Riding Down Under - Tropical Cairns Australia

[MacDoc]

Re: Best laid plans....the bridge from hell...

Nice - just found out I can convert the St1100 to single seat and then my insurance and registration for the year is $237.....Ontario take note. So looks like I can support two bikes easily. Have free storage for both - both have new batteries. If I get a swap deal for a smaller tourer or a short person 250 cruiser for my step daughter so then at least it will get used more.
There was a very sweet 4 cylinder CB400 which I'd ride as well but $$

 

[MacDoc]

Re: Best laid plans....the bridge from hell...

Hmmm- maybe if I had sent Bruce THIS photo from last year he would have been a bit more prepared....damn telephoto lens

this year

 

[MacDoc]

Re: Best laid plans....the bridge from hell...

We're off to Mila Mila on Monday. Take the ST1100 for a run. Took this photo last year....did not have my swim gear with me. Will throw it in the ST just in case.

Not sure I'd want to paddle the 1100 across that bridge

 

[MacDoc]

Couple more shots from the croc farm....some of these birds are captive and some ( like the sea eagle and the heron are wild ). The heron was swiping bits from the croc nearby

Both of these are captive but lots of them in wild and I have a few shots but nice to get up close.

somebody is having a bad day.....he followed my black riding pants along the fence line hissing and bristling and pecking through the fence. Then bridled at his mate

Would never get this close to a black necked stork in the wild - really shows off his feathers.

 

[MacDoc]

Made friends with the ST1100 far more today tho slow speed maneuvering is a pain. Got the cruise control on and that made a huge difference.

Long day that was interrupted by a dead battery on the Burgman - at least it was a very civilized spot to cool out heels. Bruce left the lights on while we had a Devonshire Tea break at Mungalli dairy.. Yummy scones and a big pot of tea so we were chatting away.
Gear up to hit the trail to the lovely Mila Mila Falls loop.
The ride up the Palmerston was very nice - we were dodging a few light showers but no issue.
2 hours later we get a boost from the roadside assist truck and find a place not too far away with a battery.
Was pouring at this point so we headed over to Mareeba to find the battery. Okay ride and really appreciated the cruise control.

This was from last year and - signs we like to see

Lovely area

where we WERE heading

One these days I will swim there

 

[MacDoc]

The tea run.

Got off to a bit of a late start ….Bruce has to come an hour south just to get to my place in Cairns so he had to deal with heavy traffic coming south. So took a picture of our little eco home with the murderous driveway while waiting.

Lots of practice with ST1100 at low speeds and an error of mine right at the start ( left right turn confusion ) had us doing a u turn on on the arterial road and pull into fast moving and continuous traffic with very few breaks….bit of a nail biter to get the ST1100 rolling - just those first few seconds then it lights off.

Got going the correct direction then we had to fight our way out the other side to the south with every light geared to the incoming rush.
Course he brushed it off as he is used to traffic in Melbourne and the Burgman is soooo easy to ride in stop and start.

Finally on the long run to the Palmerston Highway which winds up the coastal range in gentler sweepers than the other range roads ..hit some rain just at the turn up to the Tablelands so put on rain gear and motored up tho very little after that first bit.

This is where we were heading ( pic from last year )

area with gorgeous scenery - the only tropical dairyland in the world and except for the palm trees that pop up - it might be a rolling part of Ontario farm country.

but there are lovely little glens here and there

One thing I'd always wondered about as I drove by the occasional tea plantation was how the leaves got picked…the fields look so neat.
My lucky day …the Nerada Tea Company was in harvesting mode.

there finally was the mystery machine snipping off the tender tops.

Driver nicely perched ….

just rolling the money in.

We turned off one of my fav roads….taken last year but same winding road we took to Mugalli Dairy for the tea break today. Bruce hadn't gotten his morning tea fix yet and of course with the stop at Nerada Tea Company ..he was a man on a mission.

