Weipa


Weipa is the northernmost sizeable town in Queensland.

And it is the largest town in central and northern Cape York.


It is not a touristic place, more than anything it is a mining town, and consequently quite industrial and expensive.


But its magnificent red soils, blue waters and pink sunsets make it a beautiful place, and its great location in the middle of the wilderness on the western coast of Cape York means that there is some great fishing and wildlife watching.

weipa australia

So despite not being a touristic place, there is plenty to see and do in Weipa :-)

weipa

Places to See
Click on the above link to get to the different parts of the town and the different areas and places just outside the town that are worth discovering.

The full list of places, and the full detail of all is in the Destination Guide as always.



weipa attractions

Things to Do
Click on the above link to get to the different things to do in and around the town.

Not only the fishing and the mine but also the tracks, the beaches, the sunsets and the walks, the wildlife watching, and joining some local community events.



weipa map

Practical Information
And finally, here is some information on Weipa and its history and weather, flights, where you can stay, eat and drink, and what opportunities there are for shopping (including markets). Again all the full information about all that (with prices, opening hours and contact details to all) is in the Destination Guide as always.

Places to See

In small remote places like Weipa, there are no tourist attractions, so some different areas in and around the town become quite interesting places to see :-)

weipa mission river bridge 
In the southern parts of the town are the industrial Lorim Point and Evans Landing, west are the Lakes, Gonbung Point and Kerr Point.

weipa evans landing

North are Nanum, Trunding and Rocky Point. And north of Rocky Point is Uningan Nature Reserve, Mission River and Andoom Creek.

weipa lorim point

Lorim Point
As you first arrive, you come to the suburb of Lorim Point.
And straight away you see the real face of Weipa - the export wharf with massive ore carrier ships, and a big heap of red bauxite. And - some beautiful red sand and blue water beaches with pandanus palms. 

weipa evans landing

Evans Landing
Further north you can either take the straight road north to Nanum, or you can turn left to Evans Landing - another industrial suburb with lots of car mechanic workshops etc
, but also some beautiful coastal views with pelicans and a wharf that is great for fishing.


weipa lakes

The "Lakes" Road
If you turned left and kept going, you come the "back" way to Nanum, past some beautiful coastal spots like Gonbung Point and Kerr Point, and then the lakes -  Lake Patricia and Lake McLeod - great places to walk, picnic and watch birds.


weipa nanum

Nanum

You first drive past the entrance to the town's only camping ground, and then come to Nanum Shopping Centre - the largest one in town.
There is also some accommodation, and behind the shopping centre is the start of a walking track to Rocky Point
.


weipa trunding

Trunding

The next suburb is Trunding - a mostly residential suburb with Albatross Hotel in the western end; and in the eastern end of it, as you drive along the main road, you pass by the town's Golf and Bowls Club.

 
 
weipa rocky point

Rocky Point
The next suburb north is Rocky Point, where there are the town's swimming pool and library, the Town Office, miners' accommodation and some other facilities; and the Rocky Point boat ramp - beautiful for both fishing and sunsets.


weipa uningan nature reserve

Uningan Nature Reserve
Nearby is the entrance to
the town's Pistol Club and Uningan Nature Reserve that covers an area around the mouth of Uningan Creek and protects some eucalypt woodlands and mangrove habitat.

 

weipa mission river

Mission River
and North
North of Rocky Point you come to a one lane bridge and Mission River - great for fishing.
North of the river are Andoom Creek, Red Beach and the road to Bouchat, and further north are Vyces Crossing, Stones Crossing,
Pennefather, and Mapoon.


