Motor Trail Day Nine

Cobbold Gorge to Cardwell.

Team P7 was to man the first checkpoint this morning. We headed out following the Scout and a couple of other officials. The combination of early morning sun and dusty roads made for potentially dangerous conditions and ensured a very slow start to the day.

We made it to our checkpoint just outside Forsayth and set the girls up with their feed of Nutri Grain. This raised a smile and quite a few comments from the other Trailers as they passed.

We eventually joined the rear of the group and made our way as Sweep vehicle. We caught the group up at Einasleigh for Morning Tea. The next leg was a long one up to Blencoe Falls, along a mix of highway and narrow dirt tracks. This was to be too great a distance for the girls so we set up under a tree, next to a herd of cattle, and had a little picnic.

Eventually we rejoined the convoy at Blencoe, then led them out on the final leg to Cardwell.

The track down over the range was interesting, but the recent rains had made it extremely rough and it did get a bit monotous after some time. The dense canopy made our GPS useless and it was impossible to keep accurate track of our trip notes.

There were a few surprises on the road, but nothing that presented any problems to the well-prepared convoy.

We eventually made our way out of the hills and into Cardwell for dinner at the local Coast Guard.

Our keys were handed to us at the end of dinner and we proceeded in convoy, for the last time, to our accomodation at Port Hinchinbrook.

Once at Port Hinchinbrook, confusion reigned supreme as we tried firstly to find our building, then a carpark, then some linen for the bed ... despite the instructions to call the resident manager on '9' the lack of a phone in the rooms was a little frustrating.

We eventually had the beds made and the girls asleep after 10pm.

Daily Stats:

Apparently they only close roads at one end up here ...

510kms.

View Day Ten (under construction)