Day 8, Townsville to Paronella Park

Saturday, 6th August, 2011. Day 8…

Odo start, 5,093 K's

Odo end,  5,496 K's

Distance Travelled.  403 K's

Accommodation, Paronella Park, $36 gave me entry to the park and 2 nights accommodation  on an unpowered tent site. 

I left the Compound at 9:00 fully fuelled ,he bike used 16.28 ltrs for 351 K's.

I was already sweating just filling the bike, it seemed i had finally found real QLD weather, i decided to remove both liners from my jacket and open all vents. I was extremely comfortable, my new Rev'It Jacket has exceeded all my expectations. The day was perfect (except still no music!!!) I was riding under beautiful blue skies and once moving the breeze was fresh and comfortable.

Seeing a sign for Wallaman Falls, i thought, why not. A 100K round trip seemed like a great idea, i had a ton of time to burn, so left i turned. The skies suddenly became dark and i could feel the moisture as i rode.

Here is where i am came from..

Here is where i am going...

Lovely ride in to the falls, a mixture of steep twisty bitumen and graded dirt.  I passed a couple on a CBR1000 on the way up, i'm glad i wasn't on that! The falls were spectacular. 260+ mtr drop here are a few shots…

I was in two minds about refitting my liners, it was getting cold, but it looked fine down on the coast. I decided to toughen up and leave them out. 

Cardwell was a surprise, after seeing the devistation after Yassi, i was amazed to find an absolutely beautiful sea side town, what a magic place. I decided to stop for lunch as the skies were clear and the day was once again fine. I stopped at Vivia Cafe and had the BEST steak, cheese and Bacon pie ever. Do yourselves a favour, you local guys drop in and visit this cafe, the food is made onsite and is great..

Checkout the pie..

The shop that made the pie... do yourselves a favour.

The Beach at Cardwell...

The destination for the day is Paronella Park. Riding towards the park, it it was almost like riding through Victorian Dairy country, beautiful paddocks with cattle grazing. When i arrived i was greeted by the owner Mark Evans, what  a gracious host. I would recommend visiting here just to support business owners who go beyond the call. It is a fantastic place and the story is truly inspiring.

Here is Mena Falls, you can see the hydro on the right of the picture..

Day 9, a wet cruise around the Atherton Tablelands

Sunday 7th August, 2011 Day 9…

Odo start, 5,496 K's

Odo end,  5,784 K's

Distance Travelled.  288 K's

Accommodation, Paronella Park…

This morning the weather didn't look good, i checked the forecast on the web and is said 40% chance of 1mm rain, so i decided to risk riding without my wet weather layers.

Her is a tip for anybody who is going to ride into a rainforest, "TAKE YOUR WET WEATHER GEAR" I rode to innisfail to fuel up and got soaked. I jumped into Macca's for brekkie then decided to ride back to Paronella Park and put on my wet weather gear.

My mission for the day was to see some of the local waterfalls. I rode up to Waterfall Drive and visited Ellinga, Zillie and Millaa Millaa Falls. All 3 were spectacular, especially Millaa Millaa. One unfortunate part of the atrocious weather was that my lenses got wet and i didn't see the water on the lens until it was to late, next time i will remember to bring a lens cloth.

Here is the view at Crawfords Lookout!!

Here are the falls..

Ellinga…

Zillie…

Millaa Millaa… The best falls yet, you could even swim at the base...

It was then onto Yungaburra for a Hot Chocolate at the local cafe before hitting the Gillies Highway, what a fantastic road, even in the pouring rain. I did want to visit the Boulders and Josephene Falls, but i was cold and wet my cameraas were soaking, so i decided to get back to the park where i could grab a hot shower and throw my gear into the clothes dryer.

A short, wet but enjoyable day, 288 k's traveled.

Day 10, a short cruise into Cairns.

Monday 8th August, 2011 Day 109…

Odo start, 5,784 K's

Odo end,  5,930 K's

Distance Travelled.  146 K's

Accommodation, Cairns Villa and Leisure Park, $25 for a powered site…

I woke this morning at 7:00 am to clear blue skies, i thought it would be a good opportunity to break camp early and try and get some of my gear dry before i got going for the day. I had stuff strewn all around the BBQ area, luckily most of the other guests were happy to cook their breakfast's around me.

I left at 9:00 am with my objective Cairns, i am waiting for a parcel from Melbourne, so it was going to be a quick journey there except for one stop to Josephene Falls. Again the road to the falls was spectacular. There was a 700m walk to the falls, a lot of money had been spent on access so i hoped these were going to be awesome. They were "good" but not great, Millaa Millaa Falls and Wallaman Falls were far better.

Any way here are a few pics.

Paronella Park...

The Bruce Highway...

The Road to Josephene Falls...

Josephene Falls...

More from The Bruce Highway...

My Campsite in Cairns...

I doof door playing in the background now, time will tell if this campsite has been a good choice.

It is time to have a quick look at the bike, i haven't touched it since i left..

