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Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Cairns to School Point Campground. Tues 1st August

Ready to roll at 10am. Plan was for Marco to go to BMW dealer to pick up parts due in with courier at 11am. He would then take parts and BMW round to Wayne Leonard Motorcycles to have the replacement tyre pressure sensor bolt fitted, while Ursala and I killed time down on the esplanade near the hospital. There is a good parking area here with shade trees, picnic tables and a toilet. We would await his return then have lunch before heading up to the tablelands behind Cairns to a camping site at School Point in the Danbulla NP on Tinaroo Falls Dam. An easy 78km ride.

Best laid plans and all that. Ursala immediately discovered her band new front tyre was flat! Damn! I get out my pump and guage and we reflate the tyre. Straight to Wayne Leonard Motorcycles where we discover that "we don't do tyres on Tuesdays - the tyre guy has the day off!" Nevertheless Marco explains a few facts of life and someone else is made available. For the full story - read Marcos blog.

I head off to the esplanade and find a good spot to wait things out. Txt the GPS coordinates to Ursala and dive into my book, thinking to myself - this could take some time....

Miraculously, the parts do arrive, the tyre pressure sensor bolt is installed  and the faulty valve and valve seal are replaced. 12 Noon and all's well. M and U join me on the esplanade and while Marco relaxes, Ursala and I take a stroll to the nearest supermarket for lunch & other supplies. Déjà Vu - turns out to be the same shop I frequented on a daily basis back in 2010 during my enforced stop over in Cairns. Since then a great little deli has opened next door so we indulged in some gourmet ingredients for our lunch.

Back to our picnic table on the esplanade and a scrumptious meal. Still plenty of time to stick to our original plan and head up to School Point campground. Back down the A1 to Gordonvale then up the road towards Atherton. A great winding ascent with views down to the coastal plain.
A right turn onto the Boar Pocket/Danbulla Road for the final few km's to our campsite. Sealed for about half the distance then a firm packed, recently graded excellent gravel section.
Campground is deserted apart from a small party of Melbourne schoolboys out on an adventure trek. We ignore our official designated campsite - designed for campervans and not tents - and pitch our tents on the same grassy knoll that we did 5 years ago! Perfect....

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