Cairns

Cairns, a major city in Far North Queensland, has a population of 100,000. It was founded in 1876 as a port for the inland goldfields. Tourism is now a major industry.


Cairns

Cairns is a modern city. The airport is the gateway to many other destinations in Far North Queensalnd.

Cairns

A feature of Cairns is the foreshore. The trees attract hundreds of birds, especially rainbow lorikeets.

Pathway by the beach

At lowtide the seabirds, including the pelicans, look for food in the shallows and on the exposed mudflats. 

Pelicans exporing the mudflats

A large open swimming pool is a feature of the foreshore area.

Public swimming pool

The marina is another feature Cairns feature.

Cairns marina

The Cairns Museum holds many exhibits providing information about the history of the city and surrounding area.

Cairns Museum

Hartley's Crocodile Adventures

Lazing in the sun

Want to get up close to a crocodile safely? Hartley's Crocodile Adventures  between Cairns and Port Douglas provides opportunities to have a good look at these animals. Having spent more than a week ensuring that we did not encroach on a crocodile's territory it was interesting to be able to observe these creatures.

This is definitely close enough

Riding in the boat allows a good view of crocodiles in a more natural environment.

Swimming

Crocodiles jumping for food provides additional viewing opportunities.

Feeding time

This was the final stop on the tour of Cape York Peninsula before returning to Cairns.

Cape Tribulation

Bloomfield Track

The Bloomfield Track through the rain forest is definitely for four wheel drive vehicles only.

Bloomfield Track

The next stop was Cape Tribulation in the Daintree Rain Forest.

Where the forest meets the sea

Cape Tribulation

Captain James Cook named the area Cape tribulation in 1770 when his ship, The Endeavour, hit a reef nearby.

Boardwalk through rainforest

There are a number of walks through the many varieties of rainforest vegetation from the road to the beach.

Accommodation

A number of eco-lodges in the area provide accommodation nestled among the vegetation of the rainforest.

Rainforest vegetation

Cape Tribulation is a great place to explore the rainforest environment.

Cooktown

Cooktown

 Cooktown is a small town on the mouth of the Endeavour River. It was established in 1873 as port town to supply the goldfields along the Palmer River.

Main street in Cooktown

The population of Cooktown is approximately 1,400 people and it is the most northern town on the east coast of Australia.

Another view of the main street

It was extremely windy in Cooktown when we visited the town making walking around the town a challenge at times but it was well worth the effort.

Looking out to the Coral Sea

There are many reminders of Cooktown's historic past. In 1770 Captain Cook arrived in the area to repair his ship, The Endeavour.

Statue of Captain James Cook

Along the foreshore there are memorials to this event plus a statue of James Cook.

Play equipment representing The Endeavour

While in Cooktown we visited the James Cook Museum, a two storey building portraying the history of the town and region.

James Cook Museum

Before leaving town next morning the bus drove to the Grassy Knoll lookout where good views of Cooktown

View of Cooktown

and the Endeavour River can be seen - once again, thought, it was extremely windy.

View of Endeavour River from the hill

On the way out of town we passed the Black Mountain.

Black Mountain

Road to Cooktown

Leaving Lotus Bird Lodge we then drove through Lakefield National Park experiencing a variety of scenery. The name of the park was changed to Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park in 2011.

Termite mounds

Rocky terrain

The land forming the national park was formerly several properties including Laura and Breeza. The park, from June 2011) will be co-managed by indigenous owners.
Three river systems flow through the park creating wetlands with a habitat for a variety of wildlife. The area floods during the wet season.

Lakefield National Park

In the southern section of the national park is the old Laura Station, a collection of iron former homestead buildings and farm sheds  - reminders of past times.

Old Laura Station

Lunch was once again near the banks of a river.

Picnic lunch - Heritage Tours style

On the peninsula rivers needed to be forded - easier for some vehicles than others. At lunch part of the entertainment was watching vehicles cross the river. Larger vehicles found it easier than smaller ones and sometimes vehicles required a tow when they strayed from the path.

Fording a river

Continuing on the road to Cooktown the vegetation changed, becoming greener until we reached farm lands.

Heading south

Farm land approaching Cooktown

Approaching Cooktown we crossed the Endeavour River.

Endeavour River

Road to Weipa

Termite Mounds

A major feature when travelling through the Cape York Peninsula is the number and variety of termite mounds.

Edmund Kennedy Memorial

A memorial marking a camp site of expedition party of Edmund Kennedy is located on the way to Bramwell Cattle Station. In 1848 the expedition left Rockingham Bay, north of Townsville, to travel north through Cape York Peninsula. Few of the expedition party survived the expedition.

Bramwell Cattle Station

We stayed the night at the cattle station and took the opportunity to wander around. Earlier in the day scrub cattle had been brought in and were in the cattle yards. During dinner we were told about the cattle station and the challenges faced. Many of the properties on the peninsula were being purchased as conservation properties and the opportunities for working in the region were disappearing.

Morton Telegraph Station

On the way to Weipa we stopped at the Morton Telegraph Station on the Wenlock River. Built in 1887 the telegraph station operated until 1987. The site is now a camping area.

Weipa

Weipa, on the Gulf of Carpenteria, is a bauxite mining town. During the afternoon we went on a bus tour of the town and of the extensive mining sites. The size of the equipment used to mine the area was impressive. Mining on this site is scheduled to continue for another ten years. As the mine is the main employer in the area there are concerns as to the future of the town.

Weipa

Cape York Peninsula

The Tip

Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula in Far North Queensland. The most northern point is Cape York.
A map of Cape York Penisula can be found on this site.

Heritage Tours bus

When the ferry arrived at the mainland we were met by our guide from Heritage Tours who took us to our accommodation at Bamaga, a small settlement with a population of approximately 700. 

Rocky terrain

The most northern point of Cape York Peninsula is generally referred to as The Tip and exploring this area was undertaken the following day. The bus took us to the beach and as the tide was not yet in we walked along the beach until we reached the rocks. The climb down to the actual Tip was steep and it was a challenge climbing over the rocks but it was worth the effort. The views were great and we had stood on the Tip of Australia. As the tide had come in the only way back was to climb over a steep, rocky hill to return to the beach.

Bamaga Museum

While in Bamaga we visited the Bamaga Museum to view displays on the history of the area.
Next day we began the trip south to Bramwell Cattle Station.

Old Telegraph Track

Four wheel drive vehicles are definitely needed to travel the roads (or tracks) in much of this region. Part of the route is along the Old Telegraph Track. On this stage we travelled for 22 km along the track. The road was extremely rough and in some parts there were large ruts leaving little room for vehicles to pass. From time to time creeks cross the road and have to be forded by vehicles. 

Crossing the Jardine River

The Jardine River was crossed by ferry. Further along the route at Fruit Bat Falls a few members of the tour went for a refreshing swim. There was also a brief stop at Seddon Lagoon to look for turtles.

Fruit Bat Falls