Rex Lookout is a pull-in on the Captain Cook Highway, high on the headland between Cairns and Port Douglas, where the road leaves the cane fields and clings to a steep, green coastline. From the platform you look straight down onto a succession of bays, long white beaches, scattered islands and a sea that goes from pale green to deep blue. On a clear morning you can see all the way along the coast to the north, with the rainforest hills of the Daintree fading into haze.
The road itself is the reason to come. The highway between Cairns and Port Douglas is one of the finest coastal rides in Australia, cut into the side of the range with the sea on one hand and the jungle on the other. Bends are long, banked and open, the surface is generally good, and the views change at every corner. The range section, known as the Rex Range, climbs and descends in tight sweeps before dropping to the flat, palm-lined sections near Port Douglas. It can be busy with tourist traffic, particularly in the dry season, and the speed limits are lower than a rider would like. Police do patrol it.
At the lookout, you may see hang gliders and paragliders drifting off the ridge in the afternoon, using the sea breeze to hold them up. Wind at the headland is persistent, with gusts across the road, and you may find the bike twitching in the stronger puffs. Sunscreen and water are sensible, because the tropical sun here is fierce, even in the cooler months.
The land is part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, a stretch of rainforest that is among the oldest in the world, with plants whose ancestors go back to the age of the dinosaurs. The sea beneath is the Coral Sea, with the outer Great Barrier Reef some distance off the coast. Beware of the warnings along the beaches: this is crocodile country, and also home to stingers, the box jellyfish, from roughly October to May. Take notice of any signs and do not swim without checking.
For fuel, Port Douglas has stations, as does Craiglie, about fifteen kilometres from the lookout, and Cairns is the larger city to the south. There are cafes and food stalls along the highway at some of the beach settlements. The best times for the ride are early morning, when the light is soft and traffic is light, and the dry season from about May to October.