Day 49 - Giru to Ravenswood - 99km
The old ambulance station in Ravenswood
After some roadworks and a detour I rejoined my path on the otherside of the river and cycled through, sugar cane fields once again. After several turns it became gravel with a warning of a steep hill at the end not suitable for caravans.
Gravel once again, I had avoided it since the NT but it's worth another try, I'm sick of the Bruce Hwy plus I was too far in to turn back. I rode slowly through many cattle grids and herded many cows around, as soon as I was spotted there was a growing stampede of cows going in the other direction.
I arrived at the steep hill and steep it was, it just kept going up with no breather, no leveling off, just up, luckily it was paved, I rode and pushed my way up. The peak welcomed you into the Charters Towers region. I rolled into Ravenswood.
Ravenswood is a strange town, preserved but still operational, two old pubs still running, the post office in its original building, a tiny church on the hill. All this with the backdrop of a huge wall of dirt, the current gold mine in the area.