Riding Down Under - Tropical Cairns Australia

[MacDoc]

Even the snakes aren't safe from the spiders here

Spider Versus Snake

April 23, 2014 | by Lisa Winter

Oh, Australia: home to everything completely horrifying about the natural world (except volcanoes, surprisingly enough).

A Golden silk orb-weaver spider can grow up to 5-6.9 cm (2-2.7 in) in body length, not counting the span of its legs. They spin strong yellow webs that are very large and can reach a meter in diameter. A large, strong web can mean only one thing: large, strong prey. These spiders don’t waste their time with the smallest insects and have been known to feed on birds and snakes.

Daniel Reardon happened to come across a brown tree snake about half a meter long that fell out of a tree and into the Golden orb spider’s web. These snakes eat birds, lizards, and small mammals, so it is a fairly formidable opponent.

The fight lasted for about an hour before coming to this horrifying conclusion:


Read more at http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/spider-versus-snake#iIRGbRy5o902mDxJ.99

[video=youtube;j65i5PDUeT4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j65i5PDUeT4[/video]

courtesy girlfriend biologist who loves this sort of thing.

 

[MacDoc]

Ugh drowning....2" of rain yesterday , over an inch so far today....got a 1/2 hour sunny break to dry the bikes off and put covers on them.
A wet Anzac Day in Cairns but was nice to go to the dawn ceremony with friends remembering Gallipoli - 99 years ago.

It's a big day and a national holiday here and nearly every town of any size has it's own version.

Oddly 7 people collapsed for reasons unknown - Jude thinks low blood sugar. It was muggy and close even at 5 am and many had not had brekkie
( a dictionary of Aus slang http://www.dagree.net/aussieslang/slang_c1.html )
Brekkie is one of the more intelligible ones.

roo o'clock, arvo and sparrows fart might be a bit less transparent
The latter gets shortened to sparrows....sigh

 

[MacDoc]

Meanwhile....the hardcore went out to play in the puddles.

What a day!

It started out with heavy rain and ended with heavy rain but boy did we have some A grade fun, clocked up about 45klms of single track with some epic moments, total ride from coast back to coast was 100klms.
There were some pretty impressive hillclimbs that took on a new personality in the wet and many creek crossings with some deep ones requiring all four of us to get each bike across on planks.

We had wet red clay, white clay and yellow clay on the swamp track from Mt Molloy back to Quaids which was just awesome trying to keep the bikes going straight with lots of laughs.

Apologies for foggy photos, as you might guess it was a little tropical out there and the lens kept clouding over and my gloves were covered in mud.

It started out wet

Check out Kezzas tread, full of mud and that is how they all stayed, we did wet hillclimbs with slicks, they were his new tyres. That is a steep hill too.

The biggest hillclimb took a while, even the enduro bikes that were out there today had trouble on this hill, when in doubt - style it out hey Kezza.
The XR600 walked up it!!

The lads at Hells Gate track, from their left GaryTsai666, Kezza and the_couch(Glen)

Rifle Creek on the Mt Molloy to Quaids swamp track, it had flooded right across the plains above the banks as well with the cyclone which about 7 metres above where it is in this photo

Gary across

Kezza crossing

the_couch (Glen) crossing

Here is the second crossing of Rifle Creek, it required four to carry one bike across at a time, the logs were well underwater and it was flowing quite strong, you can just make out the giant 1.2mtr logs underwater in the sun patch about 300mm under water

Bike across and stand clear of the roost to climb the bank

Thanks boys, I really enjoyed your company today and look forward to quite a few photos from some of the gopro and iphone snaps.
I would do it all again in the rain, what an experience.

Cheers
Kenno

Ken is 53....

 

[MacDoc]

A few more shots of the insanity crew.

Yes that says Hells Gate with good reason

don't wanna hit that at speed

 

[MacDoc]

Well all good things must come to an end for a while anyways.

The ST1100 is apparently sold ( deposit coming today/tomorrow )

Had some good rides tho not the distance touring I anticipated.



and will be down to the KLR for the last few busy days ....will not be back in OZ til July 2015 while we chase the northern lights in Norway next January.

One of the guys that rode the Tinaroo track with me last week made this.....

