Around Lake Tinaroo

Far North Queensland in the wet season isn't the best place for bicycle touring/bikepacking. It's hot, humid, and wet, and this in turn brings out the bugs also. Torrential rain showers can also wash-away roads and make creek crossings impassable. With this in mind then, I didn't do much over the past 3 or 4 months since my adventures on the CREB track.

At the end of the wet season in mid-March, I decided for a relatively simple trip around Lake Tinaroo in the Atherton Tablelands. At about 75Km and not too many stiff climbs, I thought it would be a pleasant enough re-introduction to the saddle.

If it wasn't for the fact that I still had a bit of a rotten cold - which had already postponed the trip by one week - it would've been a nice easy ride. However, it was a bit exhausting, and then an unexpected rain shower cut things short and forced me out of an overnight camp, as I and my gear were soaking wet. Along with not feeling particularly well, I thought it prudent just to make it a day trip.

The highlights of the trip were the flora and fauna rather than the scenery, although the fig trees were a kind of scenery in and of themselves. My first stop was to see if I could spot and platypuses in Yungaburra. I had driven through Yungaburra and visited this spot once before, but I didn't manage to find any. I got lucky this time and saw two, and managed to get a nice video of one of them, included in my vlog below.

It is one of the great pleasures about living in Australia to see incredibly unique wildlife, and it doesn't get too much more special than a platypus. Another Australian animal ticked-off the list. Next on my radar is a tree kangaroo, which were supposed to be around in this region, especially near the Curtain Fig Tree - my next stop - but as with most animals that spend most of their time in trees, they are difficult to find.

Kairi was one of only two towns along the way on this trip, and it was pretty tiny. I stopped for a quick snack and headed to Lake Tinaroo, which is on the edge of the rainforest to the north and the farmlands to the south. 

From Lake Barrine the route had been on sealed road, but just past Tinaroo Dam the road turned unsealed, but in very good condition and mostly quite gently undulating all the way around the lake, with regular places to stop. The route is actually a very good beginner ride as an introduction to bikepacking, so perhaps I did the CREB track and this ride the wrong way around.

Wildlife was still plentiful along the way around the lake; butterflies and birds were colourful and numerous, and I was lucky enough to catch site of a large monitor lizard climbing a tree just off the track.

One of the great things about Far North Queensland is that there is always a creek in the mountains to cool-off in, however at this time of year there is always the chance of getting munched by mosquitoes and march flies. A dip or two is needed though in the heat at this time of year, and a little more than halfway through the day with the sun shining, even a soak in the creek didn't keep the heat away for long. That was until an unexpected torrential rain shower came out of nowhere to cut the trip short. All of a sudden I experienced feeling cold for the first time in about 6 months.

This shower really kicked in just as I set-off for a walk, and by the time I got back much of my gear got a soaking. The rain came so unexpectedly that I hadn't even sealed my bags properly. I was only walking for ten minutes, but it was enough for me to reconsider camping overnight. I suppose in the tropics at the back of the wet season I should have known better.

Instead of taking the detour to my planned camping area, I used the fact I was getting cold to get the muscles firing to warm me up and sprint back to the car so I could get home in time for dinner. An interesting day out and a good learning experience about cycling in the tropics.