Is this Australia’s best road? Riding Gillies Range Road, Queensland!

Gillies Range Road is mental. 263 bends and an 800m drop over 19km. The scenery is pretty good too. I’m not going to say it’s the “best” road in the country but it’s a hell of a ride!
Bike: 2008 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 “Meanstreak”.
#meanstreak #kawasaki #australia #gilliesroad #farnorthqueensland #cairns #athertontablelands

[@ridingdownunder2825]

Awesome to see a Mean Streak, I love mine, it's an absolute beast!

[@christopherkirk5198]

If you think that, than the need to do the Oxley highway over Walcha Mountain in NSW, it has over 300 corners in 130km.

[@user-no7px5lh3e]

Gee you've got some awesome spots up there Paddy. New bike is certainly getting a work out. Great to see you making regular content again mate

[@KeepItSimpleSailor]

It’s a nice ride - I was going past Gordonvale a couple of weeks ago, and went up and back again just for the hell of it 😁

[@Locutius11]

Wish they could move it closer to Brisbane. Thanks for sharing.

[@robosborne6514]

What an awesome cruise along an excellent looking highway or pass, looks like it would be wicked fun, & can only imagine the views along that road

[@CorvusHyperion]

Looks like that road is much better than when I used to ride it 20 years ago! Good to see.

[@mrmoshpotato]

Awesome. Thanks for filming it.

[@PaddyOutback]

Cheers man.

[@leewarry8641]

The gillies is a great ride you must do I did it in 2003 on my evo .a friend lives at Atherton so we went down & back up .not for the faint hearted .they had an unofficial club called the gillies gravel crunchers. You have to come off to be a member I was lucky I kept upright lol .

[@zackiaryruddick701]

Gillies gravel crunchers are a bunch of old dudes who ride slow 😂 I'll go from top to bottom under 5mins

[@richardp3159]

Awesome road and great views 👍

[@PaddyOutback]

Thanks mate.

[@cahalhayes9192]

That looks like an amazing road . I would love to have a drive on that my self Keep up the good work and stay safe

[@PaddyOutback]

It’s class. One of the best you’ll find anywhere.

[@CalmBiker]

Looks like a fun road. I guess it'll take quite a while to learn every bend! Love the drone shots.

[@PaddyOutback]

Yeah, not going to master it after one go 😂

[@mdkcairns]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I used to drive the Gillies about once a month, including the wet season. I drove it the week after Cyclone Larry. It was a real mess then. I learnt to fly out of Innisfail in 2008. Was always brilliant flying up to the Tablelands. Cheers, Mathew

[@PaddyOutback]

Glad you enjoyed mate. I’d imagine it was all kinds of messed up after Larry. And I’d not fancy it in the wet. Still a great road through a great part of the world.

[@coplandjason]

Cracking bit of road that!

[@PaddyOutback]

Yeah, not bad eh?!

[@darrabase1]

Looks like Australia's answer to the US's Tail of the Dragon, would like to do both.

[@leewarry8641]

It has more bends than the dragon tail .& a lot steeper .

[@eileencompton1756]

Thank you for showing us the Gillies Highway. Have always avoided going there and always use the other roads to the Atherton Tablelands. It used to have restrictions such as one way only, at specified time,for travelling up and one way only, at specified time, coming down. It is great to see the condition of the road now.

[@PaddyOutback]

It was much easier and much less terrifying than I had initially thought. Still need to have your wits about you but it’s not as scary as it once was!

[@SteveW84]

it is worth driving it or riding it once in your life - if you want to survive it I suggest you check your tyres and also make sure the vehicle or motorbike is roadworthy and brakes work well!

[@Moz42]

I see you had a coffee at the Gillies cafe, a very good spot and frequented by bikers. Fun road, aye! My favourite road, I prefer ride up, than down as it's all about throttle control. After some rain, the number of waterfalls you see from the lookout is extraordinary. Did ya spot Frog Rock? Love the drone work. Ride well. Cheers

[@PaddyOutback]

I saw frog rock, yes! Unfortunately my camera was off at the time and stopping wasn’t an option! They do a great cup of coffee there anyway! Up would have definitely been better but I had to go down so that’s what I did! I learned one thing: the rear brake on the Kwaka is excellent!

[@RidingTheAlps15]

Ohhhhhh this twisties 😍 Riding there has to be awesome 👋

[@PaddyOutback]

Definitely a good morning alright!

[@bikerssupportingcountrytow6904]

Sorry to burst your bubbles but the Gillies Road in Cairns is not Australia's best and most corners. The Oxley Highway which actually goes from port Macquarie to walcha. The actual Road itself has a lot more corners but the mind section it is famous for is that the bottom of the hill to the other side 300 corners back to back and just when you think you're out of one you go into another. When you get to the top it opens out big wide open Flats infinite view and the road is wide enough to land an aeroplane and if you're brave you can open the throttle write up and keep going until you reach Aspley Falls there you can take a breather and enjoy the waterfall. And also halfway up the Oxley Highway is ginger town good respite and fuel.

