Week 8 mileage
Day 50: Cairns: 64km (up toward Port Douglas for a look)
Day 51: Cairns to Townsville: 347kms
Day 52: Townsville to Mackay: 389kms
Day 53: Mackay to Gladstone: 443kms
Day 54: Gladstone to Hervey Bay: 282kms
Day 55: Hervey Bay to Brisbane: 289kms
Day 56: Brisbane
Week 8 mileage: 1,814kms
Total trip mileage: 15,250kms
Hi all
Welcome to the Week 8 blog!
I have finally reached the east coast and made it to Brisbane. Out of the (sometimes) wilderness, and into the traffic and the heavily populated towns and cities I go.
I was excited to reach Cairns. A great mate of mine, a fella who actually moved my admission (i.e. stood up in court and got me admitted as a lawyer) lives and works in Cairns, so I spent a few days on his couch exploring the area and having a few good meals and beers out and about.
Cairns and its surrounds are beautiful. It is another place I had never been, and I will definitely be making another trip up to visit at some point to escape the SA winter.
Cairns was also bigger than I expected and has a very rich backpacker and tourism vibe – it all makes for a pretty coastal/holiday town vibe, I like it.
From Cairns it was off to Townsville, not the longest ride but still an enjoyable one. Some of the views of the ranges and rivers are spectacular.
I dropped in to visit Ray and Ronnie in Cardwell on my way down, friends of my grandparents. I had committed to making Townsville and having dinner with a friend, so just stopped in for a coffee. It was lovely to meet and chat with them both.
I had heard about their trips to Karumba through my grandparents, and a coffee stop off is always welcome. Cardwell is located half way between Cairns and Townsville, so was a welcome rest. I know Ray reads my blog, so thanks for the coffee and chat Ray!
Reaching Townsville, it was off to the pub for a catch up and dinner with another friend, before a relatively early night for me. I wanted to be up early to catch the sunrise from the top of Castle Hill, and boy did that not disappoint. I rode up and passed many brave souls on their morning run to the top, no thanks. The view was pretty special though:
View from the top of Castle Hill, Townsville. Beautiful.
From Townsville I spent an odd ride literally being followed by rain all the way down to Mackay. It got to a point where I would stop for fuel, look to the horizon behind me to see it clearing up, look to the horizon in front of me to see it clear, and then jump on the bike only for the rainclouds to stay firmly above me and remind me of how much fun it is to ride through pouring rain.
I was keen to reach Mackay though, as another friend was visiting for the day for her work – a massive coincidence. Was great to catch up with her, have a beer, and quit riding for the day. I also met some good people at a local pub that night, resulting in a few free beers for me and $80 odd in donations to my ride, cheers to that!
The next day I was off to Gladstone, a small detour to check out this massive mining town. Again, I had spent time at work on some transactions centred around this area – it was astonishing to see the size of the machinery and plants around town!
Other than that (and sorry to Gladstone residents) I was content to rest up and take it pretty easy.
I had planned to reach Noosa the next day, the first place on my ride I had already been to since heading West from SA!
However, detouring out to look at Hervey Bay, I was done for the day – what a beautiful place.
Originally stopping for coffee, sitting on the esplanade I decided to spend the rest of the day/night right where I was. It is such a beautiful, charming coastal area, and I will certainly be back.
The day then arrived for me to reach Brisbane, my home city for the past 3 and a half years.
Riding into the city felt a bit strange, knowing I am there not for work at all, but purely for my hospital visit (well and visiting work to update my old firm on what I am up to!) is a different feeling.
It is lovely to be here though and I am staying with one of my close friends, so it is a nice chance for me to kick back and relax for a few days.
Apologies for the lack of photos this week, the rain and my general poor awareness of snapping photos got the best of me. Will try and take some good snaps this week! On that note, I did have a query on what my bike looks like fully loaded with my gear, so here is a random photo of my loaded bike in front of some lovely scenery back when I was in WA!
The pride and joy all loaded up.
For me, it is now off to the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital tomorrow for my next personal donation, my old law firm on Wednesday to chat about what I am up to, and fitting in a few coffees and dinners with friends I have not seen in some time.
Donation update and call to action
As I write this, $27,394 has been donated to the Children’s Cancer Foundation! With my matching donations directed toward hospitals around Australia, this means that, as a team, we have pledged $54,788 in the battle against childhood cancer! Thank you so much to you all.
As always, you can donate by clicking here.
Please do chuck in a few dollars if you can spare them, every single donation is greatly appreciated by the Foundation and myself.
All the best for the week ahead.
James