Cairns…

The farther north we got, the hotter it became…

Mercifully, Cairns was barely a four hour ride from Townsville...

The sun beat down on my back like a hammer, and rivulets of sweat ran down my back… By the time I reached Redlynch, and the home of my hosts, Alan and Helen Mclaren, I was in overheating mode…

Parked in the McLaren's driveway in Cairns... Clouds pour over the mountains in the background, and soon thereafter, a light drizzle settled over the area... I hoped the following day would be drier...!!

The ride up to Cairns had been a rather dreary affair, with not much to see, as I recall, but one we got past Cardwell and Kennedy, things improved…

The road ran closer to the low mountain range that forms the northern part of Australia’s “Great Dividing Range”, a set of mountains that runs like a backbone, all the way up the Eastern seaboard…

Cairns is labeled the “City in a Garden”, and the lush green tropical forests that the town seems to be built in, confirms this statement… The bird life here is prolific to say the least, and many species of parrot darted across the road as I made my way around the western side of the CBD, and headed north towards Redlynch…

I arrived at the home of Alan and Helen McLaren in the late afternoon, and was greeted by Alan himself, who showed me to their spare room and made sure I had all that I needed… The Burmese cat that was sleeping peacefully on the chair in my room, was rudely awakened when I swung my jacket over the back of the chair…!! I am not sure who got the biggest fright, as the cat was the same colour as the chair and I never saw it until my jacket “touched down”…!!

Out in the “backyard” a chestnut horse grazed contentedly in it’s paddock, while Alan and I cracked a few cold ones and got to know each other… Both he and his wife Helen are teachers by profession, and their children Riley and Lochlin are successful show-jumpers and downhill mountain bike racers, respectfully… Lochlin recently placed third in his age group in the Australian Championships, and hopes to be selected for the Australian team who will tour Switzerland next year.

Riley is currently recovering from knee surgery, which not see her doing any show jumping for some time to come…!!

Passed this truck on the way into Cairns... South Africans might appreciate the humour in the license plate...!!

Alan and I discussed my plans for the ride to Cooktown the following day, and suggested that I try both of the roads that link Cairns to Cooktown, and take in Port Douglas on the way…

“A lot of celebrities spend time in Port Douglas…” he told me, “Pink has been here, and Keith Richards hangs about from time to time… Keanu Reeves has rented a home here too…!!”

I mentioned that Keith Richards was at that very moment in his house on Parrot Cay, where Patricia was based, and the mention of his name did not make me think as much of the Rolling Stones as it did of Patricia, who was so far away from me at that moment, and would be for a long time to come…

My host in Cairns, Alan McLaren...

After a great pasta dinner, I headed for bed earlier than I usually did, wanting to make as early a start as possible the following morning, even though Cooktown was less than 400 km away… I have become so used to long rides here in Australia, that 400 km is beginning to feel like a “breakfast run”…!!

“You’ll love the road up the coast to Port Douglas… It comes right down to the edge of the sea in places…!!” were Alan’s parting words as he too went to confer with the sandman…

I lay awake for a short while, reminding myself that Cooktown was as far north as I would be going on the east coast, and after that, it would be back to Brisbane to begin the next leg of my journey…

©GBWT 2011