DAY 162: Day 1 off Lake Eacham

50 km at 14.0 km/hr

Thurs 3rd April 2008

Distance to date 9788 km (6117 miles)

Last night was perfectly peaceful yet I couldn’t get to sleep easily. Probably too much coffee; must cut back, none today. I had breakfast of bread and the delicious Buderim’s Mango and Ginger Jam and set off for Malanda to raid the ATM. On the way I stopped at Winfield Park where Platypuses are regularly seen in a particular spot where the river runs smoothly, as reported in a local guide. I lurked in the bushes for a while (they are very shy creatures) but didn’t see any - I think dawn and dusk are the best times as with birds.

ATM duly relieved of money I did some shopping in the Spar then wolfed down a pie at the excellent bakery, before riding down to the waterfall area where there is a 1km rainforest walking track. It started at the turtle viewing platform and there were indeed half a dozen turtles swimming about and, it appeared to me, looking up at me in expectation of food. The resident Catbird (it really does sound like a cat yowling) gave voice too, probably for the same reason - the guide says it likes to be fed! Whatever happened to hunting for your own food guys? The rainforest walk was very good; many trees were named although there are SO many varieties that I have given up trying to learn them, and the Eastern Whip Birds were whipcracking away - the male whipcracks and if the female is interested she immediately gives two rapid return cries, and it sounded like several boys were getting lucky! I had a good look for Tree Kangaroos but no joy. The walk was predictably ‘jungly’ with twisted vines and roots filling every available space. The big cyclone in March 2006 destroyed a lot of the biggest trees but new ones are shooting up to take their place; competition for light is so hot. The main trees have bare trunks with all the leaves at the top grabbing the sun. And it was getting sunny after early morning showers - hooray!

I’d probably bought too much shopping having disregarded the fact that I had 13km to haul it back, and it was very hilly as usual. There is no flat land in the Atherton Tablelands. Back at camp I disgorged my load into the fridge, had a leisurely cuppa and then set off again in the other direction for Lake Barrine.

Lake Barrine is another volcanic crater lake similar to Lake Eacham and around 12km away. These lakes are similar to the Blue Lake in Mount Gambier in South Australia that I visited what seems like ages ago, and were formed when molten rock rose up into the groundwater which causes an explosion, hurling rock all over the place. The effect of this happening time and time again is to create a huge hole at this point - the crater lake. Both these ones are around 80m deep. There were more very steep hills on the way but traffic was light. On arrival I couldn’t resist a Devonshire Tea at the nice cafe, and I quizzed the lady who made them about where I might be going wrong with my efforts at scones, and the only thing we could think of was that I’d be better using gas than electric. But I digress again.

There is a tourist boat that sails around the lake a few times a day and it was just leaving at 3 as I was setting off on the 5km circular walking track. Early on there are two huge Kauri Pines side by side (pic) - these are such solid and massive trees, and photographs don’t do them justice; you can’t fit them all in the frame of course. These ones must have been 65m high. A few 100m further on there was suddenly movement all around me as I passed over a short boardwalk - dozens of little animals something like fat rats with Pinnochio noses - and I believe these are Musky Kangaroo Rats, marsupials of course. They repeatedly ran to and fro in apparent confusion, much to my delight. I think I managed a pic of one at a distance. The whole 5km of track was excellent for cycling on, although one is not supposed to, however I only saw 3 other people and I took great care at bends etc. - And in fact it continually wound around and dipped and rose, through darker and then lighter corridors in the dense forest. The sun dappled the path giving rise to infinite combinations and shades of green and brown, utterly delightful. Rides such as this are so enjoyable to me; I really love being in this dense rainforest environment. I stopped regularly and just watched and listened for a few minutes - there were several more bird calls I didn’t recognise. Occasionally the lake glimmered and shimmered through a gap in the trees. I surprisingly came upon a Scottish couple on holiday from Loch Katrine who were walking around the lake, and we had a blather for a while. They had just been watching a snake which I just missed.

I continued on rolling through the green tunnel via a few more Curtain Figs and their thousands of rooty tentacles until I finally arrived back at the cafe and public road, and reluctantly left this beautiful place.

I took a longer route back to the CP taking in some single-track roads through still-hilly countryside on the edge of the (Crater Lakes) National Park, and was surprised that I had clocked 50km on a supposed rest day!

