Day One: Coral Sea Coast, Daintree Rainforest, Port Douglas, and Outback Hinterland
Join us as we thread north out of Cairns on The Captain Cook Highway - a scenic ribbon of road that bursts with vistas of rainforest-smothered peaks stacked atop lush cane fields.

The ride then gets phenomenally involving and scenic as we tackle Australia's most stunning coastal road, drinking in endless Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef vistas en route to Port Douglas.










Just a short ride north of Palm Cove, the highway opens out to reveal sensational views of steep rainforest peaks tumbling down to meet lush strips of sand. One really needs to stop to take in all this riotous beauty, and the best place for this is the Ellis Beach Bar and Grill, a real coastal retreat beside tropic seas sizzling on an ivory carpet beach. A beach that is yours – all yours.

The gogglingly gorgeous views are not over yet though – not by a long shot. Driving north to Port Douglas, the highway really gets into its serpentine and scenic stride – a cliff-hugging, swooping and meandering scribble of road that alternately plunges into tunnels of rainforest and bursts with blinding Coral Sea views. Simply sensational.

Time for a change of pace now, and to exchange excited breathlessness with a breathtaking luxury wilderness experience at Thala Beach Lodge, a snug retreat installed amid the feathery crowns of the coastal rainforest.

Morning tea is served amid the busy flittings of 34 varieties of butterflies including the electric blue Ulysses butterfly and Cairns Birdwing butterfly, as well as a rare parade of 101 species of birds including the White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Thala's mascot) and raucous flocks of exotic Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos.

After lunch in Port Douglas, we hit the wide open road north to Mossman, where a dip in the cool, fresh, and deliciously drinkable waters of Mossman Gorge may be in order.

 

 

 

 

Heading inland now, we tip in to the riot of tropical abundance that is the twisty Rex Range Highway, ascending to the cool curves of the Cairns Highlands. Time to get the bikes into their stride now through a succession of series of sweeping bends, leading to wide open termite mound-studded plains, red earth hills and eucalypts - and an inimitably Aussie bush experience.



With time for a breather at the lush Mareeba Wetlands and a face-to-face with some wild wallabies, we hit the open road again for a cruise through Cairns Highlands sweepers en route to the Kuranda Range Road, where the going turns invitingly twisty again and a tunnel of richly complex rainforest envelops the road, delivering a feast for the senses - all the whoops, whistles, sweet aromas and visual feasts the Tropical North is famous for.

As we descend the endlessly varied turns of the Kuranda Range, views of The Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef at Green Island flood the skyline as the city of Cairns comes into view, nestled between mountains at the head of Trinity Inlet.

 

Day One: Coral Sea Coast, Daintree Rainforest, Port Douglas, Cape Tribulation
Join us as we thread north out of Cairns on The Captain Cook Highway - a scenic ribbon of road that bursts with vistas of rainforest-smothered peaks stacked atop lush cane fields. The ride then gets phenomenally involving and scenic as we tackle Australia's most stunning coastal road, drinking in endless Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef vistas en route to Port Douglas.

Just a short ride north of Palm Cove, the highway opens out to reveal sensational views of steep rainforest peaks tumbling down to meet lush strips of sand. One really needs to stop to take in all this riotous beauty, and the best place for this is the Ellis Beach Bar and Grill, a real coastal retreat beside tropic seas sizzling on an ivory carpet beach. A beach that is yours – all yours.

The gogglingly gorgeous views are not over yet though – not by a long shot. Driving north to Port Douglas, the highway really gets into its serpentine and scenic stride – a cliff-hugging, swooping and meandering scribble of road that alternately plunges into tunnels of rainforest and bursts with blinding Coral Sea views. Simply sensational.

Time for a change of pace now, and to exchange excited breathlessness with a breathtaking luxury wilderness experience at Thala Beach Lodge, a snug retreat installed amid the feathery crowns of the coastal rainforest. Morning tea is served amid the busy flittings of 34 varieties of butterflies including the electric blue Ulysses butterfly and Cairns Birdwing butterfly, as well as a rare parade of 101 species of birds including the White-bellied Sea-Eagle (Thala's mascot) and raucous flocks of exotic Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos.

After lunch in Port Douglas, we hit the wide open road north to Mossman, where a dip in the cool, fresh, and deliciously drinkable waters of Mossman Gorge may be in order.

Heading north into the heart of the World Heritage-Listed Daintree Rainforest now, and a feeling of frontier-exploring as you ride your bike onto the Daintree River Ferry - the gateway to Cape York.

With just enough time on hand to shoot some memorable photos and chat with fellow travellers, it's off at the northern side of the Daintree River - and time to plunge into the dense lushness of the Daintree Rainforest proper.

The road to Cape Tribulation is undoubtedly THE highlight of any motorcycling journey in Tropical North Queensland.

 

 

 

Cocooned by riotous growths of rainforest, it twists and winds and dips and climbs around giant buttress roots, thick glossy stands of fan palms, and over 600 varieties of rainforest foliage - a stunning feast for the senses.

Everything you could ever want in a spectacular bike ride is here: tight twisty roads, wide open sweepers, massive mountain vistas, dozens of wooden bridges spanning cool clear rivers and at the end of it all, the spectacle of Cape Tribulation's ivory carpet beaches and
rainforest-smothered headlands.