Townsville to wild camp 50 km from Charters Towers 80 km Day 5

One of my regular correspondents suggested I may not being getting enough social contact after yesterday's post in this blog. I can report that I had 2 significant conversations today. The 1st was with a lovely Dutch girl who is travelling with 2 German girls whose camper was in front of my tent last night. Hers were the longest of the 3 pairs of legs that appeared in front of my tent from time to time last evening. We had breakfast together in the camp kitchen this morning.

The other conversation was with a septuagenarian chap who is travelling in a bright yellow combi van. He was camped a little further away. He confided that he was glad his neighbours "the same sex female couple" had moved on as they were too noisy. He did not elaborate. Anyway he was off to the doctor. (Simon - I hope this eases your mind regarding my situation)

A later start to the day as I waited for my tent to dry out (while chatting to strangers). This turned out to be a mistake as the wind was already blowing in my face as I exited the caravan park at 9:00 am. A quick stop to purchase a "foot long" from Subway.

Friendly but misguided sandwich artist tried to direct me down the wrong road. Fortunately the truckie behind me in the queue put it right "this road over there goes all the way to Charters Towers".  Seemed like good advice as there was a sign designating it as Charters Towers Road.

From there it was gradually uphill and into the wind. In the 1st 2 hours I covered almost 25 km before taking a break. The next 2 hours were similar! I stopped at Woodstock for a Coke and Orange Frostie. I may be 50 years too late but there was definitely no free love there today. Grumpy old coot running the place could have benefited from drugs I reckon.

Another 10 km stopped in a servo for a cup of tea. It was 31 degrees and I had been slogging into the wind for 5 hours so any distraction was good. After 2:00 pm the wind dropped out a bit I didn't have the energy to put the hammer down. At 80 km I found a reasonable spot to camp 50 metres back from the road.


Dinner was cheese and crackers followed by Continental Pumpkin, Bacon and Sour Cream risotto (once only!). Rum and raisin dark chocolate for dessert. Early to bed tonight to read and listen to music. Outside the sky is clear and the Milky Way is gloriously displayed. I will have close the tent door at some stage as the temperature drops. Another good day draws to a close. Tomorrow I will be in Charters Towers.

Frances Creek to Townsville 100 km Day 4

Maximum security lighting all night

During the night there were a couple of occasions where I awoke thinking some truck had pulled in and was sitting with their engine idling. I realised my mistake as l set out on the road to Townsville at 6:30 am as soon as it was light enough to be seen. The sound I heard was sugar cane trains taking the harvest to the mill. At the moment harvest is in full swing and the mills are working 24 hours a day.

I was awake very early and started packing at 5:00 am conscious that I had a big day ahead and I wanted to cover as many kilometres as I could before the wind got going. By 6:30 am I had packed, eaten breakfast (muesli and coffee) and performed the necessary bathroom tasks. It was 10 degrees and quite humid.

The sun rose across misty sugar cane fields. In the 1st hour I rode easily enjoying the cool air, at one point a white breasted sea eagle wafted over the road, his mate not far away gliding past and then with a lazy flap of the wings turning away. Later there were kites circling the road waiting for a break in the traffic so they could get at some fresh roadkill.

At 28 km I pulled into the "Frosty Mango" for coffee and a toasted sandwich. I have set myself a daily budget (more of a guideline). At this point it will be eating that causes an overrun. Pushing a fully laden touring bike requires energy and 2nd breakfast was needed and enjoyed.

The scenery moved from sugar cane fields to dry scrub, there were small termite mounds, not the magnificent red towers of Cape York, just grey and only a metre or so high.

Traffic was constant but there was plenty of shoulder so I was enjoying the ride. After 50 km I needed to pee, there wasn't much cover and I just passed a cop who had pulled over a grey nomad towing a big caravan. Just my luck I thought I could be done for indecent exposure if my timing was bad.

Back on the bike I was realised it was time to apply more Intensive Care to the parts that embrace the bike seat. The sweat of 250 km of pedalling has given me some tender spots. Again I thought it would be just my luck if the cop appeared just as I thrust my hand covered in hand cream down the front of my shorts. Fortunately I was not arrested on either count. Apparently it was a case of nothing to see here - move on!

Back on the road the wind had picked up but it was variable, sometimes a headwind, sometimes a side wind, sometimes strong and other times just a zephyr. At 80 km 12:00 noon I rolled into a Caltex Servo and bought a cheeseburger and Diet Coke. I rang Lisa who was in her new red car on the way to work. Not sure what happened but the line dropped and there was beeping like a nuclear bomb alert was sounding. Unfussed I finished the cheeseburger.