[@PaddyOutback]

Not true mate. The Gillies has the most corners in the shortest distance. The Oxley is significantly longer, meaning that the corners aren’t as densely packed.

[@3goldfinger]

Looks best from the top

[@kevincorby435]

We have a few twisty roads south of Sydney but nothing like that. Looked good.

[@PaddyOutback]

Some great roads down there. Must ride a few of them some day!

[@wrinklyrider]

OMG, I'd love to ride that !

[@PaddyOutback]

It was excellent!

[@HippoDrones]

WOWZERS Paddy, what an absobloomin awesome road! Fantasticles! I bet that is popular with the local bikers?

[@PaddyOutback]

Very popular. I passed a few when I did it and it was 9am on a Monday.

[@alanbstard4]

I'd be approaching those bends cautiously on a cruiser

[@PaddyOutback]

I’d approach them cautiously on any bike. One mistake and you’re in big trouble.

[@douglipscomb3002]

That was a lovely bit of tarmac under a nice blue sky. Worst road I've ever ridden was Mt Glorious just outside Brisbane. Sports bikes love it, but not my cup of tea.

[@aussiewantok]

Very good road indeed. Uphill is better, as long as there's no cats in front ;-)

[@PaddyOutback]

There weren’t too many cars, thankfully. Definitely no cats either!

[@aussiewantok]

@@PaddyOutback hahaha, yes cats=cars, typo and n all, good vid anyways, meow, squish, next life...

[@AZGeek520]

Nice road. Nice scenery. What drone are you flying?

[@PaddyOutback]

Thanks man. It’s a humble DJI Mini SE. Does a pretty good job.

[@AZGeek520]

@@PaddyOutback Nice and portable and easy to bring on a ride. I just got the new Mini 3 and really like how small it is -- I haven't taken my larger drones with me on many rides because of the hassle factor, but the Mini seems to make that a non-issue.

[@Engenia]

It's good. Unfortunately I've only driven it, but IMHO the Oxley Hwy beats it, when it is in it's normal pristine billiard table condition. There are many roads in Tassie on-par with The Gillies, but the current absolute standout (& I shouldn't be telling you all) is The Omeo Hwy. 90 km Omeo to Mitta Mitta. # corners? I can't count that high, and certainly not while I'm riding it.

[@dalebowden5920]

Hey mate. I’ve been trying to get down that way for a few years as I’ve exhausted all of QLD, NSW and SA. Do you have any other tips for around there? Obviously just chasing perfect bitumen and plenty of corners 🙂

[@Engenia]

If you've done the Oxley & perhaps the Armidale Rd south out of Grafton, or even The Eastern Dorrigo Way from Coramba to Lowanna - up and back is/was worth the diversion, then the next roads take you into Victoria. Bombala to Orbost (the Bonang Hwy - not perfect bitumen but worth the ride) or Adaminaby to The Link Rd, left to Cabramurra & over the top to The Alpine Way (my preferred route), then The Murray Valley Rd to Granya (few corners but follows the River & Lake Hume). The Granya Gap to The Murray Vallay Hwy is an absolute must! That will take you west to the top of The Omeo Hwy which really gets interesting from Mitta Mitta to Omeo (I rate it #1 on the mainland). Some rate the hwy as it continues south to Bruthen, but it has a ridiculous speed limit so do it mid week. Better yet, ride over Mt Hotham. The descent into Harrietville is really good. Then there's the Tawonga Gap across to Mt Beauty & up to Falls Ck. Continue on the Bogong High Plains Rd back to the Omeo Hwy north of The Blue Duck to complete the loop. That aught to keep you busy! But there's more further south - Whitfield to Mansfield over the Wombat Ranges; Jamieson to Eildon (careful in the winter - moss growth in the road!); Marysville to Warburton - The Reefton Spur (also silly speed limit, so again, do it mid-week, but definitely do it) Don't bother with The Alpine Way. It's great, but you'll either get bored staying below the 60 kph limit, or lose your licence. Do NOT do it on the weekend or any time PI has bike races.

[@dalebowden5920]

@@Engenia mate you are an absolute legend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@seanstrehle6312]

Yeah go at your own pace life to short to be in a hurry the next best road to tour is Cairns to Port Douglas

[@PaddyOutback]

Again, watch this space!

[@ThrottleDownunder]

Gee you've got some awesome spots up there Paddy. New bike is certainly getting a work out. Great to see you making regular content again mate

[@PaddyOutback]

Thanks mate. I’ve put more click on the Meanstreak in 6 months than I put on the V-Strom in total 😂