Love roads like this

except when the tour buses show up. I met three last year that spanned the entire road but the KLR was easy to put into the verge. Was NOT looking to do that with the ST1100 but fortunately met only a smallish van that pulled over for us.

So we get to Mungalli just as the rain begins….

Park the bikes rather haphazardly and Bruce scoots in and we order Devonshire tea which comes with of course, Nerada Tea in a big pot, fresh scones and a double dose of clotted crea from the dairy and rain forest jam. Yum.
It's raining, lots of tea and munchies….another riding couple show up and time passes quite pleasantly. Rain clears off, put our gear on……and……hmmm no start on the Burgman.
In his rush for his morning tea break Bruce had left the key on and of course the lights as a result. Now normally this would not be a big deal but…it's a 5 year old original battery and just not up to the task.

Middle of nowhere….no cell service….RACQ to the rescue ( road service ). Used the phone at the dairy and called up the troops. Meanwhile he prepped the bike for jumping…

I wandered a bit and took some photos. Not the most elegant of work clothes but it's a very cool dairy and does a huge amount of business in the Cairns area. Serious amount of product and totally organic.

Found a battery in Mareeba that was available so planned to go directly there since at this point it was pouring. ( it always rains in this area this time of year )….it's the Misty Mountain part of the coastal range and earns its reputation. A couple people a year disappear into the 300 km of walking trails never to be found.

Hour tea break and two hours for the truck to get there cut our ride time but there are worse places to wait and the bike started right up

Rolled home a bit late but dry run down the tight Kuranda range after getting soaked coming to Mareeba. The Kuranda road was good practice on the ST1100 - can't wait to get the front brakes done tho…..was annoying all day.
Just beat the rain home….it's been pouring since. A good day. :clap:

 

[MacDoc]

Took a break from riding visiting family in Brisbane and perhaps a spot to base on for touring.

Lovely beach on a Sunday afternoon

been popular for a while

even a very cool bike enjoying the waterfront cruise on Brighton Beach

The main event

motoring along

turn point

seagull ignoring the amateurs

much fun by all

 

[MacDoc]

After a few days lay off as the rainy season arrived a bit late

Made friends with the ST on the ride up to Mossman...big tail wind, was rested from riding tho brain tired from working late nights.
Nice relaxed ride up for lunch in a shady spot even tho our fav cafe was shut Great coffee which I imbibed too much of and a HUGE chicken wrap I could hardly finish.
We snagged some older Scala's and set them up so looking forward to that on our reprise of the Mila Mila run today which was interrupted by a dead battery last week.
Raining all night but a very clear day forecast...one can hope the weather bureau is correct this time.....wasted a nice day on Thursday after a rain forecast went wrong. Still was bagged from working very late so the day off was worth thile - a few long til 3 am sessions getting the Drunken Bunny flyer out left me mentally drained and we were staff short so had to play micro-manager a bit.

Was still feeling it yesterday on the way home ---- ST felt heavy and lumpy as I pulled off for a few shots. Flaked out for a few hours as soon as I got home and timed the rain perfectly Dumb luck of course.

My big tailwind on the way up was wild headwind/crosswind on the way home....the ST1100 is solid in any wind conditions so far. A few were out taking advantage of the rare surf ( the Great Barrier Reef is a few KM off shore so no big Pacific swells as there are further south in Aus.)
Made me remember my near miss on a windy day on the beach in Hamilton Ontario when one of us, me, was paddling out through 6' waves and our largest paddler was, unseen by me and I was invisible to him, surfing in on a collision course.
Never rolled so fast in my life as I saw 200 lb of him and his pointy boat upon a wave a few feet away and aimed right at my chest.
He thundered over the bottom of my boat and thought he'd killed me.
Could have. Etched in my vision for sure. We were a bit more careful of the traffic lanes after that close call.