.....To more mundane things like doing a pile of washing and getting it out on the line - a sunny day is forecast again for tomorrow so it will dry OK. I feel quite tired after lack of sleep last night so after dinner (bacon and zuchini rolls with rolls fried in olive oil) and a couple of phone calls it’ll be an early night. I’m staying here a third night - don’t wanna leave lol, and will upload in the morning - internet at the CP is only $2 for as long as you like; everything here is such good value.

DAY 161: Millaa Millaa to Lake Eacham

45 km at 14.5 km/hr

Weds 2nd April 2008

Distance to date 9738 km (6086 miles)

Lovely and quiet last night apart from the pitter-patter on the roof lol, however by the time I’d eaten breakfast and spent 75 minutes on the internet at the CP office it had stopped, and there was even a glimpse of the big yellow thing (what’s it called again?).

So I departed the park with glad heart and renewed vigour and didn’t care about the wet clothes (still very damp from yesterday), but within 20 minutes it was drizzling again - that fine but wet stuff (cloud?) that you always get in mountainous areas...who cares though? Well, it’s a nuisance at least because I can’t see behind properly due to wet glasses and mirror. I have to wear the former otherwise my eyes sting from the deluge of polluted spray thrown up from 110 km/hr lorries.

The road continued upwards for the first 2km north of Millaa Millaa and finally topped out at 920m. From here on it was Giant Toblerone territory - you know those £10 Mega-Toblerones sometimes received as Christmas presents? - It was on that scale, descend at 8% and down 100m then ascend at 8% for 100m - times 10. It was pretty hard work but assisted a little by a strongish southerly tailwind.

I arrived in Malanda by 1130 and celebrated with 2 Cornish pasties and a rock cake - delicious and fresh from the town bakery - and chatting to a couple from Cairns. This was to be a very sociable day actually, hence the lack of km, but as it happened this left me in exactly the right place at the end of the afternoon.

Just outside Malanda (an unspoilt and pleasant town) on the Atherton road are the Malanda Falls and VIC next door. The falls are nice but not as spectacular as Mena Creek’s although the setting is beautiful, even on a grey day. There is a good little display at the VIC about the flora and fauna of the area, particularly the rare Lumholt’s Tree Kangaroo which is found around here. The ladies in there were terrific as usual, so knowledgeable and very helpful. I learnt a lot about cycling routes too, including a warning about the dangers of the road to Gordonvale which I want to take. It seems there is an 18km section with no shoulder and nowhere to pull off, with a bit of a drop on that side too.

A few km further to Atherton I realised I’d taken the wrong one of 2 roads to Atherton - I wanted to call at Yungaburra as I’d heard nice comments about it, so when I came to a connecting road on the right I turned off. This 6km link road to Y also has some interest in that the Atherton Tableland’s most famous tree is along the way. This is the Curtain Fig and it’s truly amazing - the pics don’t really do it justice as it is so big. The curtain forms after a shoot up in a branch grows down to the ground, and then more shoots follow suit until there are 100’s of eventually thick shoots which in this case pulled the tree over to one side. There’s a nice boardwalk out to and beyond the tree too, and there were quite a few people there - hence a long explanation of what I was doing had to be recounted.

Some time later I landed in Yungaburra and again I was very impressed with the place - very smart and tidy in an old-fashioned way with nice cafes and a great bookshop. I tried again here to get a second-hand Oz birdie book and they actually had a suitable one. The lady gave me a few dollars for my little bird book so I was well satisfied, and then she made us capaccinos and we got talking about many interesting things. She asked for my web address so I’ll try not to embarass her but what a lovely and interesting young woman! Her and hubby are managing the shop for his mother who is ill unfortunately, and she is cataloguing (sp?) all the books to put on the internet. I left feeling rejuvenated; some people just have that effect on one. I didn’t even ask for her name so maybe she will let me know for the record?

