While it
means missing out a
lot of good fun, some
people like to shoot right up to the Tip of
Australia and
back.
You are going to miss out a lot of beaches,
fishing and camping
spots, some
good townships, some unique rainforest
and some of the best four
wheel drives.
But if you want to do so, I am not going to
try to stop you
- maybe you simply haven't got enough time.
Here is your quickest way from
Cairns to
Cape York. You still do see
many great
places.
Cairns
Cairns is a great city with some good attractions,
adventures and
outdoors
activities, and
if you have the
time try some day trips
outside
the city.
If you are in
a hurry, at the very least you should take a
tour to the Great
Barrier Reef
and try some local seafood restaurants.
South of
the Cape York Peninsula
Then you have the
choice of the
coastal or the inland roadsouth
of Cape York.
The
Inland
Way The
inland
way is quicker, it is also sealed all the way to Laura, but it goes through some dry
outback
environment, and is more remote considering the distances between the
few townships are longer. It goes via Kuranda, Mareeba,
Mt Molloy, Mt
Carbine and Lakeland.
The
Coastal
Way
The coastal road has some beautiful scenery and more famous places
like Daintree
and Port Douglas,
but is only
sealed from Cairns to Cape
Tribulation, and is definitely worth doing, apart from the
famous tropical rainforests the best things are CREB Track, Bloomfield
Road and Cooktown.
Lakeland
and Laura
Depending
on what way you want to take between the Peninsula Developmental and
Cooktown (Mulligan Hwy or Battle
Camp
Road), the inland and the coastal
road will meet either in Lakeland
or
Laura
- both
small townships
with
basic amenitites.
Musgrave North of
Laura the road is mostly unsealed, and instead of townships you have
two roadhouses
- Hann River Roadhouse,
and Musgrave
- an old historical roadhouse on the crossroads of the roads to Lakefield
National Park
(east) and Pormpuraaw (west).
Central Cape York
Peninsula
In central
Cape York,
you can take the quickest road north, but you also have some choices
for side trips.
Coen
North of Musgrave you have a township
- Coen
- about
half way from Cairns
to Cape
York. Now if you weren't rushing up north (or do on your way back
south) the side tracks to do here would be the Old Coen Track, Running
Creek Track
and Port Stewart.
Archer
River
North of Coen is a roadhouse,
but first you pass by a quarantine
station and the turnoff to Mungkan
Kaanju
National Park, (now Oyala Thumotang National Park) and
further
north along the corrugated road you come to Archer River Roadhouse.
Turnoff
to Lockhart River
North of Archer River
is the turnoff to Lockhart River, Portland Roads and Iron
Range
National Park,
which contains some
unique rainforest, known for species found nowhere else, however they
are
not easy to spot unless you stay and take your time.
Turnoff
to Weipa
Further north you come to the turnoff to Weipa,
or to be more correct - the main road, which is the Peninsula
Developmental Road, continues to Weipa, and if you want to go north,
you turn right to Cape York - the Tip of Australia, Pajinka and Bamaga.
Telegraph
Road
The road north is called Telegraph
Road,
and it is a reasonable dirt road that can get corrugated; and muddy
after rains. It passes by millions of termite mounds, the turnoff to
Frenchmans Track;
Wenlock River Bridge and Moreton
Telegraph Station before it comes to Bramwell Junction.
The
Old Telegraph Track
At Bramwell Junction
you have the choice of taking the Bypass
Roads, or the Old
Telegraph Track,
which is by far the best
part of your Cape York trip. The best way is
to take the OTT on your way north, and the Bypass
Roads on your way back south.
Northern Peninsula Area and the Tip
Northern
Peninsula Area
In the end of the Old Telegraph Track you cross Jardine River on a
ferry. North
of the river you come to Injinoo, Umagico and Bamaga
- the largest town up here. Next north are New Mapoon and
Seisia, where you can
catch a ferry to Thursday
Island.
Tip
of Cape York Further
north
are Loyalty Beach,
the historical Lockerbie
and Somerset,
Somerset Beach, Punsand
Bay, Pajinka
and finally the place
called Cape York - the northernmost
point of mainland
Australia. Off the coast are Torres
Strait Islands.
Get
this 50 pages
guide totally for FREE.
It
contains information that helps you getting started with planning of your trip.
You get to make early-stages desicions such as when to go, how long time you
should take, how to get
there and get
around, where
to stay (general info), what
will it cost..
and a short insight to what is there to see and do in Cape York.
This complete 300 pages
travel guide is all you need before and during your trip. Besides the
background chapters on the peninsula's history and wildlife; and the comprehensive detail about all
the places (down to prices, opening hours and full contact
detail), it has invaluable information on at least 10 four wheel drive tracks,
at least 30 guaranteed FREE
camping spots on the Cape (and at least 150 on your way to
the Cape), at least 40 best
swimming holes, all mapped; as well as practical things -
from fuel, roads, wireless internet and mobile phone reception,
how to deal with the national
parks booking rules; and Aboriginal land entrance and camping permits
and alcohol restrictions - to vehicle preparation and accessories and necessary recovery
gear by my vehicle-recovery-guy partner).
Not to mention locals'
tips on how to spot that croc and palm cockatoo ;-)
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This site uses British
English, which is the English we use in
Australia.
Disclaimer:
Although
best efforts have been made to ensure that all the information on this
website is correct, this site is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
This is the ORIGINAL Cape York Travel Guide run Locally on the Peninsula.