Tom's (attempted) Ride Around Australia: Cape Tribulation

As I rode through the thick rainforest I was shocked by the sudden appearance of a town! Cape Tribulation is surrounded by the Daintree, and may I say one of the nicest towns I have ever visited.

I checked into P.K Jungle Resort which had been recommended to me on many occasions. After setting up camp I walked down to the beautiful beach to have a refreshing swim. The water was warm and welcoming, and the view from the water looking back at the forest was amazing.

That night I had a few beers with a very rough group of men who insisted on smoking in the bar, and scared the girls half to death with some sleazy pick-up lines.

They were soon kicked out and I was free to hit the hay.

The next morning I was awake early ready to climb Mt Sorrow. The walk is very demanding and climbs steadily to over 800m's.

As I started my morning walk I was approached by a group of young locals who were shocked that I had not 'registered' my walk for safety purposes (like a sign in sign out form). As it happened they were also embarking on the walk, and ordered me to join them. So we walked through the thick growth until late afternoon. One young Canadian guy named Blane took charge to lead us up and I was surprised by the fast pace that he set. However, after a few hours it was obvious that he was struggling and my bicycle fitness kicked in to shame him. Don't mess with these legs mate, they know no bounds...

The scenery was incredible and the view from the top was heart stopping. At one stage I was walking along when a big Lace Monitor (Australia's 2nd biggest lizard) mistook me for a tree and ran up my leg leaving little puncture marks where the long claws had griped me. We looked at each other for a split second of confusion before it doubled back and disappeared into the greenery without so much as an apology.

When we finally arrived back at the bottom of the track we hopped into a car and headed to a cool, crystal clear water hole. There was a fun rope-swing to bomb into the oasis and I had my sexy tan lines on display for the girls. I have to say here that the afternoon visiting a total of three different water holes was nothing short of magic. They were all hidden away from the tourist route and I was very lucky to have met these locals to dive a little deeper into the beauty of the Daintree.