Why this ride
382 km from Wongaling Beach to Wongaling Beach, about 7 h 21 of riding. The stops in between: Component around Kurrimine Beach, Component around Moresby Range, Component around Russell River and Main component.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Component around Mission Beach and Main component
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 382 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 21
- 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 56 km this is Atherton Tablelands Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 56 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 Kurrimine Beach.
2. Component around Kurrimine Beach
Kurrimine Beach is a sleepy stretch of sand and coconut palms on the coast of Far North Queensland, between Innisfail and Mission Beach, and it sits at the meeting point of two World Heritage sites. Behind it, the rainforest-covered hills belong to the Wet Tropics of Queensland, listed by UNESCO in 1988 for their ancient forests, which are among the oldest continuously surviving rainforests on earth. In front of it, the Great Barrier Reef stretches out to sea. At very low tides, King Reef, just offshore, is exposed and you can walk out across the reef flats, one of the few places where the reef comes so close to the mainland.
Read the complete Component around Kurrimine Beach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Component around Kurrimine Beach comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Component around Moresby Range.
3. Component around Moresby Range
Innisfail had to rebuild itself after a cyclone flattened much of the town in 1918, and it chose to do so in the latest style. As a result, this sugar town on the Johnstone River has one of the finest collections of Art Deco buildings in Australia, with colourful façades, geometric patterns and elegant shopfronts lining the main streets. Just to the east, the Moresby Range runs down to the coast in a band of steep, rainforest-covered hills, part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage area, one of the oldest continuously surviving tropical rainforests on earth.
Read the complete Component around Moresby Range write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 64 km into the recorded legs you reach Component around Moresby Range. Next is Component around Russell River.
4. Component around Russell River
Rain is the first fact of life along the Russell River. The river drains the eastern slopes of the Bellenden Ker Range, south of Cairns in far north Queensland, and these mountains, including Bartle Frere, at 1,622 metres the highest peak in the state, catch the moist trade winds off the Coral Sea and wring out some of the heaviest rainfall in Australia. The result is a dense, steaming tropical rainforest that tumbles down the mountains to the coastal plain, part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area, listed in 1988. It is one of the oldest continuously surviving rainforests on earth.
Read the complete Component around Russell River write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Component around Russell River, about halfway. Next is Main component.
5. 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
Main component sits at 126 km, about halfway. Next is back through Component around Russell River.
6. back through Component around Russell River
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Component around Russell River 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 Russell River comes up about 258 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Component around Moresby Range.
7. back through Component around Moresby Range
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Component around Moresby Range write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 318 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Component around Moresby Range. Next is back through Component around Kurrimine Beach.
8. back through Component around Kurrimine Beach
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Component around Kurrimine Beach 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 Kurrimine Beach, late in the day. Next is Component around Mission Beach.
9. 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
The route ends here after 382 km.
Leg by leg
Component around Mission Beach to Component around Kurrimine Beach
Component around Mission Beach → Component around Kurrimine Beach is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Component around Kurrimine Beach to Component around Moresby Range
Component around Kurrimine Beach → Component around Moresby Range is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Component around Moresby Range to Component around Russell River
Component around Moresby Range → Component around Russell River is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Component around Russell River to Main component
Component around Russell River → Main component is 72 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Main component to back through Component around Russell River
Main component → back through Component around Russell River is 66 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Component around Russell River to back through Component around Moresby Range
back through Component around Russell River → back through Component around Moresby Range is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Component around Moresby Range to back through Component around Kurrimine Beach
back through Component around Moresby Range → back through Component around Kurrimine Beach is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Component around Kurrimine Beach to Component around Mission Beach
back through Component around Kurrimine Beach → Component around Mission Beach is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.