Cardwell to Frances Creek Rest Stop 67 km Day 3

Slept well until 3:00 am when I discovered my self inflating sleeping mat has self uninflated - aargh! Blew it back up and slept until 6:00 am. No rush this morning as I was planning a shorter day. Once the Qld Rail workers who were staying in the park left it was very quiet. Most of the Crusties like a good sleep in.

I packed up and found some breakfast at cafe in the main st. Muesli and coffee  - good start to the day! Also ordered 2 rounds of sandwiches to go! Got some snaps of Cardwell sunrise. It was too bright to capture the sun rising over Hinchinbrook Island however across to the jetty was a better option.

Cardwell Jetty

After breakfast I was on the road to Ingham. As I left town a sign indicated 44 km to Ingham which surprised me because my map reading suggested 54 km. It was very pleasant riding in the shade of the rainforest. Crossed some lovely rivers and creeks.

Sunday Creek

Stopped at Sunday Creek to get some pictures when a mob of motorcyclists came by and gave me
"Respect". These guys were obviously touring as a group but probably don't fit the term bikies unless they are part of the "Ulysses" club. Motorcyclists and Bikies are among the most frequent at waving and tooting at me.

After 30 km I encountered the 1st real hill of this trip although in comparison to hills Tony and encountered in Tasmania in March this was fairly minor. I did have to user the smaller gears but I had plenty left when I got to the top. The view from the lookout was fabulous - unfortunately the mountains were quite hazy.

The downhill to the flat plain below was rapid and then the remaining distance to Ingham was covered in 30 minutes. My map reading was correct as I had covered 54 km to get to Ingham. I failed to get any pictures in Ingham other than 1 showing the shade shelter in the Main Street that I spent 3 hours under reading a book.

Ingham is very hospitable- the shade shelter had a working power point and was just within range of the Maccas Free Wifi.

At 3:00 pm I decided to ride onto Frances Creek Rest Stop another 11 km. Another great set up with toilets and picnic shelters although being close to the road it may be a noisy night. Later I discovered that all the picnic shelters and surrounds had night lighting like it was a maximum security prison. Italian Rice and tuna for dinner with Shapes as entree and a little dark chocolate for dessert.