.

Back to Cooktown to catch up on some personal admin.  136 kms travelled today, 76 of them on gravel.  A lot easier too without all my luggage/camping gear loaded.