What a morning! We walked out of our room expecting the wind and rain of the previous day, instead we found a gentle breeze and clear skies. Our first stop was a local café for breakfast. Now please note: Innisfail Show Day means Innisfail is in shut down. A public holiday was the measure of the day so we were limited to one café which every other local and tourist was accessing for breakfast too. We had a pleasant meal and then we were on our way south. Leaving later than first planned meant the wind had now picked up.
Today our objective would be Ingham via Tully and Cardwell and needing to cover 150kms of predominantly flat terrain with a few climbs. As we travelled out of town, the first noticeable difference was the dead fauna. Numerous snakes, a few cane toads, kangaroos, rats, possums and a small very flat crocodile. A cassowary made brief appearance so I peddled faster. Thankfully, there were no live creatures to cause us any grief. The signs kept us from venturing down near the rivers and creeks. Now… I’m not sure if the petrified cane toads became that way after seeing a male cyclist in lycra barrelling down the Bruce Highway, or if it was just the period of time it had been ‘resting’ in the sun. Fortunately, there had been numerous trucks and cars that had ensured the croc was beyond use for even a belt.
Caressing the foot of the range led to a return of the dreaded headwinds, albeit a little gentler than Day 1. The cane fields continued and it was interesting to see the harvesting in action along with the cane trains that crisscrossed the highway. The road had a reasonably good verge, although I estimated we crossed between 30 and 50 bridges, which narrowed greatly and left very little room for passing traffic. Grant spent most of the day going ahead and establishing where the dangers were so that we could minimise traffic interruptions and maintain safety. We will begin trialling the UHF radios tomorrow to see if this can make for even smoother travelling.
We made two significant stops today. The first being at Tully where we had hoped to get a nice photo of the Tully Golden Boot; however, it is currently under repair and surrounded by scaffolding. After a quick feed and Grant teaching the local barista how to make his favourite caffeinated drink, a long macchiato, the barista was happy to have mastered a new coffee. Before long we were off again. I led off only to have to wait at a set of traffic lights for three complete sequences before Grant arrived to trigger it and allow me to roll on. Hmmm… universal issue? Well at least national.
Heading down the coast, we made our way to the beautiful seaside community of Cardwell and sat for a while gazing out over the bay while sitting beneath the Big Crab! As we left Cardwell, the rains began to fall… a common theme in North Queensland.
The vegetation and terrain was soon to change as we encountered Blue Gums, pine plantations and some elevation. A final climb of around 70 metres, with a superb view from Hinchinbrook Lookout, was only bettered by the incredible race down the other side. On hitting the base of the hill, the winds had all but abated and it was a nice run into Ingham.
We are staying the night at Lee’s Hotel which is an ‘old school’ hotel with Friday night meat tray raffles and live music; a beautiful historic building with many of the trimmings of yesteryear. It’s a great way to rest after a long day on the bike and Grant in the car.
Tomorrow, we aim to leave earlier than the past two days enroute to Townsville, the home of the Queensland Cowboys (NRL). A shorter day than today but still not to be underestimated, as the predictions are… Yep… Wind and Rain!!
Until tomorrow,
Mike and Grant