Day  28:                                Cairns to Cape Tribulation (1m)

Distance:                             135.87km

Av speed:                            14.1kmh

Total Elevation:                  777m

Calories:                             4363 per person

Weather:                             Warm (28*C)

Having enjoyed three days of ‘bludging’, it was back to reality as we set off at 6:30am for the 130km+ trek to Cape Tribulation. Fortunately, the early start meant that we missed the majority of the peak hour traffic and we weren’t troubled on the roads.

Within an hour we entered the World Heritage Area of the Captain Cook Highway..... 19km of winding coastal roads with wonderful scenery – steep vegetated cliffs, golden sandy beaches and islands. Just before the Port Douglas turnoff we passed two French cycling tourists – carting panniers and kids in trailers... bizarre and what seemed like way too much effort for a family holiday!

The road then turned inland as we headed to the Cape Tribulation River Ferry via Mossman (thanks to the cafe for the discounted goods!). It was at this time that we found ourselves amongst endless sugar cane fields (cue Jimmy Barnes singing), many of which were being harvested as we rode past. The cut cane is then deposited in little railway carts, which are buzzed around by novel little yellow locomotives.

We were stoked to only be charged a $1 for the 80m ferry crossing and hope that the people at Jardine’s River treat us similarly next week... apparently its $88 per car there and the river is only about 30m wide!

After crossing the ferry we found ourselves riding through the Daintree Rainforest before climbing a very very sharp hill. Whilst only 3km long, it took longer than expected as we waited 25 minutes for roadworks to be completed, giving the lollipop man 25 minutes to hang it on us about how crazy we are. He didn’t have many kind words for the hills we’ll be riding up tomorrow (20 – 25% gradients!!!) so it could be a long day in the saddle. Fortunately at the top of the range there was a World Heritage Area lookout and we took the chance to admire the view and grab some shots.

The last 25km to Cape Tribulation continued through the rainforest, the highlight being the two cassowaries which crossed about 5m behind Chris... giving him some concern that he might cop a deadly headbutt!

We’re enjoying the beautiful Cape Tribulation at the local campground, about 20 metres back from Myall Beach. The awesome team at Cape Tribulation Camping have even hooked us up with a permanent tent!!

After lugging the dead weight on our trailers today, weve now switched over the tyres and inner tubes on the bikes. Gone are the slicks, replaced by big fat knobbies – which should see us setting a very gentle pace on the climbs tomorrow! We’re also doing away with the bog standard inner tubes and upgrading to super heavy duty slime filled ones – here’s hoping they do their job and punctures are a thing of our past!