Was a random bike meet up at Ellis Beach - one of many resort beaches on the coast North of Cairns. Was closing up when I got there....not a lot of interest for me - loud music, louder bikes. The other more interesting old bike show was the other side of Cairns and too late in the day to get there.

not sure what this was but I see he didn't care to park the porker too far from the road. Neither did I

there were some interesting riders and bikes

Made for a colourful ride home as many were leaving as I took off.

 

[MacDoc]

Had a longish ride today in glorious weather.
The weather man promised a great day and delivered. Met up with Bruce at the bottom of the Kuranda range road literally within seconds of each other despite his coming 50 km from the opposite direction from me with a 30 km ride. Dumb luck. Avoided the noisome garbage truck with tends to climb the range in the morning and is NOT fun to ride behind.

Felt comfie on the ST1100 and enjoyed the Scala Riders all day. THe ST still feels less agile but it sure is solid in the rather brisk cross winds that you could lean against today.

Got our morning snack at Jacque's Coffee... a few km off the main highway and a local institution.

very eco - conscious and with 300 days of sunshine a year here ....why not Great idea for a shaded carport - could not even tell it had the big array on top.

While not my cuppa...it was neat to see the gyrocopter

way to windy a day for either.
Had a great ride over to Milla Milla - had not gone this direction before and felt like a new route - some fresh pavement was terrific and it was dry which is unusual for the area we went through which funnels clouds up from the ocean.
Couple of minor navigating hiccups....Atherton is a pain - roundabouts are GOOD!
Arrived at the Falls loop cut off and headed there - narrow winding road shown back farther in the thread.

Finally I got to swim at the lovely Millaa Milla Falls. This girls toes were curling and not from excitement....it was chilly as you can tell from her body language.

fearless leader playing Tarzan - I found it tricky to swim to the falls against the current....bloody rocks were hard on the feet too tho not sharp...just hurt to walk on. Riding buddy conveniently forgot his swim trunks so took the photo. :roll:

The day was just phenomenal ....21 degrees, dry air...and sun. There is usually some rain in the Misty Mountain area but not today.

Stopped at a Cafe near by after the swim.

It is truly stunning setting on the Tableland above the Misty Mountain coast range. I left these almost full size if you want to get a real idea of the sweep and richness

The local milkers were discussing the strangers on the motorcycles..that disturbed their midday nap. Made me laugh - can a cow be indignant....sure looked it.

The back of the cafe opens on to sweeping views and very pleasant place to have lunch. Arguably the tastiest meat pie and smushed peas yet from one of their brothers

and best steak sandwich ANYWHERE!!!...home made bread too! Bruce's eyes bugged out and he iPhoned it over to his wife...."no supper for you was her comment."

350 km loop through glorious twisty roads...was just a great day to be out on a motorcycle. We stopped for coffee at Skybury about an hour from home just as they were closing.

Unknown and lovely bird ( help please ) was taking a flying bath - I think there were several. Once the aerial show stopped one came and perched on the railing near us.

The flying bath action was hard to catch - they'd splash down in full flight - sorry for the fuzzy photo but the long lens driver was not up to the action

and then power back out to a local tree near the pool.
Regroup and then head back across to the larger gums across the way with a another touch and go on the little pond. You can see a stray feather.

Landing in the gums...AF just could not handle the action..I'm hoping the Tamron middle lens might do better in situations like this.

Stunning bird and had I not been tired might have had some incredible shots...but just used the point and shoot and hoped the AF would sort out from the foliage...I should have manually focused on the pond surface instead....oh well - nother learning lesson.
There is very good wifi at Skybury and I'll go up in the morning and stay a while. There is always something going on over tegh edge of the railing.

Guinea hens heading from a drink at the pond.

Mother and joey feeding as the light dropped and the air was cooler. They were so calm

Tired puppy - 9 hours on the touring bike but I do need the saddle time. We have Scala Rider comm devices now and it really made the time enjoyable to chat.

