Cape York Australia
Cape York is one of the last frontiers in Australia.
It is not far from Cairns, but it's real Australian outback. There are some great four wheel drives, creek and river crossings, Aboriginal rock painting around Laura and some spectacular wilderness scenery in Lakefield, Iron Range, Mungkan Kandju and Jardine River National Parks.
There are the historical Cooktown, mining town Weipa and the tip of Cape York – the northernmost point of Australia. And off the coast are Torres Strait Islands. Below is some information about the place, and in the end of this page is a Cape York map.
The peninsula. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
NEW! Here is my brand new
WEBSITE ABOUT CAPE YORK.
It is a comprehensive source if you are planning the trip and I am currently writing an even more comprehenshive e-book for it.
But for starters just the website is a good insight to Cape York if you are planning a trip.
How to Get to Cape York Australia
There are two roads in southern Cape York Peninsula – either you drive the inland way north from Mareeba through Mt Molloy, Mt Carbine, Lakeland and Laura, or you drive the coastal way up from Cairns, past Port Douglas, Daintree National Park and Cooktown. This is the less used way which takes you via Bloomfield Road to Lakefield National Park. But Cooktown is worth a visit in any case and it is also reachable by a side trip from the more used inland way - turn right towards Cooktown in Lakeland.
Driving. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
Cooktown - Cape York Australia
Cooktown is a great town full of history. There are some beautiful old buildings and an old lighthouse on top of the Grassy Hill. There is the James Cook Museum, a James Cook statue, and a statue for the first kangaroo that Europeans ever saw when they first came to Australia. There are also a few galleries such as Charlie Tanner Gallery and Vera Scarth-Johnson Gallery; a beautiful botanical gardens in Nature’s Powerhouse, and a historical cemetery. You can climb the Mt Cook (413m), visit the Black Mountains National Park just south of the town, or have a few beers at the Lion’s Den Hotel outside the town – worth turning in! There are a few good pubs in Cooktown too, and you can stay at Pam’s Place, Seaview Motel, Alamanda Inn, Hillcrest B&B, or Peninsula, Orchid or Cooktown Caravan Park.
Cooktown Lighthouse. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
Laura dn Lakeland Downs - Cape York Australia
Back in Lakeland, the road continues north towards Laura - a small township with a pub and a grocery store - famous for some of the best Aboriginal rock painting sites on the peninsula. There are about 1200 galleries around Laura, but only Split Rock and Guguyalangi galleries are open to the public. Both galleries have many overhangs and there is a path from the car park that first leads to the Split Rock, and then up to a lookout point on Turtle Rock. From here there is another walk to Guguyalangi group of galleries. Across the road from the Split Rock and Guguyalangi are Giant Horse Galleries, which you can visit with a guide from Laura Visitor Centre. The Aboriginal rock painting in all galleries is fantastic – as good as the famous Aboriginal art examples in Kakadu in Northern Territory. You can camp near Laura River, or you can stay at the Quinkan Hotel in town.
Laura. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
Lakefield NP and Old Laura Homestead - Cape York Australia
North from Laura is Lakefield National Park. It is Queensland’s second largest national park and one of the best national parks on the peninsula. It covers 537,00ha of wetlands, mudflats, and river estuaries with both saltwater and freshwater crocodiles and eucalypt and paperbark woodlands with hare wallabies and plenty of birdlife. There are many bushwalks and camping sites throughout the park, as well as Aboriginal history and European heritage. The New Laura Homestead houses a ranger’s station where you can get information about the park.
Lakefield National Park. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
Central Cape York Australia
North of Lakefield National Park is Musgrave, which is an old telegraph station, and north from here is Coen, - a small township with grocery shops and an old pub. North of Coen is a turnoff to Mungkan Kaanju National Park with some good camping in the eucalypt woodlands and Melaleuca swamps but there are no facilities so you have to be self-sufficient. There are no bushwalking tracks either but you can walk along rivers and around waterholes, just watch out for crocodiles. Other wildlife includes wallabies and wallaroos, palm cockatoos, and waterbirds such as pelicans and jabirus. Further north, at Archer River, there is the Archer River Roadhouse where you can stay over the night or just stop for a cold beer and maybe try the famous Archer Burger.
