I started in Brisbane and took the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail out of town. It was honestly pretty rugged: only 10% of it was paved and most of the old rail bridges were shut, so you had to ride down these steep gullies and climb back out. But it was incredibly easy to wild camp, there were shelters every twenty kilometers or so.
I took another rail trail from Kingaroy to Wondai and started my first backroads in earnest. I largely stuck to an inland route, visiting Proston, Gayndah, Monto, and Biloela before taking a quiet sealed road to the Capricorn Highway, which was not quiet at all. In fact, it was probably the worst riding of the entire trip: the shoulder was rarely more than a meter wide and there was an insane amount of road train traffic, at least until Emerald. (This highway seems to be a corridor for the various mines and heavy industries exporting their wares through Rockhampton.)
Emerald weirdly enough was my favorite city of the lot: tons of public murals/mosaics, an exceptionally good council art gallery, and a dirt cheap caravan park, only $9 AUD per night. I rode out to see the fossicking areas in Sapphire and Rubyvale, then took my first foray into the Outback by taking the Gregory Developmental Road all the way to Charters Towers. There’s not much to recommend it apart from ample freedom camping.
Townsville was next on the itinerary. I took my sweet time exploring the environs, spending three nights in the suburbs and two nights on Magnetic Island, which was absolutely worth the visit. It’s a very quiet, tiny place with virtually no car traffic. I basically chilled on the beach for two whole days, lol.
The next phase was riding north to Port Douglas via the Bruce Highway. I tried my best to stay off of it, doing side trips to Paluma (1000-meter ascent!), Mission Beach, and Paronella Park, which is absolutely the way to go, otherwise it becomes a treacherous slog. Cairns had a lot going on, but the weather started getting rainy toward Port Douglas, so I went no further north than Mossman before ascending the tablelands via Mount Molloy. This region was a highlight of the trip: green, verdant, cultivated, and lots of little side roads and quaint towns. It reminded me immensely of Hawaii.
The last phase in Queensland was all Outback. I took the Savannah Way from Ravenshoe to Karumba, then dipped down to Cloncurry, visited the defunct uranium mine at Mary Kathleen, and recharged in Mount Isa, the last real city until Tennant Creek, deep in Northern Territory. The Savannah Way was probably the best riding of the lot: towns every 150 km or so and very little traffic, although probably 20% of it was single-lane seal with large dirt shoulders. The Flinders Highway to Mount Isa was actually quite scenic, with lots of twists and turns and modest climbs. But the Barkly Highway was just plain dull—just rest areas every 100 km or so until it meets the Stuart at Three Ways Roadhouse.
If the weather was drier, I would’ve spent more time in Daintree National Park, but the forecast called for five straight days of rain and it sounded like miserable riding. I didn’t see a single crocodile. Otherwise, there’s nothing I would’ve done differently. The sweet spot of cycle touring so far as I’m concerned is the narrow corridor between the super developed coast and the rugged Outback. The towns here might be 50 to 100 km apart, but they have good services (grocery stores, tap water, free wifi, cell service, etc.) and often have free camps to lure in grey nomads. The Outback has plenty of free camps but too few services, while the coast has the opposite problem, not to mention the traffic can be miserable.
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I started in Brisbane and took the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail out of town. It was honestly pretty rugged: only 10% of it was paved and most of the old rail bridges were shut, so you had to ride down these steep gullies and climb back out. But it was incredibly easy to wild camp, there were shelters every twenty kilometers or so.
I took another rail trail from Kingaroy to Wondai and started my first backroads in earnest. I largely stuck to an inland route, visiting Proston, Gayndah, Monto, and Biloela before taking a quiet sealed road to the Capricorn Highway, which was not quiet at all. In fact, it was probably the worst riding of the entire trip: the shoulder was rarely more than a meter wide and there was an insane amount of road train traffic, at least until Emerald. (This highway seems to be a corridor for the various mines and heavy industries exporting their wares through Rockhampton.)
Emerald weirdly enough was my favorite city of the lot: tons of public murals/mosaics, an exceptionally good council art gallery, and a dirt cheap caravan park, only $9 AUD per night. I rode out to see the fossicking areas in Sapphire and Rubyvale, then took my first foray into the Outback by taking the Gregory Developmental Road all the way to Charters Towers. There’s not much to recommend it apart from ample freedom camping.
Townsville was next on the itinerary. I took my sweet time exploring the environs, spending three nights in the suburbs and two nights on Magnetic Island, which was absolutely worth the visit. It’s a very quiet, tiny place with virtually no car traffic. I basically chilled on the beach for two whole days, lol.
The next phase was riding north to Port Douglas via the Bruce Highway. I tried my best to stay off of it, doing side trips to Paluma (1000-meter ascent!), Mission Beach, and Paronella Park, which is absolutely the way to go, otherwise it becomes a treacherous slog. Cairns had a lot going on, but the weather started getting rainy toward Port Douglas, so I went no further north than Mossman before ascending the tablelands via Mount Molloy. This region was a highlight of the trip: green, verdant, cultivated, and lots of little side roads and quaint towns. It reminded me immensely of Hawaii.
The last phase in Queensland was all Outback. I took the Savannah Way from Ravenshoe to Karumba, then dipped down to Cloncurry, visited the defunct uranium mine at Mary Kathleen, and recharged in Mount Isa, the last real city until Tennant Creek, deep in Northern Territory. The Savannah Way was probably the best riding of the lot: towns every 150 km or so and very little traffic, although probably 20% of it was single-lane seal with large dirt shoulders. The Flinders Highway to Mount Isa was actually quite scenic, with lots of twists and turns and modest climbs. But the Barkly Highway was just plain dull—just rest areas every 100 km or so until it meets the Stuart at Three Ways Roadhouse.
If the weather was drier, I would’ve spent more time in Daintree National Park, but the forecast called for five straight days of rain and it sounded like miserable riding. I didn’t see a single crocodile. Otherwise, there’s nothing I would’ve done differently. The sweet spot of cycle touring so far as I’m concerned is the narrow corridor between the super developed coast and the rugged Outback. The towns here might be 50 to 100 km apart, but they have good services (grocery stores, tap water, free wifi, cell service, etc.) and often have free camps to lure in grey nomads. The Outback has plenty of free camps but too few services, while the coast has the opposite problem, not to mention the traffic can be miserable.