Heading up from Cairns in Queensland, appreciate the isolation of the people and their way of life as you travel into the unique beauty of the Far North. Experiencing the Australian tropical paradise of the Cape York Peninsula.
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We start our Cape York discovery adventure tour on the east side of far north Queensland at Cairns, and then head north to Cooktown.
Cooktown lies on the Endeavour River, which hosts an important crocodile habitat and also has international botanical significance as the undisturbed site of major study of plants.
Cooktown and is renowned for being a bustling seaport in the 1870’s during the Palmer River gold rush and remains a vibrant town with great fishing. One of the major attractions in Cooktown is the James Cook Museum. The Australian east coast of far North Queensland is magnificent here and can be viewed from Grassy Hill.
Leaving Cooktown we head up the Developmental road to Coen via Old Laura and Musgrave Station, one of the many working properties that have supplemented the unpredictable cash flow of rural Queensland living by providing tourist facilities.
Coen was once a gold town, and was the site of a WWII airfield, which was very effective for allied troop efforts against Japan.
The 4WD track skirts the rugged country to the east and continues towards Archer River. From here a challenging 4x4 detour, which is one of the few accesses to the East Coast of Cape York, brings us to Chilli Beach.
It is almost always windy out here at Chilli Beach, but to experience the isolation of this remote location is to appreciate how it must feel to come to the edge of the earth. During our stay at Chilli Beach we visit Portland Roads and the community of Lockhart River.
From here our trek will test the 4WDs as we return to the main route by way of Frenchman's Track, through the Pascoe river crossing and head North to Moreton Telegraph station.
From Moreton Telegraph Station we trek on the Telegraph road over Gunshot Crossing, which is featured in all the 4WD magazines and Queensland adventure tours.
The next stop is Fruit Bat and Elliott Falls for a welcome swim in the crystal clear waterfalls that cascades over the smooth shiny rocks.
The trek will proceed from here up the Telegraph Road to the Jardine River. Along the way 4WD will be engaged to negotiate a challenging log bridge crossings at Cyprus Creek.
The old River crossing is now inaccessible so we will proceed to the vehicle ferry to cross and continue north to the town of Bamaga where there are some interesting war relics. Among these relics you will find a WWII DC-3 airplane, which crashed on route from New Guinea to Australia.
The track continues north to Loyalty Beach where campsites right on the beach offer superb sunsets over the Arafura Sea. A rest from 4WDing is welcomed.
For those who want to explore further, excursions to the top of Cape York the northern most point of Australia, Somerset (the sight of Frank Jardine's grave and ruins), a trip to Thursday Island or fishing adventures can be booked.
After leaving the tip of Cape York we head south via the southern bypass road, back to Moreton Telegraph station and out to Weipa for a couple of nights stay.
Weipa is an interesting open cut mining town on the West Coast of Cape York. Tours of Comalco mine can be organized. Fishing is also a main attraction of Weipa and fishing tours can be also be organized.
Continuing south through Coen and Musgrave station we will visit remote Pormpuraaw, formally named Edward River.
We head next to the community of Kowanyama one of the few accessible areas along the east coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Setting up camp at Topsy Creek for some excellent fishing is a welcome respite from the challenges of the 4x4 trek day.
Then heading east to Cooktown where a host of interesting museums and history, can be found.
Nature in this beautiful area abounds. Fishing, bushwalking in tropical rainforests, and relaxing are the end to our 4WD tour.
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Swimming break during a 4WD adventure tour of Cape York.
Lawn Hill National Park
Queensland Australia.
Lawn Hill an oasis in the Queensland outback.
The Kingfisher 4wd Camp on the Nicholson River Queensland.
Redclaws caught in the river at Kingfisher Camp.
The termite mounds
in the oz outback are huge!
4wd river crossing in the Gulf Country Australia.
4 wheel driving in the scrub tracks of Cape York Australia.
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