Some 3km up the Gordonvale road was a left turn for a CP at Lake Eacham, and as it was nearing 4 I decided to go for it. The road to it off the highway was the densest tropical rainforest I’ve seen so far - every square metre packed with trees and plants - most of it appeared inpenetrable, and many of the trees were 50m in height so the road was quite dark. Lots of strange bird calls and small birds of indistinct origin darting to and fro, lots of rustling in the bush. It was another place where I cycled slowly to hopefully take it all in - this is my kind of territory, wall to wall trees and wildlife. I stopped at the scenic viewpoint on the banks of the 1000m or so wide Lake Eacham (which is part of the Crater Lake NP) and again got chatting to a couple from Perth who were about to house-sit for 3 months in Yungaburra.

I eventually arrived at the CP and what a little gem! Tucked away on the edge of the NP among huge trees and the tallest bamboo clumps I’ve ever seen (see pic). Apparently you never get wet under these, I guess the rainwater is conducted down the stems and doesn’t drip? It was only $13 and there’s a full camp kitchen and loads of logs to put on the kitchen fire. And from what I can see there’s not another soul staying here!

Before dinner I went exploring and found a walking track, that could be cycled around too as there are no steps, running for 3km around Lake Eacham. This was just magical - wild, dense and dark forest burbling with birdcall and with occasional flashes of mirror-calm water on the lake. There were some steep bits on the gravelly path but I didn’t have to get off, however I stopped occasionally just to absorb all the ‘jungly’ noises and strange smells both sweet and not so sweet. Brush Turkeys seemed to be everywhere, these are a bird with little fear of man. Various types of fish were swimming in the lake. This hours excursion was another experience of Oz that will stay with me, although I expect to see much more of this ‘proper’ rainforest between here and Cooktown, so the next couple of weeks are going to be interesting.

Back at the ranch I showered and did some washing which I hung in the rustic camper’s kitchen, before lighting a log fire in the big hearth and getting diiner, which tonight comprised some fresh French stick from the Malanda bakery with silverside, baby tomatoes and garlic - delicious...and 3 cups of tea.

I’ve decided to stay here at least another day as there is much to see in the nature line. There’s a folder in the kitchen with lots of places to go to see Tree Kangaroos, Platypus, Turtles, Cranes, Brolgas and lots more - all within an hour’s cycle ride. And the caravan park is a delight too. I’ll have to ride the 10km into Malanda though to get some cash as I only have $3 left - I forgot to do this this morning.

Sorry about the sideways pics - I'm on an unfamiliar laptop with different software, so don't know how to rotate them.

DAY 160: Mena Creek to Millaa Millaa

67 km at 10.8 km/hr
Tue 1st April 2008
Distance to date 9693 km (6058 miles)
Wet, dull, cool

