Cairns afternoon · Component around Lake Eacham

241 km from Cairns

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Why this ride

A 241 km round trip from Cairns City - roughly 4 h 09 in the saddle. The stops in between: Main component, Component around Malbon Thompson and Graha, Component around Lake Barrine and Component around Lake Eacham.

Roadbook

1. Cairns start

   Cairns sits in the tropical far north of Queensland, with the Coral Sea on one side and a wall of rainforest mountains on the other, and the whole town is organised around the idea of being a launch pad. Boats leave daily for the Great Barrier Reef, small planes head for Cape York, and the road north runs up to the Daintree, where the oldest rainforest on earth meets the beach. The town was founded in the 1870s as a port for the goldfields at Hodgkinson River and later became a sugar and tourism centre. It is not especially pretty in the old-town sense, but the Esplanade, with its saltwater lagoon, mudflats full of waders and cheerful backpackers, has a relaxed tropical air.

   The reason a rider starts here is the Tablelands. From Cairns you climb the Kuranda Range, or take the Gillies Highway, which twists up through some hundreds of bends in a few kilometres of forest, and then reach the cool, dairy-farm plateau around Atherton, with crater lakes, waterfalls and volcanic soil. It is tremendous motorcycle country, with smooth asphalt, good camber and generally respectful traffic, and the contrast between sweaty coast and cool upland is part of the pleasure. Look out for cassowaries on the roads in the rainforest, which are big, dangerous birds, and for tour buses on the narrow bends.

   The wet season, roughly December to April, brings humidity, cyclones and flooded roads, and the stingers, box jellyfish, make swimming in the sea inadvisable then. From May to October the weather is dry and mild, which is the ideal riding time. Mornings are the freshest and clearest, and the mountains can be shrouded in cloud by afternoon.

   Everything is easy in Cairns, from fuel stations to repair shops, hotels and restaurants. The pedestrian-friendly night markets and the Rusty's Markets in the daytime sell fruit like mangosteen, rambutan and custard apples, and there is good seafood, including barramundi and Moreton Bay bugs. Once you leave town the stations thin out in the hills, but Kuranda, Mareeba and Atherton all have fuel, so just keep an eye on the gauge. Pack a rain jacket whatever the forecast, and sunscreen for the lowlands.

2. Main component sight

   Inland from the cane fields south of Cairns, the land rears up into a wall of rainforest so dense that the ridgelines seem to steam after every shower. Gordonvale lies about fourteen kilometres to the north, Babinda a little further south, and the tableland town of Yungaburra up over the range to the west.

   This forest is old in a way few places are. It holds lineages of plants that date back to Gondwana, when Australia was still joined to Antarctica, and it shelters creatures you will not see elsewhere: the cassowary, a flightless bird as tall as a person that should be given the road and plenty of room, tree kangaroos, musky rat-kangaroos and electric blue Ulysses butterflies. Above it all stands Bartle Frere, Queensland's highest mountain, usually wrapped in cloud. The Aboriginal rainforest peoples of this country, among them the Yidinji, have lived here for many thousands of years and still hold the land's stories.

   For riders, the nearby Gillies Range Road is the headline act: a climb from the coastal flats near Gordonvale up to the Atherton Tableland, with a famously long sequence of tight bends packed into a short stretch. It is a joy on a dry morning and a slippery, leaf-strewn test after rain, which here is often. Watch for caravans crawling uphill, cyclists, and wildlife at dawn and dusk. The Bruce Highway along the coast is flat, busy and dull by comparison, so use it only to link the good bits.

   Gordonvale has fuel, a bakery or two and a pub, and Babinda is known for its Boulders, a swimming hole in clear mountain water, though signs warn that the currents there have claimed lives and should be taken seriously. The dry season from about May to October is by far the most comfortable time; in the wet, cyclones and flooded causeways can shut roads for days. Bring rain gear whatever the forecast says.

3. Component around Malbon Thompson and Graha sight

   South of Cairns, the coastal plain narrows between the sea and a wall of mountains that includes Bartle Frere, at 1,622 metres the highest peak in Queensland, and its neighbour Bellenden Ker. The ranges here are covered in dense rainforest, among the oldest on earth, and they form part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland, listed by UNESCO in 1988.

   The rainforest here is extraordinarily rich, with ancient plant lineages, giant trees, palms, vines and ferns, and animals found nowhere else, including tree kangaroos, the musky rat-kangaroo and many species of frogs and birds. The southern cassowary, a large, flightless bird with a bright blue head and a horn-like casque, lives in these forests; it is endangered and can be dangerous if approached, so slow down when you see warning signs on the road. Rainfall here is among the highest in Australia, and Babinda is often cited as one of the wettest towns in the country.

