Long Ride - Rest Days - Cairns

The Blue Meanies ... all three should've won
the Ugly Fish glassess but were happier to see
them auctioned to raise more money.

Arriving in Cairns signified the end of the 'official' Long Ride but certainly not an end to the journey, in fact it is only the halfway point of the physical ride and the start of the metaphorical journey to end prostate cancer.

This started with a gala dinner for all riders at the Pullman's International, one of Cairn's premier hotels, and a place where a great deal of us were staying.

The dinner was a fairly relaxed affair with everyone being encouraged to wear blue, obviously.  Then gents were encouraged to wear a blue bow tie which, some of us took very seriously.  Some even went a step further with the blue.  Painted nails were the order of the night, something which paid off later.

Although the dinner was informal and mostly a way of saying thank you, it was also an opportunity for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia to say thank you for the effort we had all put in and the money that had been raised.  We were also addressed by Mayor of Cairns, Cr Bob Manning OAM, who thanked us all for choosing his city for us to finish the ride in.  Then the real festivities began.

The blokes were quick to paint their
nails.  It got people in Cairns asking
questions, and that's a good thing.

It was a massive night that finished with a monsoonal type downpour but that didn't dampen the spirits of the revellers who retreated to the hotels bar before heading off across the road to the Cairns casino, a small and strange place.  The highlight was a weird bald bloke, shirtless and dancing like Peter Garret.  The rumour is that it's his job to start the punters partying.

The night ended reasonably late, and the next day started even later.  Yes, I was hungover, no I didn''t vomit, but God I felt terrible and spent most of the day in bed recovering.  The sleep was actually good so that I could get on with the sight seeing today, but not before a quick look around Cairns and dinner at a Brazilian BBQ restaurant.  Essentially it was just heaps of meat brought out on skewers, and oh my, it was some of the best meat I have ever had.

The night ended watching the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix, before waking up just 3 hours later to be picked up for a balloon flight out of Mareeba, sort of between Cairns and Port Douglas in the Atherton Tablelands.



Watcching the balloons fill with hot air.

The flight started at around 7am after chasing the first flight around the area before our chance came.  I've got say this was one of the most amazing things.  It was so serene up their as we climbed to around 1000 metres.  The air was so still and warm and then we drifted into a huge cloud stretching right across the sky from horizon to horizon.  What happened next was simply stunning.  Thee shadow of the balloon was being projected, almost tunnel like, through the cloud.  As it bent the sunlight it created a perfect circle rainbow around the shadow of the basket.  It was a fantastic site, so much so that the pilot took a photo of it.  He had seen this before but never so perfect.


Jay, the pilot at Hot Air Cairns, asked us about the Long Ride and said it was amazing what we were doing and would love to do something similar himself.  He's a rider himself.

The flight in the balloon was a little weird as the air was so still that we probably only travelled 1 kilometre and in a circle yet it was a great way to see this beautiful part of the world, the ride didn't last long enough and we were soon drifting over farm houses before landing in a paddock.  The landing was hilarious.  We hit the ground once, and bounced for a second landing before the basket tipped over. It was extremely gentle and we all had a great laugh.  We then helped the crew pack up the balloon.  I was surprised to learn that the balloon itself weights 350 kilograms, the same as my bike and yet it is only made of material similar to a tent.

After being wished well on our ride by Jay, we were driven to Kuranda to check the place out before catching the train back to Cairns.

After a quick breakfast I had to use the loo.  To my amazement they have the same issues with toilets here that we have in Melbourne, especially in some work places.  I had a chuckle and couldn't but think of Carl Pilkington, oh the simple things in life.

Next on the cards was a visit to three small zoos, located near the Kuranda Markets.  The Butterfly sanctuary, Bird World, and Koala World.

The rainbow in the clouds.

All three were great although, I think that the butterflies and birds were the most impressive.  The butterflies were simply beautiful, and it was amazing to learn about these creatures especially the Emperor Moth that can take years before they turn into a flying creature from a caterpillar.  They are then released to the wild in the hope that they can breed as they only have a few days of life.

 

Bird World was just a laugh as the cheeky little buggers would land on you in the search for food.  At one stage I had 2 of them one me making a mess, dropping crumbs all over me from the peanuts, before one shat on me, dirty bugger.  But apparently it's good luck.  Maybe that was seeing a customised XV1600 like mine.

I giuess the same problems are
everywhere.

Speaking to the owner it was clear he was a wanker, thought he was Clay from Sons of Anarchy.  My god he went on and on about how he had spent $15,000 on his bike and rode it all the way to Darwin at 160 kph, with his missus on the back.  Bullshit!  It was good to know that the bike was just about to tick over 200,000 k's, so there's still plenty of life in mine.

I did finally get to see a dinosaur skeleton at a small museum near the markets.  I was impressed.

The next part of the day consisted of a boat trip down the Barron River to learn about the rainforest and how it formed, the indigenous people and where they came from (believe it or not, the aboriginal people of the area can trace their DNA to that of people from Bangladesh), and how white people changed the land in various ways.

I've got to pracxtice my selfies.  Not so much
smiling and more pouting.

It was very interesting, and along the way we were able to feed turtles and a number of species of fish

(big buggers too) before we went further up river and saw a crocodile sat on a log and two others swimming.  This in a river 300 metres above sea level.  Apparently this is quite common for fresh water and these are the ones that supposed won't attack humans. At 2 metres long, and with razor sharp teeth I wouldn't take that chance.

As we were getting off the boat, we saw a snake in the water, it wasn't large but very long and fast.   It was actually a little frightening.

The next part of the day was just as impressive as the way it started.  The Kuranda Scenic Railway.



This railway started construction in 1886, and had anything up to 1500 men working on it at anyone time.  Officially opened in 1891, around 3 million cubic metres of earth were removed to construct the 37 kilometres of track.  It was built to serve the goldfields of the area, and consists of 15 hand-made tunnels, 55 bridges and 98 curves.  It's truly one of the worlds great railways, as it winds its way through some of the oldest rainforests on earth.  You can't believe the nature of this railway and where it goes,  it's certainly worth a look.

One of the most scenic railways anywhere.

The final thing of the day was a dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant.  A great meal with lots of laughs, and with some great people.

It's sad that we are leaving Cairns, I'll be back to this beautiful city that has really taken me by surprise, but the real adventure is now just beginning ... The Long Ride home.