After breakfast I wandered all around the grounds of Paronella Park again, and it looked different in daylight - what a project; there are a thousand maintenance responsibilities that would put me off, for example just keeping the trees and shruberry tidy in a tropical climate where growth is rapid. Full marks to Mark and his team for taking this on.
I got away at 0930 in pleasant sunshine.
From the sublime to the ridiculous, that was today. It started nicely with 10km gentle riding through cane fields and banana plantations in the sunshine from Mena Creek to South Johnstone, where fully 57km of climbing started i.e. for the rest of the day! Now it’s my fault really for not finding out things, like there’s no shop between SJ and Millaa Millaa, and for not knowing that MM lies at an elevation of 850m (Mena Creek must be at around 50m) - but my excuse is that I just can’t carry or afford to buy maps with sufficient detail for the whole of Oz, and the general maps I use have no elevations on at all.
From leaving South Johnstone then it was all uphill then, varying from 2% to 10%, with little downhill other than one 2km / 150m fall screamer (64 km/hr he he!) - it was relentless. I don’t mind that, it’s not climbing as extreme as in the Alps by a long shot, but as the day wore on the weather worsened and over 600m elevation it was cold foggy rain. I quite enjoyed it for all that - It wasn’t THAT cold you understand, more uncomfortable later on. A main problem was that I had little in the way of food, and surprisingly there were no shops or filling stations along the way - I guess the road is just not busy enough to support that. Having regular ‘iced coffee’ stops is relaxing, restive and motivating for me, and I missed that. Note tea plantation in pic.
Thank heavens for a little organic fruit stall that amongst other fruits had a lovely bunch of four weird-looking fat bananas for $1 that went down a treat. It was from a trust stall where you just leave the money in a jar, but I must have looked shifty because the lady came out to check things before I left, and removed the dollar from the jar. She was pleasant enought though, but shook her head when she learnt I was heading up the hill, an unspoken warning to expect the worse. The fruit was delicious though, and I also eyed up some large Custard Apples but they were quite dear at $3-4; I must try one soon though, haven't yet.
Thus fortified I continued upwards; just as I settled into a steady 4% climb rhythym I would be hit with a 9 or 10% for being smug and complacent. There were even signs warning of steep hills ahead which is unusual in Oz.
Traffic wasn’t too heavy but a large proportion were trucks; there was a decent shoulder for most of the way though. The scenery is pretty good, with dense rainforest and misty mountains - I could see Queensland’s largest mountain, Bartel Frere, cloaked in cloud some 20km to my right. There are a couple of National park forest walks off the road, and I had a quick look at them but didn’t linger as today’s ride was taking a very long time. I had a chance to remind myself though of the intensity of flora and fauna in the tropics - a hugely diverse mixture of plants densely packed together, with ants, flies, spiders, lizards, birds, butterflies and animals everywhere. Every few seconds I could hear something rustling in the undergrowth close by, what, I’ll never know! The area I passed through is one where Tree Kangaroos are staking their battle to avoid extinction, but unlike with the superb Cassowary yesterday I didn’t see one.
There are some great viewpoints on this road too, but the murky weather did no favours.
I had hoped for a nice downhill, or even flat, run-in to Millaa Millaa, but inevitably it was a steep approach of up to 9% again. It was drizzling hard by this time and I was thinking of taking some inside accomodatiion tonight rather than pitching the tent - not least to try and get some clothes dry.
M-M is a very small, quiet place comprising a hotel, a few shops, three waterfalls which I haven't seen yet, and a few houses. I went to the hotel pub and learnt that a room would be $60 without breakfast, so I wandered off to find what else was on offer. I wandered in the general store, which doubled as an information centre, and ten pairs of eyes stared at me for a few moments - did I look as bad as that? Or was it that I still had my rear light clipped to my back pocket, still flashing? Either way I didn’t care, and the lady was very helpful, showing me the rates at the nearby caravan park - a single room was only $30 so that sounded OK. She said the CP was 1km up the road towards Malanda, and I said - up a steep hill?, and she nodded. There’s always a sting in the tail, kick a man when he’s down!
It was a steep 1km too, but without much discussion I paid my 30 bucks and got the key - it wasn’t bad for that either, and there was a covered area at the front where I could sling my line up and try and get some clothes dried. It’s no big deal if they’re damp when they go on though, ‘cos they’ll soon get damp anyway from either sweat or rain.
There were no gas rings in the camp kitchen (nor in the room) so I fired up the petrol stove on the draining board and immediately set off the smoke alarm, but luckily no-one came to investigate and it was just the smoke always produced on start-up that was the problem. I made a large pan of my favourite tuna spaghetti and wolfed it down hungrily, along with a couple of litres of tea. I would’ve loved a beer but no way was I trudging the wet and hilly km back to town.
I managed to get a few basics such as cereal for breakfast from the camp shop so that’s OK. Hey - I can watch a bit of TV tonight too - woohoo! If I can stay awake......

DAY 159 Tully to Mena Creek

pics: fish feeding, frog (!), hedge and sea view at Mission Beach, road between MB and El Arish, Cassowary, Mena Creek, Cassowary sign, Queenslander house, bananas, road between Tully and M Beach, Mission Beach (Blogger doesn't allow captions to pics as far as I can see!!)

DAY 159: Tully to Mena Creek
86 km at 15.9 km/hr
Mon 31st March 2008
Distance to date 9626 km (6016 miles)
Cloudy, warm

Weir5d how the pics upload completely out of order! From top to bottom they are:-

