Travelling Around Australia: Mareeba to Cooktown

June 23^rd 2014 to July 25^th 2014

This is the first of my blogs which covers our journey through the Cape York Peninsula and our preparations for that journey. At this stage we should have already left Cooktown on our way to the tip but after we left Mount Surprise to spend a week in Mareeba we had trouble with the car. We had just stopped at Ravenshoe to get fuel and we were approaching a road works on an incline. Unfortunately we had to stop for the red light and when it changed green Greg changed gear and attempted to take off, but all we heard was a bang and Greg didn’t have any gears. I had no phone access, so Michael drove me back about eight kilometres towards Ravenshoe to get service. I called the RACV and sorted out our problems and they sent someone to us. He arrived within an hour, but had another job he had to complete and said he would be back within an hour. Three hours later we were still waiting, with no phone access. I turned on the Satellite phone and called our travelling companions Sue and Michael, who had at our request kept going. Sue liaised with RACQ for us. It turns out he had two more jobs to complete so after more than seven hours of waiting we were finally towed to Mareeba. I must say at this stage, with the Cruiser on the tow truck and the caravan being towed behind, me sitting in the middle without a seatbelt, going down a steep, winding road in the dark was an experience I would rather forget. Also the driver had been working since 4am that morning, a bit of a risk methinks. Anyway we arrived safely in Mareeba, and sorted out our problems, the car was fixed after a rebuilt gearbox was sent down from Sydney and we spent three weeks rather than one week in Mareeba. All was not lost however as we really enjoyed our time there and cannot thank Jess and Matt enough for their hospitality. We stayed on their property and they have kindly allowed us to leave our vans there while we tour the Cape for the next month or so.

Mareeba is a lovely little town in the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland; it has tropical fruit farms, coffee plantations and wineries. It also has the famous Mareeba Rodeo and Show. We were lucky enough to be involved in the parade they have the night before the rodeo. Our hosts Jess and Matt are involved in the local scouts group and manage Blue Sky Produce. They decorated their big cruiser with blue and white balloons and streamers and a sign announcing who they were and along with a lot of other farms and businesses in Mareeba formed a great parade. It was really great to see all the businesses come together for an event like this and also the locals who come out to watch and support them. The Rodeo and Show was really great too, and we volunteered for a few hours work, preparing food for the Scout Hamburger Stall. We were more than happy to do this given the generosity of our hosts.

We still had plenty of time to enjoy the Rodeo and the Show and we spent a few hours wandering around, witnessing some great feats on the rodeo stage, including some comedy and some serious cow roping and bull riding, the wood chopping competitions and the side shows. We really enjoyed our day out at the rodeo.

Sue, James and I drove out to Kuranda, which is a little village in the rainforest and the destination for those taking the Scenic Railway from or to Cairns and also the Skytrain either way; we didn’t do this as it quite expensive, but maybe one day down the track we’ll be able to experience it. Kuranda is very picturesque and we had many photo opportunities, including the beautiful Barron Falls, the railway and the famous Kuranda Markets. Our day was full with perusing the markets and we enjoyed having a potter around and taking in the atmosphere.

Greg and I drove to Cairns in our hire vehicle, thanks to RACV and picked up our Rooftop tent in preparation for the trip to the Cape. We had to do a lot of organising for this trip, but whilst we were without the Cruiser, we were limited into how much we could do. When we finally got the car back we had to work very quickly to get everything organised.

Our trouble on the road late

This one was about 6 hrs earlier

Finally help has arrived

Kuranda

Barron Falls

Sunset on the Blue Sky property

Hot air balloons over Blue Sky

Blue Sky float in the Mareeba Parade

Mareeba Parade

Woodchopping at the Show

Rodeo time

Rodeo Action

More Rodeo action

On the road to Mareeba

Finally when we left Mareeba we headed to Cairns to do a bit of a shake down in the Rooftop and prepare a little more for the journey further up the Cape. It was our first time sleeping in the Rooftop and we found it very comfortable. We stayed at Cairns for three nights. It isn’t the most pleasant city and it was very busy, considering we haven’t been used to busy for quite awhile. We had to have some minor repairs to the Cruiser in that we had a leak in the seal of the gearbox, but the people who rebuilt a gearbox for us in Sydney have come to the party and refunded us two thirds of the cost of that repair.

We left Cairns to make our way slowly to Cape Tribulation and our first attempt this trip at an off road track. Our first stop along this gorgeous ocean drive was Trinity Beach which is a delightful seaside resort. We had a bit of a walk along the beach, which was the first time we have seen the ocean since we were in Esperance back in March. Next stop was to Palm Cove which like Trinity Beach is a seaside resort and very pretty. We had a walk along the jetty and took some photos and just soaked in the atmosphere. We would really like to come back here someday and spend a couple of relaxing days. This part of the journey is along the Captain Cook Highway is very similar to the Great Ocean Road. We have beautiful rainforest hills on one side and the magnificent ocean on the other. Further along the road we passed the very beautiful Ellis Beach and saw a Caravan Park there that we will keep in mind for future trips, it looks divine.

A few kilometres down the road we stopped at Rex Lookout which gives superb views over the Coral Sea and is a spot where hang gliders can partake of a bit of hanging in the air. It looks pretty scary to me but each to their own. Next was the famous Port Douglas resort town; it is clearly a resort town, but we enjoyed a nice lunch, had a walk around the town and down to the beach. Very crowded and over priced but we’ve been there now.

After leaving Port Douglas we made our way to Wonga Beach to camp for the night. The first caravan park was full so we went another two kilometres up the road to Pinnacle Holiday Village. This is a nice spacious park with bush camping close to the beach. A bit overpriced for unpowered sites at $33 per night, but it was our only choice really. The setting was nice with a short walk to the beach from where we camped. Greg and I enjoyed a two kilometre walk along the beach; it’s not very pretty but it was a nice walk nonetheless.