Things to Do

Weipa makes almost no effort to get the tourists here - it thrives well enough on mining.

things to do in weipa

But that itself has created the town's best 'tourist attraction' - the Weipa Mine.

weipa ore carrier ships

And there are many other things to do as you can see below.

weipa rio tinto alcan

Visit the Mine
The mine itself used to be a Comalco mine
, but now belongs to Rio Tinto Alcan. They mine bauxite - a mineral that is then worked to extract aluminium - which amongst many other things is used to make beer cans. Like all other mines, it has very strict safety rules, so you won't get in there other than on tours (full detail about all these is in the Destination Guide).

weipa beaches

Sunsets and Beaches
Like in the rest of Cape York
, Weipa beaches are not for swimming, but they are good for fishing, watching sunsets, and other beach activities. While there are many places to get to the shore in Weipa, some nice beaches are Nanum Beach in Nanum and the beach south of Rocky Point.


weipa tracks

Tracks around Weipa
There are also the tracks, not only behind the beaches but also in and around the town and between different parts of the town
. While some take you to beaches, others take you to creeks, mangroves and tidal plains - many places that are good for fishing.


weipa fishing

Fishing
Weipa is one of the best places in Cape York to fish. There are fishing spots everywhere - on beaches, headlands, river mouths.
Some of the favourite spots are next to Mission River and Andoom Creek bridges, Evans Landing Wharf, Kerr Point and Red Beach.


weipa fishing adventures

Offshore Fishing
Even better if you have a boat. There are boat ramps in Evans Landing, Rocky Point, and Misson River and Andoom Creek bridges.
You can also hire a boat, and there are fishing tours and charters - all listed with prices and contact details in the
Destination Guide.


weipa wildlife watching

Wildlife Watching
In addition to the above, Weipa also has a surprising amount of wildlife to see (all detail in the Destination Guide), and particularly birds - a good example is Australia's largest stork - jabiru. There are even wildlife watching tours, all detail with prices, times and contact details is in the Destination Guide.


weipa walking

Walks and Fitness
With all the beaches, tracks, bicycle and walking paths, it's easy to keep fit in Weipa. There is a sealed walking path
from Nanum to Trunding, another one from Nanum to Evans Landing, and plenty of unsealed ones around the lakes and everywhere. Plus some outdoors exercise machines and of course the gym.


weipa community events

Community Events
Weipa is also a great community - of mostly young active families, and there are consequently a lot of local community and kids events.
From Colour
Smash, Weipa Parkrun and Running Festival to the Bullride and Fishing Classic (the events are in the Destination Guide).

Weipa Information

And finally - some more practical information about where to shop, eat and stay.

weipa lakes

And a little bit of information on Weipa's history - as you are getting around, you might come across things like shell middens and totem poles.

weipa history

These are obviously the Aboriginal history, before the mine was ever here and before the town as it is really existed.

weipa shell middens

Weipa History
The town itself was established about 50 years ago when its bauxite deposit was found worth mining, and was built by the mining company (Comalco at the time).
It is actually still on the mining lease and doesn't belong to the Cook shire as most of the rest of the peninsula.

weipa markets

Markets and Shopping
Thanks to the mine - the supermarket is actually better than in Cooktown, and so are some other shopping opportunities (I do mean by the peninsula standards so you cannot expect a shopping heaven in here!). Plus, a couple of markets on some weekends are also a nice addition to the shopping scene :-)

weipa dining

Eating and Drinking
The restaurant scene is also ok - you can get everything from fast food to an a la carte meal  from the town's establishments, and that said - Weipa lacks an old traditional Aussie pub, there is a hotel with a public bar but it hasn't got the old bush pub character (all the detail about all the places is in the Destination Guide).

weipa accommodation

Weipa Accommodation
The accommodation is not always five star but is what you would generally expect in Cape York - it's from camping to dongas to cabins and hotel rooms, and the full detail with all the places, addresses, phone numbers, descriptions, facilities and exact prices (updated every year), are in the Destination Guide.

fly to weipa

Cairns to Weipa Flights
There is an airport here, and you can fly directly to and from Cairns, and of course to other places with a stopover in Cairns. 