The 20 km into Townsville took forever, I checked a couple of caravan parks. The 1st one was too far from my intended route tomorrow and 2nd wanted to charge $39 for an unpowered site. I kept going and eventually found a $21 patch of dirt in the council caravan park near the Showgrounds.

The afternoon featured a visit to the supermarket and doing the laundry. The steady breeze meant that my gear was dry by the time it got dark. I also added some padding the handgrips in the bike. After 350 km in 40 days I have some aches but generally I feel good. I am planning to have a rest day in Charters Towers in 2 days time.

It is a bit crowded here - not longer after I set up my tent 3 german girls in a camper parked right in front of my tent. I struggled to know where to look. Where is "I have a son-in-law from Detmold" Tony when you need him? As the father of 3 daughters I decided to head to the pub for dinner.

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.

Innisfail to Cardwell 97 km Day 2

A restless night in the caravan park at Innisfail, lots of noise from traffic - the Bruce Hwy was 50 metres away but also lots of wildlife on the river banks. I was awake at 5:00 am and started packing in the tent at 5:30 am. Outside everything was wet from very heavy dew so I packed up the tent and tarp wet which I hate doing. I rolled out of the gate at 6:30 and headed to Maccas for coffee and wifi so I could post the Day 1 blog entry.

On the way into town yesterday I had saw a sign claiming the Innisfail was "the capital of Art Deco buildings in Australia ". I thought I should investigate this by doing a quick spin around the CBD. There were indeed Art Deco buildings! On the limited sample I saw I can't confirm or deny the claim.

I took a photo of what I thought at first was an unusual war memorial but turned out it was a tribute to Italian Sugarcane cutters.

An hour later I was heading down the highway impressed with my speed over 20 kph. I knew this because I replaced the battery in my speedo last night. (Always handy to have a spare 2032 nicad Lisa!). With no wind it was very humid and I was sweating buckets. Lots of salty fluid running into places we won't discuss here but I will need to apply soothing lotion tonight.

Stopped in a bus shelter near Silk Wood for a couple of Scotch Fingers and then 10 minutes down the road I stopped at the El Arish Rest Stop. Tony and I camped here in 2013 on our way to Cairns. I bought a freshly made sandwich from the proprietor who was a different guy to 2013. He told me he had been at that site for 35 years except for 4 years when he sold to another guy which was when we passed through

The view of Tully Sugar Mill from top of Golden Gumboot

After that it wasn't long before I arrived in Tully having covered 54 km. Naturally I had to get a picture of the Golden Gumboot! I bought another sandwich and headed for a shade shelter in the park. I was there about 45 minutes before deciding to keep going. I still had 43 km to cover but it was only 12:00 noon so plenty of time.

The wisdom of travellers - graffiti in the shade shelter

Another hour and I arrived at the Bilyana Rest stop. It was very tempting to decide to stay here for the night. A free camp with toilets and shelters with tables. Perfect but it was still too early. I unpacked the tent and tarp and put them out to dry and sat the shade for an hour. There were already grey nomads who had set up camp and I expected many more would arrive later. Cardwell was only 21 km further on so at 2:30 pm I decided to push on. I am conscious of trying to keep churning the kilometres as I can't afford to get behind schedule if I am to arrive home by September 26th.

At Cardwell I rocked into the 1st caravan park I came too. Seems it is an upmarket affair with a bar and restaurant - bad luck I won't have to eat Uncle Ben's tonight. Fish and chips or pizza from 6:30 pm takeaway for $15.

Cairns to Innisfail 90 km Day 1

After having 9 fabulous days holidaying with Lisa in Cairns, Port Douglas & Cape Tribulation today was the start of another adventure.

I was up early assembling the bike which has been sitting in the back of our hired car since we arrived in Cairns 10 days ago. Fortunately all the parts were there and I was ready to go.

A quick breakfast with Lisa who was catching a plane back to Melbourne and then on the bike about 8.45 am. Stopped twice to adjust the seat height and reset the back wheel in the dropouts. The bike has just been serviced but I was having a minor issue with each gear tuning and the back wheel moving. I tightened the quick release axle and all was good.

I planned to stop at a supermarket but found myself outside Cairns passing Gordonvale and then there was no more supermarkets. Passed lots of sugarcane and occasionally some bananas plantations. Traffic was moderate all day with very few trucks. Most of the time was there was good shoulder to ride on and the surface condition was good. There was some wind, at times it was a headwind but nothing too challenging.

