5 Reasons to Leave Cairns & Head to Cooktown

Sep 21

Cooktown is literally the Gateway to Cape York and Australia’s northern most wilderness.

It’s a town with a whole lot of history and a whole lot of character. If you’ve got some extra time whilst in the Far North then you seriously need to consider taking a road trip from Cairns to Cooktown. Here’s 5 Good Reason’s to get in the car and go……..

1. THE ROAD!!

Cooktown used to be an epic trip – think 8-10 hours driving on corrugations and dirt, peppered with the excitement of trying to pass the odd Road Train (3-carriaged semi-trailer). And it’s not like driving through one big flat expanse either (like the majority of Outback Australia). There are some fairly serious hills and mountain ranges to navigate your way through on your way up to that northern town.

The memory of travelling the old road was one of the reasons why I hadn’t jumped into a car with my kids in a hurry! Only four years ago they sealed the road between Cairns to Cooktown and access to the FAR Far North has just got a heap easier.

**Some great spots to stop & admire the views on the way up**

All up it’s about a 4 to 5-hour direct drive if you go the inland route from Cairns to Cooktown. And it’s far from boring. With the Mitchell River catchment to drive past, mountain ranges to cross, historic road houses and old gold-mining towns to pull into, the spooky Black Mountain to skirt past and those BIG river systems to drive across, there is way too many distractions for a family with kids to achieve it in less than 4 hours.

**It’s definitely worth pulling in to check out Black Mountain**

We decided to break up our drive with a stay at some accommodation on the way.

Cooktown - Bustard Downs @adventuremumma.jpg

Cooktown - Bustard Downs guest room @adventuremumma.jpg

Cooktown - Bustard Downs pool @adventuremumma.jpg

We loved our stopover at Bustard Downs

We loved the fact that Bustard Downs was less than a 2-hour drive from Cairns. It meant that we could ‘bust’ the kids out of school early and be halfway to our destination before sunset. And I’m sure our weekend away felt longer because of this.

Don’t Miss stopping off at the Palmer River Roadhouse – it has a small museum with some great information and relics from the gold fields, and it serves massive burgers.

2. THE HISTORY

**Of course we had to get a pic with ‘the man’**

WoW!

Where do you start in Cooktown?

Of course there is all that early European history going on – like the fact it was the first place that some Brits actually lived before England laid its claim on the whole country. And James Cook, the famous English captain’s presence is everywhere. After all he and his men did spend 7 weeks here repairing their ship the Endeavour.

And then there’s all that gold-mining history. Imagine a town back in the late 1800’s where tens of thousands people flocked, fuelled by the lure of gold. It’s worth noting too that it was largely multi-cultural, with over 60% of the miners having a Chinese background.

**The Cooktown cemetery reflects the different cultures that lived in the region**

The town today still reflects much of its early history with many of the buildings and streets hailing from the pioneer days. I wish I could say this about Cairns BUT unfortunately a lot of the original architecture has had to make way for the new. Not up in Cooktown, you can still see some fine examples of its glory days.

Cooktown James Cook Museum @adventuremumma.jpg

And of course before all this is the regions aboriginal history. Less than a 2-hour drive north you can visit some of the oldest and most expansive rock art in Australia. At Laura, there is the Quinkan Country Galleries which have been listed by UNESCO as being among the top 10 rock art sites in the world. Unfortunately we ran out of time for a visit BUT we will be back, stay tuned for the update.

Don’t Miss the James Cook Museum – it will give you a good insight into the history of the region and is interactive enough to keep the kids entertained for a while too.

3. THE CHARACTERS

**Lions Den Hotel is your quintessential Aussie Pub**

When I first arrived in Cairns in the early eighties the town was full of personalities. I’m sure they’re still around but somewhere in the surge of Cairns popularity and its tourist booms they’ve drifted off to the sidelines. Now, after visiting Cooktown, I’m pretty sure a lot of them have just headed further north.

**Bill from Lions Den was a favourite with my kids**

My kids love connecting with other people (so much for the stranger danger message). Wherever we go they seem to get drawn to the most interesting of characters. Up in Cooktown it was Bill from the Lions Den Hotel. A retiree that gets free board at the campground for helping out around the pub at night time.