Central Cape York. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
Iron Range and Lockhart River - Cape York Australia
As you continue driving north after Acher River, on your right-hand side is a turnoff to Lochart River and Iron Range National Park. Lockhart River is an Aboriginal community with the area's only fuel station and grocery shop, as well as a historical airport and the beautiful Quintell Beach.
Lockhart River beach. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
North of Lochart River is Iron Range National Park – a park that protects the largest area of lowland tropical rainforests left in Australia and is a good place to see a variety of flora and a fauna that is that is found nowhere else in Australia but instead in Papua New Guinea such as cuscus, palm cockatoos, eclectus parrots and green tree pythons. There is a walking track that starts from the Rainforest camping area which takes you through the rainforests and woodlands where you can see the wildlife. There are camping areas in the southern parts of the park as well as Chili Beach.
Iron Range. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
Weipa - Cape York Australia
Back on the Peninsula Developmental Road, a bit futher north is a left-hand turnoff to Weipa – the largest town in the northern Cape York Peninsula. The reason for Weipa's size is the world’s largest bauxite deposit that is mined here. But it is a nice town to visit with its red soils and emeral blue waters that surround it. And more than anything, fishing is great and bird watching is good too. You can stay at Heritage Resort, Albatross Bay Resort or Weipa Camping Ground.
Weipa. ©cape-york-australia.com
Old Telegraph Track - Cape York Australia
Back on the main road towards the tip of Australia, you’ll pass the Wenlock River Bridge, Moreton Telegraph Station, Bramwell Station and Bramwell Junction before you come to the start of the adventurous Old Telegraph Track. There are bypass roads to get around it in case you are not a very adventurous driver. But if you are, you'll have the best fun - this is most likely the best part of your whole Cape York trip. There are some great camping spots and exciting creek and river crossings such as Dulhunty, Gunshot, Cockatoo (southern half), and after some great swimming holes at Fruit Bat and Twin Falls, some of the best crossings are Canal, Sam, Cannibal and Logans Creek as well as Nolans Brook.
Old Telergaph Track. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Jardine River National Park - Cape York Australia
In the northern end of the Old Telegraph Track you drive to Jardine River Ford and Ferry through Jardine River National Park - another amazing national park with unique flora and fauna including the carnivorous pitcher plants, and birds and animals like torresian crows, red-bellied pitta, spotted cuscus, giant treefrogs and knob-tailed geckos. It is a large, remote national park with some quite remote coastal fishing and camping spots.
Fruit Bat Falls. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
Northern Peninsula Area - Cape York Australia
North of Jardine River is the township of Bamaga - the largest place up here with a resort, a supermarket and the area's only pub and bottle shop. There are some WWII airplane wrecs scattered around the town, and there are more WWII relics at Mutee Head. Other communities include Umagico and Injinoo, as well as New Mapoon and Seisia a bit further north-west.
Bamaga. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
Tip of Cape York Australia
North of Bamaga is the road to the northernmost poin of Australia, which passes through Lockerbie, and there are a few different tracks to and around Somerset, Pajinka and Punsand Bay.
Tip of Australia. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
Torres Strait Islands - Cape York Australia
In Seisia you can catch a ferry to Torres Strait Islands which are great to visit. They are surrounded by some bluest waters, and there is some interesting history and culture to discover. You can get to Thursday and Horn by ferry, but others require your own boat, a tour operator or water taxi.
Horn Island. ©cape-york-australia.com
Thursday Island - Cape York Australia
Thursday Island is the most populated of the islands, with a town of 2300 people, and some of the things to see include Japanese Pearl Memorial at the cemetery, the lookout at Green Hill Fort, and the All Souls Quetta Memorial Church. There are hotels and motels to stay but there is no camping ground.
Thursday Island. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland.
Here's a Cape York map, where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
View Larger Map
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