Dave and his Bike

Days 133, 134, 135 & 136.

Day 133.

Today was mostly a transition day. A couple of nights ago we sat down and looked in more detail at distances and routes. I knew that the overall distance between Cairns and Sydney would be in excess of 3000km if we visited the places we want to (actually about 3500km), which was never really going to happen. We are already a bit behind schedule, so it made sense to have a day moving location and catching up a bit. The heat hasn’t helped either; doing over 100km a day in a heatwave in northern Queensland isn’t a great idea.

So, I got a couple of hours in before it got too hot. At least that was the plan. After faffing about doing a hard re-set of my Garmin I was on the road just after 0800hrs. It was already 28°C. It was however a lovely ride. I had about 15km back to the main road, undulating and pretty, then a nice cruise down to Eton having turned off the Bruce Highway at last. Again there were some nice little climbs over the hills I had seen in the distance over the last few days, and the traffic noise wasn’t drowning out the cacophonous sounds of birds and insects in the trees.

It was properly hot by then, but riding in 36° (it warmed up quickly) with a gentle tailwind, I can deal with. I met Jane on the outskirts of town (my 50km mark) then I was in the van, as we had quite a way to go. At least I had sneaked a ride in.

The countryside changed. We climbed up to Eton lookout, with views back over where we had just come from, then dropped down into a land where the lush greenery was less evident, rocky outcrops appeared and disappeared, signs warned of koalas in the road, I fell asleep (briefly), large coal mines were signed, exceedingly long coal trains were chugging in both directions along the tracks. It was starting to look more like the ‘outback’ that you see on TV.

We had stopped to refuel in Nebo, both the van and us. A snack turned into a cooked breakfast brunch, also removing the necessity to cook tonight. Then carried on to Clermont, our destination for the day. The Showground campground we didn’t bother with, as there was absolutely no shade. The Caravan Park was much better, and we parked up under the shade of a big tree, plugged the electric in, and hoped that the fridge would start working again. Speaking to the manager, she told us that the temperature was 41°C, with a ‘feels like’ temperature of 49°. I didn’t argue. It felt every bit as hot as that.

The shade provided a bit of relief. Only a tiny bit. As did the grass sprinkler as Jane discovered. The storm which broke a couple of hours later provided much more. The welcome rain and wind made everything much more bearable, and didn’t stop the local kangaroo population from coming to the edge of the site at dusk to graze on the watered green grass. A lovely sight to see.

A small glass of Australian red wine with a bit of cheese was all we needed for dinner, whilst the thunder continued to rumble, and the rain returned sporadically hopefully keeping things cool.

The fridge has come back to life. Result.

Distance cycled so far: 6971km.

Day 134.

There always seems to be a reason for me not to get off on time. This morning’s hold up was that overnight both our phones lost all ability to connect to anything. After much re-booting and frustration it turns out that the provider was down in that area, probably as a result of the storm. It wasn’t our eSims playing up.

When I did get going, leaving Jane chatting with the gold prospectors on the two adjacent pitches (what else would they be?), the ride was sublime. It was a nice 28°C which rose to 32° a bit later, there was no traffic, and the gentle wind assistance continued. I soon found my way out to the Rubyvale Road, and classic Queensland countryside. Although my speed was good, I kept stopping to take photographs which was my only hold up. But worth it.

First off was Copperfield, the location of a copper mining town for a short period at the end of the 19th century. The shop is all that remains. After that it was the scenery which I couldn’t resist as I entered the Central Highlands. Not massive, but I did spend most of the day above 300m with rocky outcrops dotted around me.

The outback scenery continued until Jane caught up with me after about 25km, when we stopped for a bite to eat and a coffee. We were almost done when a young lady pulled up in a farm ATV with her two young children. Crystal was from the station (farm) we were parked on, and was just checking that we were ok. She then spent the next half hour chatting with us about our journey, and her life in rural Queensland. She offered tips on where to visit, and told us of the large numbers of kangaroos and emus in the area. What a lovely girl.

As soon as I cycled off, I saw about 20 kangaroos, and a couple of emu ran across the road in front of me. In the van a couple of minutes behind me Jane saw nothing. There were also quite a few cattle along the way. Every time I approached they got up and ran off a bit startled. I don’t think that they are used to an idiot on a bike cycling down their road in this heat. That was also reinforced by the fact that I am now credited on Strava with the second fastest time up one of the climbs – on a touring bike, in this weather. It can’t be a popular route. It should be.

We planned to meet up every 25km or so today, mainly because there was not much in the way of villages or shops, so potentially nowhere for me to get water from. So a bit further south near Argyll we met again (52km), then once more (72km) before arriving in Rubyvale (85km) where I called it a day.

In addition to Rubyvale, there is Sapphire, and our overnight stop for the night of Emerald. There are old mines signposted, and jewellery shops (shacks) dotted around. It did make me smile that we were on a long road to Emerald (city) in Oz. The road wasn’t yellow though. And I haven’t seen any wizards. Yet.

After a van refuel and a re-stock of our food cupboard we pitched up on the caravan park. Similar to most of the others we’ve been to, this time with very noisy parakeets.

Today was probably the best ride I’ve had so far in Australia. It warmed up this afternoon, but the rolling hills were great, long views even better, and to be off the highway was fantastic. Loved it.

