Day 430 | Having a few days, a week, at Ray's: a big trip into Cairns

68 km | zzOz total: 12,860 km

There’s two methods of getting to Cairns from this perch adjacent to the national park, says Ray.

A few buses pop into the Tavern which is about 5 km away, just need to treadle up there first thing.

Sounds too easy to me.

Or, you can walk through the park down the hill, takes a couple of hours, then catch a bus into town.

How about taking the bike, I ask, I’ve walked probably halfway on my 23 km excursion on my previous visit, seemed plausible, particularly if the caravan component stayed home.

Humm, should be possible.

He mentions a steep drop but I think what the hell, I really need the bike to tootle around town once I get there.

As it turned out I had a leisurely breakfast, then just as I was about to leave a long phone call and I didn’t get away until about 10.

I can report parts were fun, particularly the first half down an old logging track but then there was considerably more energy expended, here hills are steep and the trail narrowed, my sandals with poor traction and the bike, well, what exactly was I doing? When I met 3 backpacker tourists on their way up the slope I felt quite incongruous toting those wheels, the surprise obvious in their eyes.

Anyway I can now report I have a new pot, stainless this time, a second derailleur cable so I’ll have a spare when I replace the shortened one, it’s cut entirely through, a new biking shirt and a few other bits and pieces.

After my recent experience with my 12 year old sleeping bag, the poor thing has had about 700 sleeps since I left Melbourne and wasn’t new even then, it seemed complete serendipity when I stumbled on a Katmandu store and found they were still stocking my top of the range goosedown sleeping bag. There was one left, the long version required to cocoon my frame and it was on sale at about 35% of the “usual” price, although no one ever buys stuff at the usual price there, it’s always plenty off.

It might seem strange that I bought a -12ºC sleeping bag in tropical north Queensland but that’s why it’s unlikely for me to be cold at night on my return south.

I decided to eschew carrying my bike 550 m back up the escarpment instead intent on testing Ray’s assertion, a biking friend of his actually, who said the ride back up on the highway was not as shoulder less as I had imagined.

I concur.

I would suggest starting a little earlier than myself, arriving at the Tavern just on dark, the highway was somewhat busy, and then negotiated the last 5 km roller coaster in the pitch black.

In the end I failed to actually get into the main downtown area of Cairns, lugging that computer was just deadweight on my shoulders for the day.

Seems I may have to take the bus option after all.