Scenic Rim Walk in Cooktown
It consists of a few different parts which can also be done separately, however the whole thing is not impossible to do at once if you are fit.
You could start at Finch Bay, walk to Cherry Tree Bay, then Grassy Hill, the waterfront and Charlotte Street, then via Adelaide Street to the historical Cooktown Cemetery.
And from there you could walk via streets back to Finch Bay.
Near the Finch Bay end is also a walk to the top of Mount Cook, best done on a separate day as it is more demanding.
Grassy Hill to Cherry Tree Bay Walk
Or, to avoid all the streets, you could start with climbing up Grassy Hill and then do a very nice coastal bush walk to Finch Bay.
No too far from the tip of Grassy Hill is the start of the walk to the bays, which looks like on the photo above.
The first one is the walk to Cherry Tree Bay,
... and it starts off going through open forest,
... and is mostly a very easy stroll but has a few root hops in a few places.
As you get further in, the plant life gets gradually richer,
... and soon you are in a small patch of rainforest.
It's closed forest, gets almost dark for a little while,
... but then all of a sudden you are on the beach.
It's the beautiful Cherry Tree Bay,
... and from here the walk continues to Finch Bay and Botanical Gardens.
Cherry Tree Bay to Finch Bay Walk
It's a one kilometre walk that starts a little further on the beach,
Almost straight away the steps start,
... then it goes past a lookout,
... but most of the time you don't see the ocean.
The steps continue over another hill,
... and then descend down towards the bay,
... past the turnoff to Botanical Gardens,
... and then down to the beach.
Finch Bay is beautiful, and is also a popular place for the locals to walk their dogs.
Adelaide Street to Cooktown Cemetery Walk
In the other end of the Scenic Rim Walk, there is another nature walk, but this one is different.
It starts at the old railway carriages in Adelaide Street,
... and goes through mangroves.
It is a level and easy walk compared to the coastal one,
... it goes along the mangove line ...
... and sometimes between mangroves,
And it is strait, and you soon see why.
Further in you cross two creeks on small bridges,
... there are small mangrove crabs at low tide,
... and after that you start having logs across the track.
It is hard to imagine just how big and important it was in the day, and where the carriages are today, used to be the station building that has since been moved to Charlotte Street.
Towards the end the track turns left,
... past some shell middens,
... and through an open forest.
Then it goes moister ...
... and turns into a melaleuca swamp,
... and in the end you come into the back of the old Cooktown Cemetery.
You can continue through the cemetery and out to the street where the Scenic Rim Walk can be continued back to Finch Bay.
But you better have a look around the cemetery first - it's a good one.
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