During the Wet Season,  when the roads are closed, this is the only way to get here apart from boats (details in the Destination Guide).


airline tickets weipa

Airline Tickets
So how would you go about looking for airline tickets for your Weipa flight, AND making sure you do get a good price?
The answer is - look online. There is a  page about the cheap tickets to Cairns - the same applies to Weipa. The search box in the end of that page also does work for flights to Weipa.


weipa weather

Weipa Weather
The weather is mostly like the weather on the rest of Cape York peninsula - a Dry and a Wet Season, and the Wet one has an early and a late part. The early part brings thunderstorms, and the late one tends to mean just plain monsoonal rain - which is also cyclone season. Being on the west coast and in the Gulf Savannah usually means less destructive cyclones than on the eastern coast.

Places to Stay

There is camping, there are lodges - with and without swimming pools.

weipa heritage room and breakfast weipa camp site

Some places are close to, or even have - a restaurant.

weipa fishing lodge weipa anchorage swimming pool

C
ould be something to consider when deciding where to stay - here is the Weipa accommodation page, and the full detail about every place is in the Destination Guide.

Eating and Drinking

There are clubs and a la carte restaurants,

weipa golf club weipa albatross lobby bar

There is takeaway - not only the bakery but even mobile food vans.

weipa barramunchies weipa pungs tasty takeaway

And there is a cafe with healthy meals - which is just great :-)

 weipa wizards kebabs weipa dinner weipa lunch

Markets and Shopping

There are a few disfferent kinds of markets,

weipa shopping centre weipa news agency

... post office, news agency and the usual,

weipa carboot market weipa bakery

... and of course the Tackle Shop :-)

Sunsets and Beaches

The sunsets are fantastic just like in other places on the west coast.

weipa sunset nanum weipa sunset albatross

Just like Karumba, Darwin are famous for it - Weipa has some very beautiful, colourful, really impressive ones.

weipa sunset rocky point beach weipa sunset rocky point

The above four are only a small part of my Weipa sunset photo collection and are taken from Nanum, Albatross, Rocky Point Beach and Rocky Point :-)

"4WD" Tracks

There are also some tracks in and around the town,

weipa nanum beach drive weipa putts palms drive

... to the beaches,

weipa putts palms weipa solar panels drive

... to Putts Palms and Six Tunnels only to mention a few,

weipa mission river beach drive weipa six tunnels

... and to some wetlands and tidal plains north of the town.

weipa northern wetlands drive weipa northern saltplains drive

Weipa Fishing

But the best of all is of course the fishing :-)

weipa rocky point boat ramp

Some of the best spots include the wharf at Evans Landing,

weipa fishing evans landing wharf

... Rocky Point (near the boat ramp),

weipa fishing rocky point

... Mission River (popular spot under the bridge),

weipa fishing mission river

... and Andoom Creek (near the bridge).

weipa fishing andoom creek

Plus north of Mission River, there is Red Beach and also some good mangrove creeks.

weipa fishing mangrove creeks

Other, less obvious places are Lorim Point, Gonbung Point, Humbug Point,

weipa fishing gonbung point weipa fishing kerr point

... Kerr Point and the beaches west of, and at Weipa Camping Ground in Nanum.

weipa fishing nanum weipa fishing mission river bridge

Popular species as well as
closed seasons, size limits and take and possession limits are all in the full detail in the Destination Guide :-)

Did you Go to Weipa?

What did you think about it? Or do you have a question or maybe a tip to other travellers? Let us know!

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Weipa 
The lovely industrial town is surrounded by bright red soil, striking red cliffs, glistening blue waters, and a wealth of geographical beauty and cultural …

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Lock your cars. Although Weipa is a small town and in a nice place, crime rate is huge! There are regular periods throughout the year where all cars at …

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Weipa in the 70's was an amazing place and very, very isolated. It was a 3 day drive from Cairns with lots of rocky creek crossings and soft sand between …

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