[video=youtube;Wyanw4OAtrs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyanw4OAtrs[/video]

 

[MacDoc]

New one for me at very long range - Rainbow Bee Eater....and on our property in Kuranda - might be worth a trip up for some serious chase ( loads of birds )

 

[MacDoc]

The guys down under are getting pretty good at the videos - one of my fav range road rides

Think I'll outfit the KLR with some street tires once the 606s wear out

[video=youtube;-aY0SHn3gDQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aY0SHn3gDQ[/video]

more here for those interested...

$2k to get there and back. Fab riding

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=757409&page=79

 

[ganicuss]

Enjoying this thread - keep it up MacDoc.

 

[MacDoc]

Thanks - will have some more updates when I get there in Feb.

 

[MacDoc]

Nice flight on the 380 - very quiet plane.....did not get the promised upgrade but lots of space in economy and empty seats made it pleasant.

Lots of movies, some sleep and some reading. Into Sydney at 6 am ....so felt like the start of a regular day.
Got into Cairns at midday - stocked up on Baileys at the duty free.

Worked my *** off last night ( Monday day in Toronto ) as we were so busy.

Home again here its green and wet.
Backyard a bit soggy



Picked up the KLR - buddy had it all ready....felt squirrelly on full knobbies on wet roads especially riding the opposite side.

Had some errands to do on it so aside from the light rain on and off got settled in to riding. Hands sore but that's just spillover from a long flight and general aches.
Thought I had a cruise control on it but must have taken it off for the ST1100 last year.....have to find that.

Thinking of switching to Heidenbraus like the Wee has but may not put enough km on the 606's this year to finish them off.
At least the 606s are good in the mud and it is muddy this time of year.

Can't beleive it was only yesterday arriving and just sneaking out of Pearson in front of another storm on Sunday.
26 in Cairns and mix of rain and sun the next few days and no temps over 30 which is excellent. I don't even bother with rain gear here.
Get wet, ride, dry off etc.
Happy with the new helmet - better visibility - good fit, lighter and cooler. Forgot the motocross visor but no biggie.

Will get it set up with some tunes .....Forever Map is much improved.
http://www.skobbler.com/apps
Brought my old iPhone 4 to use in the wet here.

Nice actually to only have one bike this year....ST1100 was interesting but the KLR is better for what I do here.
Lithium battery lasted right through this time so worth the extra money. Heat and damp is a killer on the lead acid batteries.

KLR is all tarted up thanks to buddy....hardly knew it.
!!!



top box is back on and I've made a commitment to myself to ride every day this year unless it's a bloody cyclone.

Last year sucked....two bikes ...took a week to get them sorted then didn't ride anywhere near enough to justify having them here. Then a cyclone knocked some riding time off....trips here and there to family .....

Need the saddle time as only 3 weeks after I get home I'm heading west riding the Wee for 24 days with the kid.
Coming off the tall KLR the Wee will be an easy transition.

Looking forward to the next 5 months riding....make up for a sucky year last year tho I got a realy treat in late October in West Virginia

Think I will revisit the croc farm too....missed some shots at feeding time last time around....better with the camera now and better camera

http://www.crocodileadventures.com

stayed tuned.

BTW - flights are pretty damn cheap from Vancouver to Sydney and Toronto to Sydney ...the Aus dollar is down and there are bikes to rent.
Give it some thought....you do need three weeks at least tho.

 

[Riceburner]

Thought you weren't supposed to be back in Oz till later in the year?

 

[MacDoc]

I lose track ....got 150 km in today..Capt Cook Highway between Cairns and Mossman is a very sweet ride - smooth pavement and loads of turns and elevation changes along the Pacific.

https://goo.gl/maps/u7GB7

Big tailwind going north = had to be careful not to overcook it on the KLR...606s and marginal brakes and the opposite side of the road.
Felt better than yesterday tho.
Back is sore tho from plane ride and a few hours riding but really nice to get out and then get home with dry gear.
Was going to do a longer loop tomorrow but the monsoon has arrived



will spend the weekend plotting a South Island New Zealand week in early March before it gets too cold.

 

[MacDoc]

Barely squeaked out a short ride today between deluges...
Felt okay - did some errands...aches and pains generally gone...

