Cooktown

Cooktown is somewhere Jock and I had both always wanted to go to so we were looking forward to this leg of our trip. It is a small town but bigger than many we had been to so far with cafe’s, supermarket and shops. On route to Cooktown we saw a sign for a gallery and coffee so pulled in for a look see. The gallery was lovely the art work was so realistic, there were a few I could have taken home with me but for the price but certainly worth the price. The coffee was good too! When we arrived in Cooktown all the campsites were fully booked so we booked into the racecourse which was open for a small fee for a night. We plan on staying here a few nights because Emma will be taken back to Cairns airport to fly back to boarding school and we want to explore the Cape Tribulation from here. It was nice to be on green grass and to have shops and facilities about. Once again no power but there was water available and great toilets and showers on site. We had a lovely rest day first day only going out in to town for supplies. The next day Jock headed out early with Scott to have a fish but nothing was happening, everyone telling Jock its the wrong time of year and too windy! I think that what is really needed is a boat to be out in the water rather than beach or pier. If he does not catch a fish soon he is just going to have to book onto a fishing charter, maybe in Cairns, he can’t go home without having caught a fish!

We went out to the pub for dinner, I imagine Jock enjoyed the break from cooking and certainly enjoyed his pub steak. I have to say I had to borrow a jacket off Michelle as it was so cold once that sun had gone down, actually it was probably the wind, we have been told there is always a wind here in Cooktown at this time of year. We had planned our trip to the Cape Tribulation for the next day, an early start as it would be a long day. We decided we did not want to do the main roads we would rather get on to the Bloomfield Track which was only 4wd. It was a great drive with lots of water crossings and changing scenery. People from overseas pay lots of money to do this drive and we are lucky enough to have it in our country and within reach. Sorry boasting now!!!

Our first stop was a waterfall, I could hear it but could also see that there were rocks to climb to get to it and as it was spitting with rain I decided it would not be wise for me to try to walk to it. Jock had a better look and said he felt it best if I didn’t try as the rocks were slippy. So he took the camera for me. As we drove we saw rivers and rainforest and lots of greenery. The road was narrow although two way, some parts were really rough, some not so bad. One that will always be with me is the hill we had to drive up after having been though water. As you can imagine lots of vehicles doing the same left the hill slippy!! We watched Trevor’s car dance and slide up in front of us and then we followed, not too bad for our car but we held our breath for a second. All good fun.

It really was a fabulous drive and we did not realise how many hours we had been in the car. We stopped at Cape Tribulation for lunch, all that was there was like a tourist hub, holiday accommodation and cafe’s. So many people, it was still school holiday time and people can get to here from the opposite way we came on a good road. Most would probable drive there from Cairns. After a good break we headed towards Cairns although we would not get right to Cairns, we had decided best to go back via the good roads so as to get back before dark. We had some steep drop off’s on this road straight down to beautiful beaches and we still had a water crossing. We stopped at the beach for a look see, we had been here before a few years back but boy had it changed! It used to be just a side stop along the main road but now there is a carpark and a lookout. A shame really but I suppose they need to deal with the many people coming to visit. Actually the last time we were here Janice and Geoff were with us.

We were soon at the ferry to cross the river there was a little wait as there were so many people on the road. We were soon back on the main roads and passing through Mossman and turning right at Mount Malloy to head up back to Cooktown. It is not wise to be on the roads after dark as there are too many wild animals that can cause accidents. Luckily we got back about 30 minutes before dark. What a fabulous day, I would love to do that drive again another time, maybe one day in the future.