 

[MacDoc]

Getting more and more comfortable on the ST.
Handling it a bit more confidently out of the drive - even had a stretch of dirt road today and it was solid.
Just need saddle time poking around on it. No question it's comfy on the highway but that's not where I need to get comfortable.
More slow speed and photo shoots etc instead of taking the KLR

Tough choices for my workplaces...rode the ST up the range in the rain....felt good then it cleared off.

Thought my little bit of heaven in Montague South Africa was just about the sweetest place to work from.

But I think I have to give the nod to Skybury outside Mareeba here in Queensland Australia. Vegging out just now - it's about 25 degrees..... bit of sun and cloud and superb coffee and scones....

Similar climates. Wifi is better here. More expensive but lunch on the deck and scones, clotted cream and TWO superb latte's for $8.50 all in tips the scales I think.

a Pied Butcherbird singing his heart out helps the atmosphere. Many birds, kangaroos in the lawn below....

Mind you S Africa was waaaaaaay cheaper place to sstay.

No kangaroos tho

and they are cute 'cept when they want to cross the road you are on...had one along the edge the other day.

Couple of unknown birds up at Skybury.

Easy ride back on the ST - put the rain jacket on part way home but the range road was dry. Did not get quite enough sleep last night so did not take the long way around.

Planning a longer trip in April to make up for the missing touring...do a 1 or 2 night loop to Undara which look to be interesting geology tho a bit touristy - still it's half way.

 

[RockerGuy]

There's so much wildlife there

Sent from my Phone, dont judge the grammar

 

[MacDoc]

yeah - we are going to a bird and animal watching spot up on the border of the rainforest and savannah for a couple of nights. Looks like fun including a night walk. Hope to have some good pics - three days wandering the bush - 210 species have been sighted there.
Kingfisher Park

http://www.birdwatchers.com.au

Non-stop run up to Daintree Village late afternoon.

Best day yet on the ST - put on 220 km on the twisty Captain Cook coastal road including last bit after dark. Felt very comfortable and the lights are decent. High beams not quite up to the Burgman but lows might be better. Even got a bit aggressive on the roundabouts for once and wound the ST out a couple of times.

tea and scones for supper - then straight run back tho I stopped once to take the shatter cover off the headlight - see if it made any difference. ( it didn't )

a smooth early evening ride home. Most traffic going my way so no squinting.

Closest yet to "wearing the bike" instead of just riding it. No wind - great temp along the ocean. Getting there

Except for the off road jaunts and some downtown errands prefer the ST now - especially the KLR now has knobbies front and rear and pretty noisy - dealer says I need a new front but will wait til next year on that as not much off road scheduled tho want to visit a couple nice areas up Davies Creek and Tineraoo. Edge of the fronts will still bite so directional is fine.

 

[MacDoc]

Gonna have to notch the shocks up a bit.....damn

These donuts were to die for yesterday....

and the coffee guys who made them were on top of their game big time.....got a new spot for Joe in Port Douglas

and riding partner's partner has opened a high end cakery at the Sunday market and we volunteered as official tasters

Back to riding tomorrow after a mostly family long weekend.....more pig out this noon at one of our fav restaurants under the trees in Cairns. Guess it's a salad for me after yesterday's rich nosh.

Tracked down a single seat with cowling for the ST1100. Figured there were some about as many ST1100 were cop bikes ( mine was not )

 

[MacDoc]

Picture perfect day. 350 km on the ST.....just stunning weather. Like a post card.
Had much fun running the Gillies....most of the pavement is now nicely repaired. 200 turns 19 KM

Lake Barrine National Park....volcanic lake surrounded by rain forest.

Some more pics later but heading to revisit the Bridge from Hell tomorrow as the weather is so lovely this week.

