Day 44

Kilometres Travelled........328

Stopped at Lakeland Road House and ran the car through a big truck wash on the side of the road. We thought this was very good as it was free of charge, so we ran the car through twice, but there was still a lot of red dust on the car. We eventually discovered that the water was recycled, so we were being washed with dirty red water.

We returned to Mount Malloy and then diverted to Mossman and Port Douglas instead of travelling back through Mareeba and the Kuranda range, arriving back at Lake Placid at 3:00pm.

Mount Molloy is a historic mining and timber town lying 160 kilometres north of Cairns. At its height it was a copper mine in the 1890s. It was commonly used as camping grounds and Chinese market gardeners used to grow grain and other foodstuffs for the miners nearby.
The dominant industry of Mount Molloy is now cattle grazing, and the town consists of a few shops and an old hotel. Nearby towns are Julatten, Mount Carbine and Mount Mulligan.
Today, Mt Molloy's fame is with its bird life. Almost 300 species have been recorded within a 15km radius of the town. It is also the home of the Great Bowerbird.

Mossman is a town on the Mossman River, and has a population of 1,740. Originally known as Mosman — the name was changed to avoid confusion with the Sydney suburb of Mosman — it is located on the Captain Cook Highway 75 km north of Cairns, and 15 km east of the Mount Carbine Tableland. Mossman Gorge, a popular attraction within Daintree National Park, is located west of town. Sugar Cane farming is an important aspect of the local economy, with Mossman Central Mill, the only sugar mill in the district, processing the cane before sending it to Cairns for shipping domestically and internationally.

Port Douglas is approximately 70 km north of Cairns. The town is named in honour of former Premier of Queensland, John Douglas. Previous names for the town included Terrigal, Island Point, Port Owen and Salisbury. The town is situated adjacent to two World Heritage areas, the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. Port Douglas was No. 3 on Australian Traveller magazine's list of 100 Best Towns In Australia. In the mid-1980s, tourism boomed in the region after investor Christopher Skase financed the construction of the world-class Sheraton Mirage.
The town has enjoyed a steady influx of full-time residents since its 'rebirth', with most newcomers arriving from the south, namely Victoria and Tasmania.

On 4 September 2006 "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin died at Batt Reef, off Port Douglas, after a Stingray barb went through his chest into his heart while Irwin and his crew were filming a documentary called The Ocean's Deadliest.

Port Douglas has a Tropical climate with hot summers and warm winters, with heavy rainfall primarily occurring from January through March, the wettest month of the year typically being February.