Arrived back in Cairns yesterday well rested after 2 days at sea; now it's time to get back on the bike for another in the series of rides taken from the Lonely Planet Cycling Australia guide; this is a 5 day ride around the Atherton Tablelands. Encouraged by the forecast which suggests that the weather will remain fine over the next few days.
Heading north from Cairns retracing the first part of the route I took 3 weeks ago towards Port Douglas, after about 14km I branched off along the Kennedy Highway which climbed steeply for about 10km. It was a hard slog and I envied the people ascending effortlessly in the cabins of the Skyrail which loomed overhead:
After 27kms I reached Kuranda and stopped for lunch. I took a quick look around the markets for which the town is famous, and saw the wrecked plane (it didn't crash, it's a relic from a film set):
There are a number of impressive fig trees in this attractive village:
Historic railway station
Nearby are the mighty Barron Falls, viewed from a lookout reached via a scenic walkway through the rainforest:
The route onward continued to climb steadily. I reached Mareeba, the destination for the day, around 5pm, having climbed around 400 metres.
Mareeba was until recently a major tobacco-growing centre and some of the buildings in the town centre reflect this.
Distance today, a hilly 79kms.
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