I am awfully pleased with this shot ....no idea what it is but love the detail and reflection

 

[MacDoc]

Crazy good weather for the wet season ....worrying to farmers - wonderful for me

Fast smooth run across from Barrine to the Rex and even navigated Atherton without any double loops on the roundabouts
Was busy in the towns as first day after the 4 day weekend and also first day of school break here.
But motored along the highway comfie and smooth at 120-130 most of the way to meetup at Mossman - 120 km straight run with a couple of towns.
One cool thing just caught a glimpse of.
Whole flock of kites was circling and diving just above the road in my lane - clearly a fresh road kill caught a glimpse of blood and fur as a I dodged kites.....BUT
Just as I came up to - I realized there was a size large reptile feeding on it....caught in in profile, big head, big teeth and body that I could see maybe a meter...Now this was right on top of a small bridge over a creek.

Shook my head since it looked so weird but at the speed I was going no time to turn around and it would have been long gone.
There is a big lizard here called a goanna that it might have been but it looked wrong. Was for sure not a fresh water croc - snout was wrong..looked like a small saltie....but up on the Tablelands??!!!
The creek was near the Mareeba Wetlands - big freshwater marsh/lake where we are going birdwatching next weekend.
So looked up saltie/Mareeba Wetlands and sure enough - the big lodge in the area had a newsletter reporting a salt water croc in a local creek.....news enough to put in the monthly flyer.
Was a cool thing to see.

Motored on to the Rex ..pretty bike - pretty view eh?

Gorgeous day

Met up at Mossman and took another run with riding partner up to Daintree Village - both of us boogied a bit on the twisties - noshed on tea and scones and headed back just at sunset again a sweet ride with no wind and perfect temperature.

Left Bruce at Port Douglas and headed in the 30 km of twisties on the way home when this odd sky caught my eye.
The Vanishing Point.

took a shot looking north up the coast

Nice to riding at night again....been too long.
350 k and very relaxed - just a good day and varied. Started at 9.30 am - home at 7.30 pm with lots of breaks...interesting roads and a fine bike to enjoy it all.

 

[MacDoc]

Slept like a log after a long day and had some work at home to do but damn can't give up this good weather.
Got going a bit late and first time on the 606 rear tire......damn does that thing drone. No cruise control and shoulders were still a bit sore....
For the very first time I reallllllly missed the comfort of the ST after such a good ride yesterday

BUT - not going to the Daintree on that big tourer so sucked it up and motored up to Mossman for breakfast at The Junction Cafe which brightened my spirits immensely....good coffee and terrific poached eggs on toast and the KLR IS easier to park.

Finally woke up and got the kinks out....chatting on the Scala made the time go very quickly. Kept the speed around 80-90 so the tires didn't drone so badly and keep the wear down a bit.

Busy on the ferry and looked a bit threatening but not a drop....scary dry up there.
We let those in a hurry go ahead and motored up the tight twisties - much nicer than in the pouring rain last time.

Big sign by the ferry this time about construction at the Noah Creek ( aka bridge from Hell ) crossing.
We thought it would be pretty much fixed but I've been told about Daintree time which tends to stretch such projects out.....
Yup....but better plywood and dry this time

Piece of cake

tho the lineups coming back were impressive given the middle of nowhere.

This time we went right to the end of pavement a couple of KM beyond it to a cool place.

The Beach House with a serious beach ...hmm empty shoes and lots of crocs about....

Bruce noshed on a huge burger and fries while I photoed some of the interesting critters hanging about around the dining area.
Bout the size of your palm All lovely golden orb spiders...some people keep them as pets.

Sweet dreams

 

[MacDoc]

Beware the Green Moss......Glen (cop and riding buddy ) warned me about green moss last year and to date I'd been careful
Innocent looking stuff eh - well that red scuff at the end represents my front wheel taking off for parts unknown
So dumped the front end on the skating pond aka green moss....Dean if you are reading this....yes I needed a new front tire.
Still - you can see from the tracks on the other photo we crossed it coming up hill....different story downhill

We did have a good ride and reason I was heading downhill in mossland was the neatest part of as you can see further below.

Geat day - Ken did more of the photos as I had quite a few from last year on a sunny day....the gums were spectacular.
Since he's being polite I'll try and relate what happened after this photo

So off at what Ken figured about 15 kph -

down, a bit bruised and sore, a new hole int he riding pants ( the armor worked ) and apparently not too much worse for wear.