Yet another disturbed night - there’s a pattern setting in here isn't there!? - This was a couple arguing until the early hours in the nearest tent to me, then they made up and....well, I can’t really tell you the rest but it was just as noisy!! Nevertheless I felt OK this morning and was away for 0830 or so. After 5km on the Bruce Highway I turned right for Mission Beach, which the lady at the Tully VIC said was WELL worth spending 2 days at - should be good eh? This road had no shoulder for the most part but was pretty quiet - I had expected it to be as busy as the Airlie Beach road was. It was mostly more interesting bush with the occasional field of cattle so quite pleasant actually.
The sky was dark grey so places didn’t look quite as attractive, but no rain came today. The wind was fairly light too. I stopped at a little shopping complex just before MB and had an omelette and coffee, and a few doors away there was an internet place so I updated the blog. The library here in NQ seem to charge $5/hr and no uploads which is no use for my purposes. Afterwards I cycled the final 2km to MB itself but all I saw was a row of cafes near to the beach, and then I was back in open country again. I carried on for another km thinking there would be a larger town but no, that was it! I cycled back to see if I’d missed anything but no, I hadn't. It’s all about my expectations of course, and I should know that one should never assume anything - I’d got the message, somehow, that this was an interesting place, but as far as I could see it had few attributes other than the (deserted) beach of some 3km length. It looked badly in need of an injection of cash, for example to improve the gravel shoreside walk which was in poor condition. There was a sad, deserted feel to the place. I didn’t stay long and left town on the El Arish (Bruce Highway) road.
Some 6km along this road was a rainforest walk, so I stopped to have a look. You’ll gather from the pics that this is a Cassowary preservation area - they were almost wiped out here and are recovering but with only some 40 adult birds. The interpretation ‘rotunda’ was very good and around this building a score of trees had been planted which specifically aim to provide around-the-year fruits for the birds. Apparently they have big appetites and need some 3 sq km each to support this. I passed through this area and onto the walk itself, but didn’t get very far since there was a series of steps. There were some other people around and I didn’t want to leave the bike and my stuff unattended. I turned around and headed back, but as I passed the rotunda, there was an adult Cassowary stood looking at me! Brilliant - I’m lucky to have seen one given the small numbers. He eyed me warily and then carried on rooting around quite unconcerned - I had thought they were quite shy creatures. I watched for around 10 minutes, and then left him (or her) to root on in solitude. They are huge birds - flightless of course - this one was about 1.5m high and probably weighed around 35kg. It was yet another thrilling wild animal / bird encounter that I had hoped for on this trip - so much better than seeing them in a zoo! I haven't been at all disappointed in this respect.
With light heart I pedalled on for another 10km of Toblerone road before reaching El Arish, where I celebrated my sighting with a muffin and capaccino. I asked the cafe lady about topping up my water bottles and she asked if I wanted town or bore water - er, town water, because isn’t bore water often salty-tasting? Whereupon she took 2 glasses and took a sample of each for me to try, and I had to agree the bore water was OK, and of course should have no chlorine added.
Then another 7km north on the Bruce Highway to turn left for Silkwood and the Canecutter Way. I had prevaricated about whether to take this longer detour off the highway or just carry on, but I soon saw I’d made a good choice. It is a very quiet road, and I guess I saw only 6 cars in the next 90 minutes - BLISS! And the road was delightful - twisty, little hills, patches of dense rainforest, little hobby farms and a few larger sugar cane or banana farms. I’d definitely recommend this option for cyclists rather than the highway, even if it is longer. The road narrowed to single track at times but was in good condition.
It was getting a bit late and I had the idea to stay in a B&B I’d seen signposted, but when I went to ask I learnt that it was from $220/night - er, I don’t think so! Did she think I was on my honeymoon or something?
I was told however that there was a CP at Mena Creek some 35km after Silkwood, so that was OK. I expected to find a poky little cheap CP (no problem with that lol) but it was anything but that, and this was yet another surprise in a day full of ‘em. As I rode up to the office a guy, Mark, the owner, greeted and welcomed me. I could see there was more here than just a CP - there is a big waterfall on the property and some strange old buildings here too, but Mark explained the Paronella Park story over the next 10 minutes.
He bought this place 14 years ago after it had been abandoned for a long time. It was built by Jose Paronella, a forward-thinking Spaniard from the Barcelona area who had been inspired in his youth by Catalonian castles, and by the architect Gaudi in particular. He had seen this virgin forest land with waterfall and it suited his needs well, and he bought the land in 1929. Over the succeeding years he built a cottage for him and his wife; a movie theatre / ballroom; installed a hydro-electric scheme in the waterfall (the region’s first); tennis courts, and many other buildings, as well as designing walkways to line up with the falls to dramatic effect.
Anyway the $28 fee, although higher than I would usually pay, includes at least 2 guided tours of the place, so pretty good value actually. Mark is driven by the dream of completely restoring and enhancing the place, and he has clearly come a long way in this respect. There’s a smart modern cafe and outdoor deck too and delicious food. His enthusiasm (he conducted out evening tour tonight) is infectious, and he clearly loves what he does. The tour took us around the grounds getting glimpses of the nicely- (orange) backlit waterfall down an avenue of huge, straight Kourie trees; feeding hundreds of huge eels and other fish at the riverbank; examining the illuminated castle etc. All around us were Fireflies too, which I don’t think I’ve seen before - they fly around slowly a bit like mosquitos, lighting up for a couple of seconds like beacons - amazing. What I liked about the setup here was the genuine ecologically sound principles used in his approach - for example he wants to sell hydro power back to the grid - and the absence of the “lets make a quick buck” principle that shines through. And as a bonus there’s only me and an elderly Swiss couple here in the CP, so I expect a good, quiet night!!
What an enjoyable day, and I am over the next few days headed for the Atherton Tablelands with lots of forest, mountains and waterfalls and some wetlands to check out.