Day 11, an even shorter cruise into Palm Cove

Tueday 9th August, 2011 Day 11…

Odo start, 5,930 K's

Odo end,  5,970 K's

Distance Travelled.  40 K's

Accommodation, Palm Cove Caravan Park, $18/Night for an unpowered site, staying here for 2 nights…

At about 9pm last night i decided i was going to a different Camp ground. Massive domestic arguments and noisy teenagers raged throughout the night, so at 9:30 i was packed up and going back to Cairns. Unfortunately my parcel hadn't arrived so it meant i needed to stay longer. After checking out what was available yesterday, i decided a change of scene was in order.

Palm Cove sounded Nice, about 20 K's North of Cairns, so it would be easy enough to return to get my mail. I fuelled up at about 10am, whilst having breakfast (Cherry Ripe and Gatorade) i got talking to a bloke who just pulled in on a Trumpy Sprint, turned out he was a police Pilot, he kindly gave me his card and told me if i ran into problems on my trip to give him a call. What a great bloke, Thanks Dylan. I asked him about camping areas but he couldn't help me.

Enjoying the perfect day i ambled into Palm Cove, what a contrast from Cairns! A lovely beachside community, lots of trendy shops, accommodation and restaurants. Luckily they also had a not so trendy camping area, right on the beach. I could only get an unpowered site, but this was soooo much better than the "Leisure Park" Between my tent and the beach is one narrow road.

I have decided to go do the touristy thing tomorrow and see Kuranda via the scenic railway and skyrail, i am even taking the courtesy bus! A 7:15 am pickup and 5:20pm drop off means i won't be able to check my mail, hopefully Thursday my parcel will arrive and i can satrt moving North again.

After booking the tour, i wandered down the beach for a swim, it was weird swimming in an ocean where Croc's and stingers were a threat. There is a small surf rescue club here, so i'll go there for Diner, after visiting the North Avoca Club, i figured i had better support the local guys here as well. They have a new taste sensation on their menu, a BBQ Parma, sound perfect.

Here are a few pics of Palm Cove..

Day 12, nothing to see here move on...

Wednesday 10th August, 2011 Day 12…

Odo start, 5,970 K's

Odo end,  5,970 K's

Distance Travelled.  0 K's

Another day stuck in Palm Cove waiting for my Parcel! I decided to do the tourist thing and visit Kuranda.


I paid my money and got bus transfers from the campsite, 7:15am pick up and 5:00pm drop off. I did the scenic railway up and sky rail down. It was a little too touristy for my liking with every second shop selling  cheap chinese made souvenirs. 


I visited the butterfly sanctuary and took a few photos.... this is all you get today.

Day 13, Palm Cove to the Lion's Den Hotel

Thursday 11th August, 2011 Day 13…

Odo start, 5,970 K's

Odo end,  6,223 K's

Distance Travelled.  253 K's

Accommodation, LIons Den Camp Ground, $26/Night for a powered site…

I left Palm Cove nice and early to get to Cairns Post Office as soon as they opened. Luckily my parcel had arrived. I could finally get moving North again. I dropped into the Cairns Cop shop to try and get more info on the condition of theBurke Development Road, they couldn't provide much information but gave me the phone numbers for Chillagoe and Normanton Police Stations.

I rode back to the camp ground so i could pack up and get going ASAP. After sending some cold climate clothes back to Melbourne it was finally time to leave town. I finally got underway at 10:50am. The day was looking glorious, with a predicted temp of 29, but cool sea breezes.

The Captain Cook Hwy was spectacular, following the beach North.

I took the turn to Cape Tribulation looking forward to the Bloomfield Track. After paying the Ferryman $5 for a one way trip i was finally into the Daintree.

As soon as i hit the dirt it seemed i saw the 4WD Only sign then my first river crossing of the day, a very easy one to start. 

The first river crossing…

The road was steep in places and some of the river crossings were littered with large round rocks, but nothing too difficult. I must have passed one of the Cape trail bike tours heading south as i saw about 15 DR-Z and a few Katooms going the other way.

The second river  crossing proved more challenging when i ended up getting caught on a rock, the bike was bottoming out on the bash plate. I made it across after stopping to put my feet down and get off the big rock. I didn't even get wet feet, these gortex sidi's are great…

The road started to widen, i passed through Wujal Wujal, then Bloomfield, i was thinking the Bloomfield Track must start soon, i had been scouring for the big sign, but nothing…. 

After a few small towns i see two white bikes parked up ahead, so i decided to see what they knew about the Bloomfield Track. As i neared the bikes, i saw i was at the Lion's Den Hotel… I had done the Bloomfield Track!! AND the two bikes were white Stroms!!

I met Kev & Clive in the Bar, they were 3/4 of the way through their 3 month clockwise lap. We had a great night at the bar, swapping stories and hearing of Clive's bad run of Luck, while the only problem Kev had was one of his rear chain guard bolts had come loose!

Thanks for a great night guys, have fun on you home leg.