From here the penisula
is narrower, which means the coastal spots are
closer.
The places along the main
road are small.
Furthest south are Coen and Stewart Point.
In the middle are Archer River and Mungkan Kaanju National Park, and in
the north are Weipa and Iron Range National Park.
Princess
Charlotte Bay
and Marina
Plains, then The first area north and north east of Musgrave is the
Princess
Charlotte Bay. In the southern end of it are Annie RiverRunning
Creek Track; and in the northern end are Port
Stewart
and Silver Plains;
and a back track to Coen - the Old
Coen Track.
Coen
If
you don't do the Running Creek Track or Princess Charlotte Bay, along
the main road north of Musgrave you have the turnoffs to Kendall
River
Road and
Hamilton Goldfield, and Port Stewart. The next
north is Coen - your only town in the area, and it's not a big town.
Mungkan
Kaanju National Park
North of Coen is the Cape York Quarantine Station, and north from here
are a few turnoffs to Mungkan Kaanju National Park. It is a huge park -
60km in just to get to the camping grounds. It has
a dry vegetation, but the camping is next to rivers and waterholes.
Archer
River in Central Cape
York
Archer
River Roadhouse
North
of Mungkan Kaanju is Archer River
Roadhouse. It is a great roadhouse
with accommodation and a large camping ground, as well as a
licensed bar and a restaurant. It serves some big meals (Archer Burger
is popular) and
gets crowded in the season.
East
Coast of Central
Cape York
The
Iron Range Area
North of Archer River you have the turnoff to the eastern coast (past
Batavia Goldfields and Chuulangun Camping Ground).
Other ways to get in are Frenchmans
Track and Falls
Track
- some of the best 4WD tracks in this part of the peninsula. And some of the best
kept secrets is Restoration
Island.
Lockhart
River
The
administrative centre of the whole Iron Range area is Lockhart
River, which is the largest community in this area,
and it has a historical WWII airport, an Arts Centre, and the
most spectacular is of course the much photographed Quintell
Beach. It is an Aboriginal community with alcohol
restrictions.
Iron
Range
National Park
North of Lockhart River - also here on the coast - is Iron
Range
National Park. It is a very special place if you are into bird and
other wildlife watching, containing the largest amount of species Cape
York shares with Papua New Guinea and not the rest of Australia.
Portland
Roads
North
of the central section of Iron Range National Park is a road to its
northern section - Chili Beach, and Portland Roads (outside the
national park) - a tiny community with a lovely small beach.
There is not much for travellers, it's more of a local spot, but a
beautiful one.
West
Coast of Central Cape York
Weipa
Back on
the Peninsula Developmental Road, further north it turns west to
Aurukun and
other places south
of Weipa,
past Merluna
Station.
Weipa is a bauxite
mining
town, there is nothing much
particularly for travellers, except beautiful beaches and great fishing.
Mapoon North
of Weipa,
there is a road to Mapoon.
You pass by turnoffs to Stones
Crossing, Barrage and Pennefather
River.
In Mapoon, there are a few
nice beaches that are great for fishing. It is an Aboriginal community
and alcohol
restrictions
apply.
Archer
River
Archer
River stretches pretty much across the whole peninsula in central cape
York.
It starts
in
the eastern
rainforests, in northern Kulla
- McIllwraith Ranges. Then it
crosses the Peninsula Developmental Road near the roadhouse by the
same name.
Then forms the northern border
of the Rokeby
Section of Mungkan
Kaanju National Park
and goes right through the Archer Bend Section of the same national
park, before it mouths at the Aboriginal community of Aurukun, south of
Weipa.
Most Cape
York travellers only
come across it once, when driving north along the Peninsula
Developmental Road, just north of Archer River Roadhouse.
But you
also
get to it if you go
camping in Mungkan
Kaanju National Park.
Archer
River
Roadhouse
Archer
River Roadhouse is a popular stop in central Cape York.
It is on
the Peninsula
Developmental Road
north of Coen and
Mungkan Kaanju
National Park, and south of the turnoff to Portland Roads,
Lockhart River and Iron
Range National Park. Most
roadhouses sell food but not all have a
restaurant
and bar
area where meals are served.
And it
gets
crowded
during the night time too (in the season of course).
It also
sells
takeaway food
and drinks, some souvenirs and basic groceries.
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.