DAY 158: Ingham to Tully

the ride

99 km at 17.3 km/hr

Sun 30th March 2008

Distance to date 9540 km (5962 miles)

Cloudy,warm

.........And Tyto Wetland was perfectly peaceful, just the occasional Wallaby-type noise half in my dreams, half-out. It rained heavily in the night and the tent needed a good wipe over with the chammy before packing away. Despite there being prolific mozzies here I was careful enough in keeping the tent flaps closed, and spraying with repellent, such that I wasn’t bitten - amazing my my usual standards.

The wetlands were deserted as I left - despite the high quality and size of this facility hardly anyone is using it seemingly - such a shame, it's a real asset to the area. Probably needs a burger joint to attract more people. I only travelled 2km to the far side of Ingham when I passed Brumby’s Bakery and the smell of fresh bread drew me in. I sat and ate a sausage roll with a Dare Double Espresso Iced Coffee, and bagged an apple scroll for eating later. As I ate I chatted to an old (ex) Sicilian man who was selling avocados and olives from the back of his ute (pick-up). He said he grows the olives himself ‘up on the hill’ and prepares them for sale himself too - this entails bashing the picked olives with the bottom of a beer bottle, removing stones, and steeping the olives in water several times. Seemed like a lot of work, but he’s retired and just does what he feels like doing. The product was delicious and I bought a half-litre (for $6.50). Ingham has a very high fraction of Italian immigrants, some are now 6th generation.

Underway at last, around 9, there was little assistance from the light SE wind but there was a good shoulder, however it drizzled most of the day and I got pretty wet my mid-afternoon, but still quite enjoyed . There’s a nice rest stop at 5 mile Swimming Hole some 8km S of Cardwell, and yes there is actually a large swimming hole - on a hot day I would have been tempted in, but the rain kept the temperature down today. There's one big hill about 15km in (see pic of sign) but I just plugged away for nearly 2km and enjoyed the subsequent downhill - although it wasn't a 'screamer' as I only got up to 59.9 km/hr - drat!

I took a short movie of the oncoming Cairns to Brisbane Tilt Train which I will try to post on here (it didn’t work last time). I had considered staying at Cardwell, which is on the coast, but the gloomy weather did nothing to enhance this very ordinary town, which is essentially a 2km stretch of the Bruce Highway with lots of motels and cafes, and I decided to press on (it was only 1320).

The rain intensified and the wind picked up a bit, still SE (as it has been for over 1500 km - lucky me!). Due to the bad light I wasn’t wearing shades but my eyes started to sting badly, from the spray being thrown up I suppose, and I had to put them on, whereupon my eyes stopped stinging but I couldn’t see very well.

Around 15km south of Tully the shoulder disappeared completely, and by this time the traffic had increased considerably from a quiet morning, including lots of lorries and wide loads, and I suddenly felt quite vulnerable. I couldn’t see too well through the mirror either due to the rain on it. The road was built on a steep-sided embankment so there was nowhere for me to go to get out of the way of the crazy demon trucks.