   The riding is varied. The Bruce Highway along the coast is busy and fairly straight, running through sugar cane fields with the mountains rising to the west. But just west of Gordonvale, the Gillies Range Road climbs steeply up to the Atherton Tableland, with a famous sequence of hundreds of bends in a short distance, a challenging and exhilarating ride through rainforest, with views back over the coast. On the Tableland, roads wind through dairy country, past crater lakes and waterfalls. Watch out for slippery surfaces after rain, which is frequent, and for cane trains crossing the roads during the harvest season.

   Gordonvale has a curious claim to fame: it was here, in 1935, that cane toads were first released in Australia to control pests in the sugar cane, a decision with disastrous consequences, as the toads spread across the continent. A statue of a cane toad in the town commemorates the event. Nearby, the Babinda Boulders, a series of pools and granite boulders in a rainforest creek, are a popular swimming spot, though people have drowned there, so heed the warnings.

   Gordonvale, about twenty kilometres away, has fuel, shops and cafés; Cairns has everything. The best time to ride is the dry season, from May to October, when the weather is warm and sunny; the wet season brings heavy rain, flooding and the risk of cyclones.

4. Component around Lake Barrine sight

   Lake Barrine fills a volcanic crater on the Atherton Tablelands, a deep round lake fringed by dense rainforest, formed by a violent volcanic explosion many thousands of years ago when rising magma met groundwater. Its sister lake, Lake Eacham, lies a few kilometres away, and both are part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Site. The water is clear and deep, and the rainforest around it is home to some remarkable creatures: Lumholtz's tree kangaroos, musky rat-kangaroos, Boyd's forest dragons and many birds.

   A walking track circles the lake through the forest, passing giant trees, strangler figs and a pair of huge kauri pines near the teahouse. The teahouse on the shore has been a stop for travellers for generations, and a boat cruise on the lake offers a chance to see turtles, eels and birds. Early morning, with mist on the water and the calls of birds in the forest, is magical.

   Lake Barrine sits right on the Gillies Highway, the road that climbs from Gordonvale on the coastal plain up to the tablelands. Coming up from the coast, the road is a seemingly endless series of hairpins and switchbacks through the rainforest, and Lake Barrine is often the first stop after the climb, a place to catch your breath and have a cup of tea. Going down, the road is equally demanding, with steep descents and tight bends, and it requires full concentration, especially in the wet.

   The tablelands are a patchwork of farmland, rainforest remnants and small towns, with volcanic cones and crater lakes scattered across the landscape. The soil is rich and red, and dairy farms, avocado orchards and sugar cane fields surround the towns. The climate is mild, and the roads across the tablelands are relaxed and scenic, with plenty of opportunities to explore.

   Fuel is available in Yungaburra, six kilometres away, and in Atherton and Malanda. Lake Eacham is a popular swimming spot, with clear water and a small beach, and swimming there on a hot day is a delight. Cassowaries are sometimes seen in the area; if you meet one, keep your distance and do not feed it.

5. Component around Lake Eacham turn

   Lake Eacham is a hole in the ground filled with water. About ten thousand years ago, magma met groundwater beneath the Atherton Tablelands and the ground blew apart in a steam explosion, leaving a deep, round crater that gradually filled with rain. Today it is a lake about sixty-five metres deep, ringed with rainforest and clear enough that you can see turtles in the shallows. It is part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland, a World Heritage Area inscribed in 1988.

   The forest around the lake is dense and ancient, with giant trees, strangler figs, ferns, orchids and palms. Southern cassowaries, huge flightless birds with blue necks, still live in this area, and signs warn drivers to slow down for them. Platypus can sometimes be seen at dusk in the creeks nearby, particularly around Yungaburra, the small village about five kilometres away, and the Curtain Fig Tree, an enormous strangler fig with aerial roots hanging like a curtain, is a short drive from the village.

   Swimming in the lake is popular, with a path around the shore and picnic tables under the trees. The water is cool, clear and soft, and there are no crocodiles. Early in the morning, mist rises off the surface and the birdsong is loud.

   Reaching the Tablelands from the coast is part of the fun. The Gillies Range road, which climbs from the lowlands near Gordonvale to the plateau, is famous among riders for its 263 bends, tight and well surfaced, through rainforest. It can be wet and slippery, with leaf litter on the road, and trucks are a hazard. The tablelands themselves are green, rolling farmland with dairy herds, lakes and small towns.

   Yungaburra has a few cafes and a pub, and Malanda and Atherton, both larger, have fuel and supermarkets. The wet season runs from December to April, with heavy rain, while the dry season, from May to November, is the best time to visit. Evenings are cool at altitude.

6. back through Component around Lake Barrine stop

   back through Component around Lake Barrine comes up 151 km in.

7. back through Component around Malbon Thompson and Graha stop
8. back through Main component stop

   back through Main component, late in the day.

9. Cairns finish

   The route ends here after 241 km.

Where this sits

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