DESTINATION + Tropical North
Discover the
Bloomfield Track Want to get off the beaten track and see a part of Australia still relatively undiscovered? Take a big step north and visit fascinating Cooktown. I drove up there before the road was sealed and our family still talk about it today.
W
e took a four wheel drive from Port Douglas to Cooktown along the scenic coastal route called “The Bloomfield Track”. What an adventure! The Coastal road is suitable for four wheel drive vehicles only. It can be difficult dirt terrain. I don’t profess to be a four wheel drive expert and we soon found ourselves crossing rivers and scaling steep dirt inclines. When my daughter yelled “hey Dad, I can see a crocodile on the riverbank outside the car door” we knew we were well outside suburbia. Although the rugged coastal track offers breathtaking scenery, I was relieved to arrive without incident in Cooktown. Cooktown is a small frontier town located in the far north of Tropical North Queensland. It boasts a unique character but it’s this local charm that makes it all the more appealing. Add to this the unspoilt natural beauty of the area, and 62
UNIQUE PLACES TO STAY
you’ll really feel like you’ve stumbled back in time and across a local secret. I did. Cooktown is Australia’s first nonindigenous settlement, discovered and settled by Captain Cook and his crew in 1770. All modern town services are available as well as comfortable and affordable accommodation to suit all budgets. Visit the James Cook Historical Museum to explore Cooktown’s interesting past, including the gold rush days and Cook’s voyages. Another must-see is a visit to Grassy Hill Lookout, where you can experience 360 degree views of the tropical countryside, Barrier Reef islands and beaches. In the past, Cooktown could only be accessed by four wheel drive vehicles, but with the completion of the sealed Cooktown Developmental Road in January 2006, Cooktown is now more accessible to everyone. Having survived the Bloomfield Track and enjoyed Cooktown,
we opted to take the inland road back to Port Douglas. Back in cosmopolitan “Port” we felt like returning explorers. I am now itching to get back to Cooktown and use it as a base to explore the Heritage Wilderness of the Cape York Peninsular and the Great Barrier Reef.
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