Tag: Cooktown

3rd May 2018–Around Cooktown

Distance:12 km
Fuel: 31 L

Went to the information office at the Cooktown Botanical Gardens before 9am  basically to see when they were open. They weren’t open until 10am so went for a short drive down to Finch Bay for a stroll along the sands of this nearby bay.

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Next stop the James Cook Museum to see the recovered anchor and a cannon (one of six) jettisoned when the HMB Endeavour ran aground on a reef in June 1770. They were only discovered in the 1970s.

180503 040 James Cook Museum Cooktown

The museum is housed in the original convent of The Sisters of Mercy who were evacuated inland during WWII and never returned.

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Back to the Botanic Gardens information bureau to find out about boat or plane trips. Bad news! a cruise ship is arriving off the coast today and all the local boats are booked for that. They took my phone number in case of cancellation but I heard nothing back. Similar story with the helicopter flights I put my name down for any party that needed a single to make up the numbers, the organiser told me that they have few flights this early in the season but if they had one they would call.

Very disappointing but I want to go back to Atherton tomorrow because it is the best chance of good weather in that area.

Had the local fish and chips at the Captain Cook’s Landing Place Kiosk; to be honest the chips were fine but the fish was only so so. Actually I remember when I first came to northern Queensland in the mid/late 1960s I stopped buying fish because it seemed to be a different colour depending on where you bought it – anything from yellow to red to grey and many shades in between.

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The weather was lovely today – sunshine most of the day, it rained for a few minutes early in the morning but then the clouds just vanished and soon the temperature was about 29’C. The humidity was pretty good too, higher than I am used to but with the sea breeze it very bearable – I would guess 60 to 70% perhaps? I enjoyed walking about the town.

180503 066 Cooktown Caravan Park180503 062 Cooktown Brush Turkey

The sunset was magnificent – the photo doesn’t even begin to cover it.

180503 068 Cooktown Sunset


2nd May 2018–Cooktown

Distance: 285 kim

Mareeba

It must have rained during the night, the car and camper were quite wet. It can’t have been heavy rain because the top vent was fairly wide open and during heavy rain some water “bounces’” in but the bedding was completely dry.

The sky however was clear as the sun rose. When I went for a shower I noticed several hot air balloons floating nearby.

180502 002 Mareeba180502 004 Mareeba

Didn’t leave until nearly 9am so I could go to Coffee Works for breakfast. Not exactly what I expected but the food was nice if expensive.

180502 011 Mareeba Coffee Works180502 008 Mareeba Coffee Works

On the Road

The drive to Cooktown was through some interesting and varied scenery much hillier than previous Queensland landscapes with some very steep climbs and descents.

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Early in the trip it actually rained a couple of times, not for long and not much, but the sky cleared and clouded over several times during the trip.

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Cooktown

Arrived in Cooktown about 1pm so, after unhitching the camper and having a coffee, I set off to explore Cooktown.

Most of its attractions are near the water front (the Endeavour River). There was the wharf built for the Queen’s visit, the place where Captain Cook actually landed and repaired his ship after he ran into the Great Barrier Reef plus various statues and monuments.

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Grassy Hill was a pretty spectacular lookout overlooking the town, the river and the Coral Sea.

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Back in the Caravan Park I was watching  a Kookaburra catch its food in the creek when it came and perched close by.

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