Day 30 – Wednesday 18 August 2021 – 327km

We got away a bit after 9am & wound our way out of Malanda & through Atherton on the road towards Cooktown. North of Atherton there was a lot of roadworks so we travelled at 60km/hr or 80 km/hr for a long time. There are lots of banana & mango plantations and these get less as we get to Mareeba. The countryside changes from rainforest to dryland savanna again and we see lots of red dirt covered cars and caravans coming south. A lot of these have been on the road from Cape York. There is a lot of long straight road & we pass a large dam before we get into the mountains & spend a lot of time climbing & winding our way up & down again. We pass the turn-off to Cape York & the oncoming traffic lessens noticeably.

Cooktown is a small town on the Endeavour River and we drove slowly down the main street to the wharf area at the mouth of the sea, with lots of small boats at anchor in the river. We stopped & found a place to eat on the water “Cooks Landing” fish & chips, a small place with a small deck on the water looking out over the river. The seafood was so fresh & delicious, we only ordered one seafood basket & it was nearly more than both of us could eat. We drove back into town & stopped outside the Orchid Caravan Park, just on the edge of the main street. Luckily they had a spot for us so we booked in & set up. The park manager was very helpful & filled us in on all the things to see & do around Cooktown.

We started with a walk down the length of the main street, stopping at a few shops & enjoying the ambience. There are some very nice old buildings in Cooktown reflecting the wealth of the gold-rush days. Walking back I stopped into the local garage & bought some Ad-Blue to top up the tank in the car, it is used as an anti-pollution additive.  Next we drove to the lookout & lighthouse on the top of Grassy Hill, the spot that James Cook walked to after his ship, the Endeavour, was beached in the river for repairs more than 250 years ago. It was so windy on top of this hill, the views are amazing though. A couple up there for the sunset had their dinner blown off the table.

The drive to Finch Bay is not far and we are the only people on the beach, we can’t go near the water though, crocodile warning signs tell us of the dangers. It is a pretty spot to see though. Back to the van to plan & catch up with friends.  It is a real worry that all the states have closed their borders because the new Covid cases are increasing.  We are avoiding bigger cities, we spend most of our time in National Parks.  In Queensland they only have a few Covid cases so we are very lucky here, we can travel around.  The way things are at the moment we may be staying longer in Queensland than what we planned. Cheese, bikkies & wine for dinner only, still too full from lunch. Another great day.