Plenty of stuff to check out at the Lions Den

You’ll find plenty of characters when the bar opens

The rest of the characters all seem to be in the tourist game. Linda Rowe, who used to hunt crocodiles, owns the 'croc shop' in the main street and although a tad kitschy it really is worthy of a visit (the kids loved it and pretty much wanted to buy out the shop). Linda also sells her book here "Paradise Found - A Cape York Adventure" - it's worth picking up if you want a bit of insight into the old days of the Far North.

**Lions Den is definitely worth calling into**

AND I even bumped into an old friend that I worked side-by-side with years ago on Fitzroy Island (in the heady days when we had only 30 people a day visit the island). He has now gone on to become owner/manager of an amazing wilderness accommodation called Mungumby Lodge. He even had Sir David Attenborough stay at his accommodation and film some of the ‘First Life’ documentary in the surrounding rainforest (and once again stay tuned – I do intend to revisit this place properly for a family adventure or two).

Don’t Miss the Lions Den – it’s your quintessential Aussie Pub and if you haven’t stumbled across any characters yet you’ll definitely find a few at the bar here.

4. THE SUNSETS

**The sunset even calmed the kids down for a while**

In Cairns you need to head out onto the reef or up into the Tablelands to really enjoy a proper sunset. Not in Cooktown. You just drive up Grassy Hill Lookout (or walk if you’re feeling energetic) and have what I think is the best (and easiest) view on offer in the region.

**There’s some great views from the top of Grassy Hill**

Of course you don’t need the excuse of a sunset or sunrise to make your way up Grassy Hill.Pretty much anytime of the day is good for catching 360 degree views of Cooktown, and its surrounding landscape, and of course out to the Great Barrier Reef and beyond.

You can see the Great Barrier Reef from Grassy Hill too

There’s a great little lighthouse at the top of Grassy Hill

Don’t miss the walk down to Cherry Tree Bay -a secluded beach that can only be accessed by foot (there's a trail that leads from Grassy Hill) - It’s a great place to enjoy the sunrise too.

4. THE WATERFRONT

**Plenty of places to picnic & relax on the Cooktown waterfront**

I know that the Cairns Esplanade has got a lot going for it BUT I seriously think the Cooktown waterfront will be giving it a run for it’s money soon. There’s extensive plans for a complete upgrade of this area including a tidal salt water pool, walkways, a children's playground and other features - the deadline for completion is September 2016.

**Kids love playing on the Musical Ship**

Right now there are a few attractions on the waterfront that are worth making a bee-line straight to: the James Cook statue, the musical ship, the old wharf (where a groper resides apparently) and some seriously nice parkland to chill out in.

Don’t Miss the new French patisserie (Riverside Café) - that’s sells a range of pies and pastries with some interesting flavours – prawn and scallop, emu, crocodile and kangaroo (they must be good because they were all sold out by the time we got there).

Good Things to Know:

The most popular time of the year to visit Cooktown is during the dry season (the wet season seems to run from Feb – April these days).
If you don’t see any locals swimming in the water it’s generally a good sign to stay out. Crocodiles and stingers (jellyfish) can be present and its best to seek out local knowledge before taking the plunge. Click these links for more information >> for crocs AND here >> for stingers.
Some safe swimming options are the creek at the back of the Lions Den Hotel and Little Annan River (just south of Black Mountain National Park). Both areas have spots with sandy banks - great for picnics and allowing the youngsters access the water.
Fishing is excellent around this region and there are a range of tours that can either take you up Endeavour River or out to the reef.
We stayed at the Hillcrest BnB in Cooktown which is very central and very clean, and they gave us some great tips on where to eat and what to see. If you’re camping then the Endeavour River Escape is popular with families and its only a 15 min drive from town.
Bustard Downs (on the way up to Cooktown) offers a range of accommodations from camping, caravans, self-contained cottages, BnB and also Free WiFi.
If you’re interested in taking the ‘coastal’ route (the Bloomfield Track via the Daintree) make sure you have a vehicle and driver that can comfortably handle the ‘offroad’ conditions, and make sure you add a few more hours to your journey. This route is best driven from north to south for the views.
Don't consider doing this trip without vehicle insurance. The inland road to Cooktown is good BUT consider the fact you are a long way away from any large regional centre. RACQ is Queensland based so wherever you are in this great state (from Coolangatta to Cape York) you are covered.