Palm Cove

Greg and I at Palm Cove

Part of the beautiful journey

Port Douglas

Rex Lookout

Our campsite at Wonga Beach

The path to the beach at Wonga Beach

The next part of the journey took us through Mossman to the beautiful Daintree Village and stayed at the Riverview Caravan Park. It is a rustic park and we had a gorgeous site overlooking the Daintree River. The camp kitchen and the toilets area all made from corrugated iron and the park has a very rustic feel. There is a small museum at the back of the office with some nice old relics to peruse. The village itself is only small but we took a walk around it and took some photos. There was an Art and Timber Gallery which had a bit of history of the area and some nice hand painted old relics, including an old saw bag which was brought back to life by lacquering and painting. Unfortunately no photography was allowed in the gallery.

We drove back to Mossman to have a look at Mossman Gorge. It was a nice place to visit, a very pleasant walk along the river with strategically placed lookouts for photo opportunities and a nice little beach where you could have a swim. The water was a bit icy for Greg and I but young James had a swim.

Mossman Gorge

Riverview CP Daintree

Our view from the park

Crossing the Daintree

After leaving Daintree village we made our way to Cape Tribulation, but first we had to cross the Daintree River on the Ferry. This service runs regularly all day only taking a few minutes to cross. Along the way stopped to have a look at a few beaches. First stop was Cape Kimberley, which is a very pretty beach with a campground back near the car park. It was a nice spot but with all the tall trees and the hills surrounding it, I imagine it would get rather cool by early afternoon as the sun is going down. Next stop was at the very very pretty Cow Bay beach, where we had a walk along the beach and took some nice photographs. We enjoyed a very delicious ice cream at the Cow Bay Ice Creamery before we continued to Cape Tribulation. We stayed at Cape Tribulation Camping for one night. It is a pretty camp on the beach where a lot of people stay overnight on during their journey up or down Cape York.

The Bloomfield track was the next part of our journey on the way to The Lions Den and Cooktown. It wasn’t a difficult track, but it was very steep and we could imagine very slippery when wet. It had only recently opened after being closed due to the amount of rain they had had up here earlier in the year. We were lucky it was a fairly easy run, with only about seven river crossings and only about two of them significant. We stopped at Wujal Wujal for lunch and took the walk along a bit of a rocky track to the beautiful Bloomfield Falls and they were very pretty so worth the stop for photos. The remainder of our journey along the Bloomfield Track to The Lions Den Hotel was easy with a lot of bitumen and only a few rough sections. Just after we left we spotted a big saltwater crocodile sunning himself on the opposite bank of the Bloomfield River, so of course we stopped to get a photo.

We stayed at the famous Lions Den Hotel Campground for one night, which is only about 30 kilometres from Cooktown. But you just can’t travel all this way and not stop there. The hotel was built in 1875 on the banks of the Little Annan River; it is a landmark hotel made of timber and iron and is famous for its quirky decorations and walls adorned with visitors signatures. We added ours as well of course. The Little Annan River is safe for swimming; again James was the only one of us who took a dip as although the weather is nice and warm, it isn’t quite hot enough for the rest of us yet. We all enjoyed a meal in the pub, a few drinks and a game or two of pool.

Bloomfield Falls

Getting ready to traverse the Bloomfield Track

Michael crossing the river

Cape Tribulation

Cassowary on the side of the road

Cow Bay beach

Cow Bay Beach

Crocodile on the Bloomfield River

Little Annan River at Lions Den

Me at the Lions Den

Us at the Lions Den

The gang at Lions Den

Lions Den

Lookout along the way

Next day we left for Cooktown to stay for three nights before tackling the journey up to the Tip. We stopped to have a look at Black Mountain which is a large granite rock formation. There is no soil between the boulders and rocks which creates a maze of gaps and passages. Legend has it that numerous people and those searching for the missing have disappeared. We didn’t attempt to climb but rather took photos from the lookout. Onto Cooktown we stayed at the Cooktown Peninsula Caravan Park. The park was nice enough in a bush setting and the amenities were really clean.

Greg and I took a walking tour of Cooktown which is a historic coastal town. In 1770 James Cook discovered a safe river (The Endeavour River) to repair his boat which had run aground in the Great Barrier Reef. In 1872 gold was discovered on the Palmer River and Cooks landing was populated with eager diggers prepared to make the hard journey to find gold. Cooktown then matured into a thriving centre. We took some photos of the beautiful old hospital that was built in 1879 and is now the Kingdom Hall. We slowly made our way through town and took yet more photos of the old buildings including the Old Bank and the Cooktown Hotel. We had a look in the History Centre which houses the Cooktown and District historical Society and interpretive historical displays and the Boat House which has a lot of James Cook displays and is the home of the Re-Enactment Association. Further along there are many monuments to the discovery of this town including tributes to James Cook and to the Chinese and their contribution to the Gold rush Era. They have a wonderful Musical Ship on the foreshore in which you can play a number of instruments and a display called the Milbi Wall made by local Aboriginal artists who have painted tiles to tell the local history from an aboriginal perspective.

The following afternoon Sue and Mick took us for a drive up to the Grassy Hill Lookout and Lighthouse, Greg and I had attempted the walk up this steep climb but it was way too hard. The view from up here was fantastic with a clear view of the township, Endeavour River and the beautiful Coral Sea. Cooktown was a nice place to visit and worthwhile having a good look around.

We have now left Cooktown and have completed a very interesting journey so far which finds us in Weipa at the moment. That part of the journey which has been thrilling will have to wait for my next blog.