All of a sudden some sugar cane railway tracks (400mm guage or so) which run everywhere in N Queensland appeared, running at 45 degrees to me, and as my front wheel hit the first track it veered to the right, and both I and the bike crashed to the ground unceremoniously. All the panniers came off and got tangled in the wheels and I couldn’t get the bike out of the middle of the road - luckily there had been no traffic behind me at the time so there was time for a couple of people who stopped to check that I was OK to come and help me. It’s testament to the quality of the bike and Ortlieb panniers that no damage at all was sustained, and even I only suffered a minor graze on the knee - my clothing was undamaged too. I was probably travelling at around 18km/hr when it happened. Lucky me again then. I hadn’t had time to turn square on to the line which I would have done if possible, because I didn't see the tracks in time due to the rain see pic of tracks).

Somewhat chastened I got back on the bike for the last 4km into Tully. There is one caravan park here and it was pretty busy, but only $12. The field where I camped is pretty wet too, but hopefully the tent is still waterproof. There is internet here but no uploading so that’ll have to wait. I cooked a nice spaghetti dish and smothered it with the olives I bought this morning - delicious - whilst chatting with 2 Japanese lads who also enjoyed the olives. I’ll probably have to put wet clothing on tomorrow as there’s no chance oif getting it dry tonight.

DAY 157: Rollingstone to Ingham

Pics all of Tyto Wetlands except for 1st one of road on the way. Note Croc warning sign!

59 km at 17.0 km/hr

Sat 29th March 2008

Distance to date 9441 km (5901 miles)

Cloudy,warm

The party went on until well after midnight and only quietened down after what appeared to be 2 men fighting and screaming, over the woman I think, so that was another sleep-deprived night. It left me feeling somewhat down during the morning too, not helped by a sore bum. This stretch of road is not overly-scenic so there was little to distract me from the negativity until I stopped in at the Frosty Mango cafe where some raisin toast with mango jam with pot of tea, and a nice chat with the cheerful chatty waitress perked me up somewhat.

It was hard going today though - the wind was not as favourable being somewhat light and on the right side, and my early mood didn’t help of course.

After about 40km the chain came off all of a sudden, and I found that it was quite slack, after me having tensioned it at Bowen a few days ago. The 2 locking bolts were slack, and I can only surmise that I didn’t tighten them enough last time. I then noticed that the bottom bracket was free to move sideways to and fro, which didn’t seem right either. Anyhow when I retensioned and tightened the 2 bolts firmly home it seemed OK again. I need to check whether the BB should move in and out like this. (For those unfamiliar with Rohloff hub gears, the chain is tensioned by an eccentric adjustment of the bottom bracket with a special tool, which I brought with me as it happens).

I don’t have a watch at the moment so I didn’t know the time, and I was surprised when I got to the VIC and found it was 1410 - what a slow day! I learnt that is no caravan park / camping for another 50-odd km to the north so I had various options ranging from stay at the CP here in Ingham, ride 18km to the coast where there are several CP’s (this meant cycling the same 18km back too), or carry on up the Bruce Highway and hope to find a wild camping place.

I decided to think about it whilst having a look around the Tyto Wetlands here in Ingham - this is a 2.5km track winding around a wetland lake and features various bird hides and viewing platforms. It’s a very nice set-up but completely devoid of people as usual. As soon as I entered the area a dozen or more pale brown Agile Wallabies that were grazing on the short grass scattered in every direction in alarm, and I spotted birds such as Magpie and Greylag Geese, along with many Honeyeaters and some others that I did not recognise. I also saw a sign saying not to camp near water because there ARE crocodiles in here - but conversely this must mean you ARE allowed to camp here. Well, a nods as good as a wink to a blind man, so that’s tonight’s venue sorted! I found a secluded corner 2km from the entrance where I was sure I’d be undisturbed.

But first I needed some shopping, and after this whilst exploring the rest of the town I spotted a pub advertising pints of Guinness for $3.50 - a bargain compared to the $6 I’ve been paying previously - so I duly partook (One did the trick). I was the only person in the pub which was a bit sad, but the owner and I had a good chat whilst I eagerly sipped his porter. He had reduced it because it wasn't selling well. It was starting to darken so back to camp, via a long and interesting chat to a guy, Tom (I think) who was walking around the reserve.

