Why this ride
From Wongaling Beach it runs 435 km to Wongaling Beach; allow about 7 h 20 of riding. On the way it passes Component around Malaan, Main component and back through Component around Malaan. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Component around Mission Beach and Main component starting at Wongaling Beach
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 435 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 20
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Atherton Tablelands Loop
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 100 km this is Atherton Tablelands Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 100 km
- Named road
- Atherton Tablelands Loop
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Component around Mission Beach
The cassowary crossing signs around Mission Beach are not a joke, and the bird they warn you about is not a small one. This stretch of coast between Tully and Innisfail is one of the last strongholds of the southern cassowary, a dinosaur-looking creature with a blue head and a horned casque, and the rainforest that runs right down to the sand here is part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage area. Few places on earth put ancient forest and a palm-fringed beach this close together.
Read the complete Component around Mission Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Component around Mission Beach is where the day begins. Next is Component around Malaan.
2. Component around Malaan
Up on the Atherton Tableland, behind Cairns in far north Queensland, the land rises from the hot coastal plain to a cooler plateau of volcanic soil, rolling farmland and patches of dense rainforest. Near Ravenshoe, which claims to be the highest town in Queensland, the forest around Malaan is one of the components of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage site, a long strip of tropical rainforest along the coast and the Great Dividing Range that contains some of the oldest continuously surviving rainforest on Earth. The forests are home to tree kangaroos, possums, rare frogs and birds, and, in the lowlands, the cassowary, a large flightless bird with a bony crest that is best admired from a distance.
Read the complete Component around Malaan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Component around Malaan comes up about 117 km into the recorded legs. Next is Main component.
3. Main component
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.
Read the complete Main component write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 217 km into the recorded legs you reach Main component. Next is back through Component around Malaan.
4. back through Component around Malaan
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Component around Malaan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Component around Malaan, late in the day. Next is Component around Mission Beach.
5. Component around Mission Beach
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Component around Mission Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Component around Mission Beach. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Component around Mission Beach to Component around Malaan
Component around Mission Beach → Component around Malaan is 117 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Component around Malaan to Main component
Component around Malaan → Main component is 100 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Main component to back through Component around Malaan
Main component → back through Component around Malaan is 97 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Component around Malaan to Component around Mission Beach
back through Component around Malaan → Component around Mission Beach is 121 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.