The route: Mackay – Pinnacle / Finch Hatton – Cape Hillsborough – Mackay
While it is fair to say that Canberra winters are nothing like enduring the colder months in many parts of the world, I still don’t like them. The older I get, I like them even less.
So, with winter coming up thinking turned to going somewhere warm. At the same time, CyclingGravel has recently retired from full-time employment and has had the time for more mountain biking: not world-cup style downhill but green and blue berms and flow (Mystic is a massive favourite). Why not look for somewhere a little bikepacking-style adventure could be combined with a great mountain bike park in a part of the world where it is warm in June?
Finch Hatton Mountain Bike Park
This trip was inspired by the idea of Mountain Biking at Finch Hatton, seeded by watching Flow Mountain Bike’s video review. I spent two full days climbing up and then flying down the trails and had a wonderful time. It is true that this is not (yet) the biggest mountain bike park, but it is great. What makes it fantastic?
The first thing is that it is not that challenging to cycle up the hill yourself (on G’day G’day trail) – you are not constrained to only enjoying it on days when shuttles are running. There is a short-cut ‘blue’ version of the G’day G’day trail which is appropriate for eBikes, or the green version if self-propelled.
But the most important thing is that there are plenty of great green and blue options – over two days I tried pretty much all of them. Favourite trail? Lost Loco -> Tasty Fig. Second place to Salubrious -> No Drama Cane Farmer, with a sneaky Your Shout Upper to start. Great stuff.
In addition to great trails, the council has done an epic job with the facilities on offer at the park. Toilets, water taps, bike cleaning, showers and BBQs are all available for free. For breaks and lunch there are a number of options available in town, including the pub and general store.
I can’t wait for the next stages of this park and definitely plan to revisit. The long trails that are part of the full stage 2 should be magic. My only suggestion for improvement would be a link trail between the Rocky and Reservoir Junctions, which would open up the mid-descent option to cross the mountain (for a re-climb). But this is nit-picking. Finch Hatton Mountain Bike Park is highly recommended.
Mackay – Finch Hatton – Pinnacle
Before the mountain biking it is necessary to get out to Finch Hatton in the first place. Thankfully, cycling there from Mackay is a pleasure. The initial exit from town can be made via cycle lanes, and then further on there are plenty of quiet back road options that you can take – check out the Komoot (below) for more detail.
Once past Mirani it is possible to cycle the Pioneer Valley Trail Trail (PVRT). Initially the route is not super clear but once you find the signs it is not too challenging to follow along. Initially the trail’s condition is consistent with a fire trail but the last half is in better condition than the first – with laid gravel amongst cattle!
After a lunch stop at the Gargett Store, the backroad route to Finch Hatton recommended by the PVRT site proved excellent – limited traffic and a combination of gravel and sealed roads. I had a bit of time on my hands so also extended this to check out some of Finch Hatton Gorge.
For this trip I chose to stay at an Airbnb at Pinnacle – there are a few around this area. There were no issues cycling from here to Finch Hatton each day for the mountain biking, and the Pinnacle Family Hotel was pretty nice for a meal.
Pinnacle – Cape Hillsborough
Having made the decision to head to Finch Hatton, I thought that it would be nice to do something more than head straight back to Mackay. So, the search was on to find some additional exploration that avoided the Bruce Highway as much as possible and ended up somewhere interesting. A trip to Cape Hillsborough fitted the bill.
After breakfast brioche and coffee at the excellent Pinnacle Whistlestop Coffee Cart, once you reach Gargett there are fantastic backroads through to Mt Ossa. Sealed all the way and with very little traffic, it makes for a lovely ride. After a few hundred metres on the Bruce Highway, it is possible to stop for a coffee & snack at Zarby’s Cafe, with US-style diner vibes inside an otherwise nondescript building.
From Mt Ossa through to Seaforth there is even less traffic as the road is unsealed for a large part of the route – traffic through to Seaforth tends to take the sealed option. When I was cycling the road was being graded so was a bit of a mess, but really no issues. Seaforth is a great place to cycle into for lunch (there is a cycle path alongside Yakapari – Seaforth Road all the way into town). I can highly recommend the Pitt Stop Classic Cafe – they had a fish burger special while I was there that was incredible. Once you grab your burger, take a seaside viewpoint!
Cape Hillsborough Road has a bit more traffic, but again was totally fine to cycle. There are glimpses of the sea, some cool mangrove views and then you arrive at the spectacular Cape Hillsborough.
Staying at Cape Hillsborough was fantastic. The beach is beautiful and, despite it being a bit ‘touristy’ it is interesting to get up and see the kangaroos and wallabies on the beach at dawn.
Another highlight was the walk over Andrews Point, which I did early in the morning before things got too hot and also to allow walking back on the beach (which is not possible at high tide).
Cape Hillsborough – Mackay
Unfortunately all great trips come to an end and it was necessary to head back into Mackay to catch a flight home. It is possible to cycle most of the way back to Mackay via some backroads. Initially, Old Cape Hillsborough Road offers some great gravel and the remainder of the ride to the mid-point at The Leap is nice. Make sure you stop at the Organic & Nature store for coffee.
Yakapari Habana Road offers some additional gravel and backroad cycling before the traffic starts to pickup on Mackay Habana Road. The rest of the route through into Mackay is fine for cycling, including some cycleways through to cross the Pioneer River. I can highly recommend a stop at the brewery Red Dog Riverfront – nothing much beats a decent brew or two while sitting by the river. Idyllic.
Tips, Recommendations & Logistics
Given the idea was to go mountain biking, for this trip I travelled on my trusty XC MTB. The key challenges is the need to carry gear. I’ve experimented with a lot of different bike set-ups over time (I do have a number of different bikes for different types of trips), but for this trip I wanted to carry a few days worth of food so I chose to ride with panniers attached to the Aeroe Spider Pannier Rack. This was my first trip using these racks and they worked really well. A particular plus is that it is not that hard to take the rack off for the days you are mountain biking. The overall setup is one I expect to use again with little change – Aeroe rack, Ortlieb sport-roller panniers (12.5 litres each), Ortlieb fork packs (4.1 litres each) and the outstanding Tailfin bar bag (I have the drop bar 12.5 litre size). More than enough space and not too heavy or unwieldy.
To make this all work I flew into Mackay one evening and stayed at the Ibis Mackay, and then returned on the final day before flying out the next morning. The hotel happily stored my bike bag while I was away cycling, and it has the major advantage of being literally across the road from the airport terminal. Another advantage is that the hotel cafe offers menu-items for breakfast (so you aren’t locked into an expensive buffet option).
At Cape Hillsborough I stayed at the Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park. It has some pretty decent ensuite self-catering cabins that won’t break the bank and are right behind the beach. Just make sure you stock up with stuff before you arrive as there are limited food items available at the Park / Cape Hillsborough area.
CyclingGravel 