It was just about dark now and the mozzies were in plague proportions (natural in a wetland area) so first thing was to spray repellent all over. I quickly got the tent up and got a bit of a fright as a wallaby noisily crashed through the undergrowth nearby, and I realised I was a little near an access path / escape route for the animals so that might happen again.

As it was so insect-intense I didn’t bother cooking outside but made tuna sandwiches safely inside the tent - I have some good fresh brown rolls so it was quite tasty. I expect and hope that tonight WILL be a peaceful one!

DAY 156: Magnetic Island to Rollingstone

Pics in order are of - Townsville x 2; my campfire at Rollingstone; Arcadia Beach magnetic Island; dodgy river works on Mag Island; Mag Island x 2; Townsville x 1

60km at 16.0 km/hr

Fri 28th March 2008

Distance to date 9382 km (5864 miles)

Hot and sunny

Juvenile antics by three Dutchmen until 1AM made sure I was going to have a spoilt night. I made a resolution to try and avoid the younger end, some of whom seem hell bent on getting drunk, using foul language and disregarding anyone else but themselves. It’s not going to be easy though because this (Northern Queensland) is now well and truly young backpacker territory. I asked them politely to take their party somewhere else, and in fairness they did, but the damage was done, this puts me on edge, and I find it hard to sleep. Bush camping is probably the best option, but it’s not always possible or advisable. I mentioned it to the manager in the morning and she sais she was pretty hacked of with it and promised to sort them out, however I’m leaving this morning so it won’t benefit me; maybe others.

It rained heavily for a while at dawn so my washing got a soaking and I had to put wet shorts on again but no big deal; they still feel warm not cold!. Breakfast this morning was with a retired man from Perth, but as he didn’t let me get a word in, and continually tried to foreguess me it wasn’t a very productive exchange.

I updated the website before leaving the campsite and finally got away around 10.

Quite a climb out of Horseshoe Bay for about 2km, then downhill to Arcadia Bay, where I had an iced coffee as I sat on yet another perfect, idyllic palm-tree’d beach. I finished the 7km to Nelly Bay ferry terminal well in time for the 1115 boat, and was back in Townsville by 1145. I couldn’t be bothered going into the shopping centre to get some stuff I needed so as recommended by a guy on the boat I cruised slowly along the promenade / esplanade, which is effectively a linear park stretching for some 3 to 4 km. Very nice it is too - in my opinion much better than the Brisbane riverfront, and from a city of 130,000 whereas Bris is over a million. There are several very smart and well-equipped children's parks, several open air swimming pools, many smart cafes and bars, gardens, old and huge trees, memorials to the war dead, and a nice sandy beach to boot - top marks to Townsville.

Eventually that came to an end and I was into the outer suburbs - in fact these went on for 12km or more - indicative of the sprawl caused by (originally) cheap land - meaning big plots and buildings.

Back on the good old Bruce Highway the traffic was pretty heavy still, but with a good-width shoulder all the way. Apart from stopping at Woolworth's to top up food stocks there was nothing much of interest on the road, straight, flat and noisy with little interesting scenery other than the odd distant mountain. It will get better soon though as I near Cairns.

I stopped briefly at a 24-hour rest area (one can officially camp overnight there) and spoke to a guy who knew the Rollingstone rest area, and who confirmed it was an overnighter too, so that’s where I headed.

It’s a very nice free rest area; I have my own ‘fireplace’ (and there was a pile of logs at hand too) and water supply; there are toilets too but no shower so it’ll be a Wet One Wash tonight. I got the fire started around 5 and it’s still burning now at 9. Funny how a fire adds ambience and pleasure to a campsite - I’ll be able to have plenty of fires when in the Top End or so I’ve been told - it’s not allowed at most of the places I’ve been so far. Only one thing spoils this scenario - rowdies - there’s another gang, this time of foul-mouthed, drunken, continually belching and otherwise very loud ‘lads’ and a girl about 100m away - I recognised the threat to peace and quiet as soon as I saw them, but couldn’t get any further away from them unfortunately. They’ve been at it non-stop since 5 so far. I’m pretty sure they were pulling trees to pieces for the bonfire (this is a kind of public park). It’s tempting to ring the police but I fear possible reprisals. There are about 6 other ‘normal’ families / people camping here too. Oh well, at least it’s free!