See that tree in the background? hauled myself up with a little help and wandered down and leaned against it feeling a little woozy. Felt okay when I first went down as the grin will attest. That shot is after Ken picked the bike off me and moved it off the slippy part.

and then.....

Ken says afterwards "I went stiff and toppled over like a tree".
I'm sure he was thinking about his epirb at that point.

I woke up a bit down the bank no worse than I was but just a tad confused. Finally surfaced and after a bit of taking it easy and Ken getting the front back aligned rode it out with less than perfect use of my right hand and shoulder. It's still sore but useable now....drugs are good.

I've always had this "reset" about 3-5 min after any 'injury' that kicks in the response. Many do as that's why the nurses make you wait after giving blood - there is some technical name but your blood pressure drops. I'm good for up to that point and then out if I'm not lying down.
I knew that but had never had it kick in falling off a bike. Must have been a fright for him.

So stay off the moss, keep your tires fresh....take a little break if you do go down
the hardcore FNQ know all that.
For Canadian riders that do come off.....even a mild low sider....take some time before you hop back on. 15 20 minutes should do it.
••••

Anyways - on with the trip report.

The reason we turned back?? That sucker is huge - likely 400 years old. It's really hard with the wide angle lens to give you a sense of the size.

i'm glad Ken walked it to get some scale ...this is 20 metres up the hill off the road

having a fine easy ride up to that point

then this - the lens ( as with the bridge from hell ) minimizes this barrier.....it's as tall as we were across the road and on another day we might have wrestled the bikes over the first few limbs and UNDER the next big on - it was that massive.

Peaceful slow ride in mix of rain, mist and sun to that point.

Rainy start at Smithfield at 7am

Some lovely misty rain forest...those gums are fantastic on a clear day - white against a blue sky and red soil. I have many from last year on the same track

Ken coming up after taking some shots

Crazy tree

a day in the forest.... and I have to ride to Cardwell in a few hours on the ST....body abuse indeed.

 

[MacDoc]

I'm tempted later this week to come in from the other end and look at that tree and get some proper photos of what was on the road or at least see them deal with it.

Ken considered taking the bikes UNDER the second trunk - it was about 4' clearance. The wide angle lens does not do justice to how high that mound of crashed tree actually is. Ken is almost invisible against it.

some other takes

and this is just awesome - you can get the sense from Ken's body language

sent him this one for his scrap book....the grin even comes through the full face

Ken told me the tale of these stinger plants and an unwary tourist at the Daintree....my gf the nurse at the base hospital recalls it. Girl in question took an urgent potty break in the rain forest from a tourist bus - being a natural girl she grabbed the nearest suitable wipe.
Screams brought the driver and an emergency call brought the helicopter - seriously bad stuff

fortunately nurse Judy my wonderful GF will drive me to Cardwell despite an all night shift in intensive care hospital - she is NOT thrilled with idea of me going with a wonky shoulder
- it's raining and not sure exactly what I'm carrying so all in all quite happy to be lounging as a passenger eliciting sympathy all around

 

[MacDoc]

Quite the lovely escort for my solo seat delivery to Cardwell by Steve of OZstoc riding group. ( ST owners in Australia)
Sorry I missed the ride but glad thye had decent weather and turn out.

The large package on the rack is my solo seat project

Cardwell waterfront still a bit dodgy from Yazi but enhanced by the rides.

Big grin from Steve's son says many more two up with dad. Steve is another mcycle cop and also favours the st1100 over the 1300 which most of the others were riding. One FJR came along for the ride as well.

Missed a few that left earlier but you don't often get to see yourself on the road.
Maybe catch up with a few next year

 

[MacDoc]

Bleeech

two very soggy forlorn bikes sitting outside. The rainy season finally arrived after a long delay.

Hopefully not quite so wet up on the tableland this weekend for our birding get away.