BUT

hell's bells....16" of rain in progress 400 mm





The heavy stuff hasn't even arrived....

Barron Falls should be spectacular. I'll slog myself up the range road on Monday - since it's a long weekend in Toronto. Take the oldre camera for sure....just too wet to risk the new one.

 

[bobbyh]

It's -27 here this morning,so Port Dover is out. Those rain drops look more like missiles. Can't imagine how those sound pelting your new helmet. Enjoy family day over there and ride for us.

 

[the bandit]

Be safe out there Dave ....ya lucky bugger. More nature pics please

 

[MacDoc]

Thanks

Need to get out the door tho rain has let off and sun is out finally - much surprised - was resigned to inside activities.

Weather held off and what was going to be a short ride up to Kuranda ended with the long way around thanks to an old codger on the range road who jacknifed his landie towing a boat down that was twice the size ( or more from the way it looked ) of his land rover.

Brakes clearly were not enough on that very steep road and he hand the land rover completely sideways with the boat still pointed down hill.
Should have grabbed some snaps but the cops only had just got there and that damn thing looked very unstable.
Was happy to get by as traffic was tied up for hours ( it's the only road between Kuranda and Cairns unless you go about 150 km either north or south to catch another range road.

North it was. Had a Ms Mulligan Kangaroo pie to celebrate my return and had a look at our property in Kuranda. The first phase is sold out which is good for the property value.

Have to sort the photos but took at look at the Barron Falls and was surprised by a steam train which for sure will want to take the tour on. Had to pull over and fumble the camera out but the snaps turned out okay.

.....some of those old trestles along the Barron River looked a bit dodgy. It's a touring train celebrating 150 years of rail in Australia or Queensland ...not sure which ...on the to do list.

The Barron was not as full as cyclone time last year - so was crossable. This is one reason every other vehicle is a ute.

most have snorkels as well tho not this one.

Not much wildlife about tho several male bush turkeys were about looking a little less scruffy than usual.

Always worth the hike down to the Barron Gorge tho getting rid of the riding gear to do so is advised.....pretty steamy....not so steep tho.

This is downstream of where the truck was crossing. It's a power facility as well as a big time tourist magnet.

The Kuranda Railway ( not the same line as the steam train hauls hundreds up each day and they go down the Skyrail over the rain forest.

Going the long way around to the Rex had it's compensations even on the KLR

dip and bob through the corners and hope the knobbies stay in contact. Very little traffic all day which made for a nice ride down the range and back home via the James Cook Highway which is always sweet.
Passed buddy on the Burgman going the other way....what a lovely commute for him most of the year - 50 km of twists each way.
Dodgy in the wet tho....he's had a couple white knuckle moments ....they are always repairing the road as it's subject to landslides and fresh black top, tropical heat and rain = exciting at times.

Took a break on the beach part way down then rode home sans jacket...felt good to be cooler. Might try the armored shirt tomorrow....family day in Ontario is working out well as I get back to back riding days while GF is at work and no clients for me to worry about organizing.

 

[MacDoc]

Lovely weather - just too tired after working online all night to get out for a ride....

Fortunately the critters come to me at times
Macro at a distance with the 45-175 X lens....such a treat to use

This hopper blundered into the sink - rested a while then headed off into the night

Same lens on a compliant female birdwing the size of my hand

 

[l84toff]

Nice! Even though I'm partial to the ST, the KLR will definitely take you places the ST won't.

Have fun mate.

 

[MacDoc]

Thanks - I see you are still.
Yeah the KLR will do rougher off-pavement and I can still pick it up. It's turned out to be very reliable.
You might be interested in this post.

•••

I'm gonna post this up here ( it was done up for another forum ) but makes a case for long lens if the main goal is photography...not just photography from the motorcycle.
Even on a casual walk to the bakery ....it can turn into a mini-safari.
GF and I are often buried in the small tiny environments that those gawking at the glaciers miss.

••••

Focus peaking on the Gx7 has really helped tho having a bit of an issue with it on my long lens ( 100-300 Lumix..600 mm equiv).