Stopped at Babinda for lunch. There was a supermarket but it appeared closed although on my way out of town after lunch I noticed it was open through an entrance on a side street. Butter chicken pie for lunch - excellent!

Having done 57 km before lunch I could afford to relax for a while in a shade shelter next to the war memorial. Had a lovely chat with Paul and Sharon who were on a day trip from Kuranda. Paul is originally from Moorabbin so we chatted about a few places  we both knew well. I worked in Moorabbin for 9 years in the 90s.

After lunch it was still comfortable riding although I was tiring. As I got closer to Innisfail there were a few hills - nothing major but tired legs and headwind slowed me down. I passed the rest stop/free camp I was aiming for but decided to keep going. It was 5 kms out of town and I still hadn't bought dinner. Also a nearby farmer had fertilised his fields with something smelly and the camp was down wind. Didn't seem to bother the Crusties (grey nomads) who were already ensconced there.

Rolled into Innisfail at 3:30 pm and went to supermarket. Uncle Bens Mexican Rice and Chilli Tuna for dinner tonight.

Girl on the checkout told me there was a caravan park across the river about 1 km out of town. Suited me as it has been a long day and I need a shower. Got a nice unpowered site right on the river - apparently there are "Salties" in the river so this may be my last blog - if not 94 km ride tomorrow.

Catch up with Geoff and Pam

Spending this week holidaying in North Queensland has enabled Lisa and I to catch up Geoff and Pam Roberts who I originally met at Yarrawonga while kayaking down the Murray River. Simon, Joe and Tony - Big Kayak Paddle

Geoff and Pam were good company on our way to Echuca. They were paddling a double kayak that was faster than the Prion Seayaks we use never the less we played leapfrog down the river and shared some good times. In particular I recall Tony and Geoff paddling hard from Barmah to Cape of Good Hope near Echuca where there was a winery that was going to provide refreshments we hoped.

Sadly being a Tuesday afternoon the winery was not open when we arrived late in the afternoon. The expressions of disappointment from Tony and Geoff were wonderful. 

Pam and Geoff have since gone on to complete their journey down the Murray so it was a good opportunity for me to pick up some expert advice on the final leg that I hope to complete with Tony and Simon in November.

Geoff and I also discussed our cycle touring  plans for future. He and Pam are going to trial some short touring on Rail Trails. Lisa and Pam chatted nursing and families while Geoff and I covered the important stuff. All in all a great opportunity to catch up with like minded people who enjoy being active in the outdoors.

Melbourne to Cairns

Lisa and I headed to Tullarmarine Airport this morning in my car with my bike in a box, my 4 pannier bags and a dry bag full of my clothes. Lisa only had her case but I was using her luggage allowance to get my extra luggage loaded. The bike box I am using is extra large which means I can pack the bike without removing the back wheel. This is a big advantage but the box weighs 4 kg which is 10% of the maximum luggage allowance on Jetstar.

Getting through the airport with the bike and bags is always stressful to me. Fortunately we lucked onto a helpful Jetstar person who helped us get everything checked in. Despite having allowed lots of extra time we used it all and had very little time to wait before boarding our flight.

I had a window seat and the 1st thing I noticed was how green Victoria was from the air compared to when I flew to Hobart in March when everything was brown and dry after a long dry summer. Alas as we flew north into NSW the green was replaced by brown. The extreme drought was very evident from the air and continued into Queensland. By contrast the area around Townsville  and Cairns is lush and green following the cyclone rains early this year. Australia is truly a continent of "droughts and flooding rains".

My route south will take me through Queensland's Southern Downs and the New South Wales Central West 2 areas that are in extreme drought, a situation that is unlikely to change anytime soon.
For now I will enjoy the next 9 days here in Cairns and surrounds with Lisa. The view from the plane window has left me in no doubt of the task ahead cycling home starting in 9 days time.

After checking in and then chilling at the Cairns Central YHA Lisa and I wandered up the main drag in Cairns searching for dinner. We were surprised how quiet it is for this time of year. We had dinner at P.J.O'Briens - it is somewhat incongruous to have an Irish Theme pub in the tropics but the meal was good. Afterward we wandered up to the gelato shop we had visited last time we were here. That night the power went out in the shopping centre just as we bought our gelato. The proprietor remembered us from that night. He also said Cairns was very quiet with lots of closed shops.