Distance cycled so far: 7057km.

Day 135.

Today I managed to get away on time. Almost. After a quick cup of tea and a croissant I pootled off through the deserted town, stopping to take a photograph of the old railway station and to check directions. It is not only Sunday, but is also Australia Day, so we don’t really know what to expect regarding traffic, shop openings and the like. Nevertheless I had taken the option to detour away from the Carnarvon Highway (A7) to ride past the Maraboon Dam.

The road was void of all traffic, with the occasional exception of a truck pulling a boat on a trailer, seemingly heading for the reservoir. It was nothing spectacular in regard views or countryside. I did note a couple of apricot farms which were interesting as they were a break from the norm. The dam and reservoir were quite large. The track up to the viewpoint was not rideable, so I didn’t try. I stopped on the bridge at the centre of the dam in order to take the obvious photographs, but was soon moved on by a man in a van who informed me that pedestrians weren’t allowed. I didn’t want to get into a discussion based on semantics so I did what I was asked. It was then only a few kilometres back to the main road where I turned right and headed off in a very straight line. For about 40km.

Jane caught me at 19 Mile Creek, where we had a coffee and I refilled my water bottles. We agreed to meet again in Springsure, 30km further down the road.

The straight line pretty much continued, with a lot of false flats building up the overall height gain for the day. The Virgin Rock rest area just outside Springsure was nice, and had a bit of shade – enough to allow us to have lunch in the shadow of Mount Zamia (and Virgin Rock). Jane managed to acquire two wasp stings, and bang her head in the van. Not her day.

From then on I was in the van. The transition continued. We still had a way to go to Carnarvon Gorge, and the kilometres passed by reasonably swiftly until we turned off onto the minor road at err, well, nowhere really. It was the end of a long straight just after we had passed Carnarvon Creek. We had earlier seen a sign saying that there were no petrol stations for another 170km, so you can see how remote everything is. The bonus on this stretch was that we saw some more emus. Jane can tick them off her list now.

For the last 40km as we approached the National Park the scenery got more interesting, culminating in a more tropical feel at the campsite where there are more palm trees than we’ve seen recently. The campsite is excellent; big pitches with enough shade, kookaburras laughing in the trees and lots of kangaroos who are clearly used to human presence as they graze on the grass on the pitches. They also pose for photographs (as do the kookaburras). Apparently there are also some platypus in the creek, but despite our best (quiet) efforts, we haven’t seen any yet. There is no phone signal at all. The WiFi near the office isn’t great either (ie doesn’t work), so we’re a bit incommunicado whilst we are here.

Pasta for dinner in the camp kitchen, after Jane had done the laundry and we’d been unsuccessfully platypus spotting, then a walk in the dark to try the WiFi again. There were huge frogs everywhere of different varieties – you had to be careful not to trip over them. It’s a bit of an all-round wildlife haven.

Day off the bike tomorrow exploring the gorge. It sounds quite spectacular.

Distance cycled so far: 7135km.

Day 136.

The campsite warden had the great idea that we set out early to walk the gorge. She suggested 0500hrs, so that’s when my alarm was set for. We sat outside with a cup of tea and a croissant, and were joined by a couple of kangaroos, one of which was particularly interested in my breakfast. After making sandwiches, we were away by 0600, and walking from the visitor centre not long afterwards. It was a good call, as there was plenty of daylight but it was still fresh.

The main path runs straight up the gorge, with deviations on both sides to see gullies, creeks and other geological features. We went straight to start with, through what looked like a tropical paradise Hollywood film set. It was stunning. Trees, ferns, palms, creek crossings, cliffs and birds. My descriptions cannot do it justice, and I don’t think the photographs can either.

We opted for a 14km round trip (out and back would be more accurate). Therefore our furthest point was a place known as the Art Gallery. There are paintings on the cliffs made by First Nation people over the years (no date information supplied), using ochre to stencil around things (hands and boomerangs mainly), and also carvings. The whole gallery tells the story of life. Spectacular.

Setting off back, we diverted to Wards Canyon – named after possum hunting brothers. The path followed a waterfall up to a narrow canyon where the only surviving King Ferns in Queensland live. Next was the Amphitheatre, which is what you would expect from the name – a circular cavern hollowed out by erosion. In between all of the canyons the landscape continued to impress. The sky had been partially overcast which was actually a blessing, as once the sun came out the temperature rose quickly and on the valley floor it would have been stifling if we had spent all day in the heat.

The final deviation was the Moss Garden canyon. Due to the layering of sandstone and shale it remains permanently wet, and a perfect habitat for moss. It was nice as it was quite cool, but coming from the UK the moss wasn’t as spectacular as we’d been led to believe.

The last few kilometres back in were hard. The culmination of an early start, lots of walking, and the heat build-up. Once back at the car park, the estimated 14km was showing as 16.7km. It felt like it too. The benefit of such an early start was that by lunchtime we were back on the campsite, able to take a cool shower and recover in the shade. It was still bloomin’ hot though.

We have spent a lot of time and effort getting to Carnarvon Gorge. It was time well spent. I would love to spend a few more days here, but I would probably end up spending a couple of years in Australia if I did that everywhere. The gorge is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.