Still it's worth lugging the big lens ( for a MFT ) on casual walks as it lets me get the usual shots at range but also lets me do macro at a distance which adds to the pleasure. Was just about to do up a little local safari ( 200 m trip to the bakery and back ) as an example of why a long lens is nice to have.

Not only for the peewee doing "what me worry!!" on the electrified nest

but for not having to get up close and personal with a several story spider hi-rise.

Complete with daycare...or food storage...not sure which.

Large and small all seemed to have their own turf...

not for arachnophobes clearly ...and it's 10 m away from the front gate. Gotta love the tropics

This unknown fruit caught my fancy and stayed still ...

Not happy with the focus on this even tho I had time

this one a bit better

a starling of sort...can't recall the name

and a dirty look from the the flycatcher crew for intruding on morning preening..

whatever catches the eye....
near

or far ( cocktoos are fast flyers and skittish )

this sunbird was not identifiable until I got home....

shooting the flower - the buds turned out interesting

and a stray ant wandering picked up from about 2 meters.

The long lens is not just for birding.

•••

When I'm riding I keep a wide angle on for the scenery...it sits in one shirt pocket.
Then the 100-300 sits in the other. Even from the saddle I can do some macro at a distance shots and catch detail at a distance.
Some of the better Super-zooms will do this too in budget but they tend to be bulky and you toss the whole thing if something busts.
That's where interchangeable lenses are really useful.
Unfortunately riding - especially of pavement in the tropics - tends to be hard on cameras and I'm not anal about handling them. I want a camera that can take a bit of abuse and still function. My Gx1 owes me nada at this point and despite a few hiccups...still serves as an excellent second camera for GF to use.

Four of us share lenses around as well....another MFT benefit.

On another note....I'm always a bit leery of carrying the camera in a tank bag or top case due to vibration unless it's really well protected ( adds bulk then ).
Any feedback on tank bags for camera gear???

Thinking if getting one for the KLR to have a wider range of lenses at hand and also will be using one on the Wee going cross country in June...but leery of putting the Gx7 in it. - Seems safer in my shirt pocket.
( I carry extra zip locks for weather proofing ).

 

[MacDoc]

Good ride today despite a frustrating round with the new pooch who would NOT come inside...

Got out finally and tried the armored shirt on next to my skin and one of my riding shirts over it....worked well - cooler than the jacket, better armor and I could still get all my camera gear etc in my shirt pockets.

Got up to 33 and muggy so reversed the pattern on the way home and THAT was the coolest I've been yet in 33+ and riding in the sun.

Had my technical ( poly ) shirt underneath this time and the mesh armor over it. Totally good and that will be my warm weather gear for the cross country in June.
Not quite as easy to access the camera but that's not a big issue Spent the few boring stretches going over gear check offs for the trip.

KLR is being a little chattery at light acceleration and can't quite sort it. Thought maybe dry/stretched chain or some such but no sign of that coasting and the thing is as smooth as a thumper can be at 4k rpm.
Just a little chatter

Got about 250km - part off pavement - the Dunlop 606s are so certain off pavement and behaving nicely on the dry pavement twists. Hot dry days gonna wear them quick tho

Not my shot but I know where he hangs out so I'll head there on a cooler day. I saw him in the same area last year and on the way up the mountain and on the way down.

33 C ....not inclined to wait out a flighty kingfisher in a steamy jungle.

I actually turned the bike around on the rare steep forest road to retrieve this shot. It was in the middle of a very hot patch of gravel - a thick branch busted at both ends looked like it was sprouting a leaf.

Had to title it Hope.

It's actually an epiphyte - now wish I'd tossed off into the forest but I'm sure it will get rained into a moist spot. There was a pretty good Tstorm in the area.

Midday not the most active in the rain forest but was good to get off pavement.

Road up to Mount Lewis was in good nick tho did have to pay attention in a few areas.

Was mostly closed in by rain forest with a few open meadows.

Soaring rain forest giant caught my eye...60 meters likely

Lovely park

Very exotic critters...

Rest of it another day....

Lots of green for you snowbound in Ontario.

It might LOOK like it's an easy gate to get around but it's right up against a bridge with a 2-3 meter drop into the creek.
Walkable? Yep....bikeable??? need a Bultaco.