Townsville -> Mission Beach -> Cairns -> Cooktown -> Port Douglas -> Daintree -> Townsville -> Magnetic Island

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After my time in Mt Isa, I met Will at the Townsville airport. We picked up our hire car and started the trip North to take us as far as Cooktown. On the way, we passed farms of sugar canes lining the roads and a long thick snake, dead and sprawled across the road. We stopped in Tully, famous for its banana farms and labour from backpackers eagerly working off their farm hours on their working holiday visas. We had ventured as far north as crocodile territory, with even the local pie shops selling juicy crocodile meat pies to its customers.

After three hours, we arrived at Mission Beach, where we would be staying for a couple of nights. This 14km inviting stretch of pristine white sand is also shared by crocodiles, known as (salty’s) by the locals who swim up and down the coastline looking for prey. The other famous animal living in the area is the prehistoric-looking cassowary bird. There are only 4000 left of these birds in the wild, which makes them endangered. The locals are very protective of the wildlife, and reminder signs are every few metres to be wary and watch out for cassowary’s strolling out into the road from the surrounding bush.

We woke up early, determined to spot a cassowary roaming in the wild. We visited all the “known” spots, randomly including the Mitre 10 store and the local rubbish tip! With no luck, we stopped for a coffee at the three Tony’s in Mission Beach. We drove up to the small town of Bingil, keeping our eyes peeled, and hiked up Bicton Hill. The weather was humid and sticky, and the ground was slippery from the rain, but it stayed dry, and we got some great views overlooking Dunk island. On the way, we passed warning signs to be wary of dangerous stinging plants. Aboriginal people call this plant ‘Gympie Gympie’, which means devil-like and, if it comes into contact with your skin, it causes an intense stinging sensation that can last for several weeks. We stopped at the quirky Bingil cafe for a mango smoothie before attempting the dreaming trail. We didn’t last long before we were swarmed with mosquitos and still no sign of a cassowary, so we decided to call it a day. THEN, we had a very unexpected trip to Woolworths. A juvenile Cassowary strolled out and across the car park right in front of us! Our enthusiasm for nature took over, and we dumped our shopping and started following the metre high bird from a distance. The cassowary appeared confused and crossed the main road trying to get back into the bushlands’ safety. Cars were pulling over to look at this rare sighting, and we continued to follow on foot onto the roundabout in the middle of the main road! At one point, we excitedly got a bit close, and the bird turned back to face us and start walking back towards us. They can be fast and dangerous with vicious claws and have been known to kill a human before. Quickly retreating, we continued to watch from a distance until the cassowary had safely navigated away from the road and back into the bush.

Leaving Mission Beach, we headed north towards Cairns. There were old looking train tracks around the sugar and banana plantations, but it wasn’t clear if these railway lines are still used as we didn’t see any trains. We stopped at the Josephine Falls, which was fast flowing from the recent rains. A local told us this was usually a great place to swim, but with the water moving so fast and unpredictable, it was too dangerous. We had a quick stop in the Babinda cafe and waiting for the downpour to pass before we continued onto Cairns.

It was another four-hour drive north from Cairns to Cooktown in the top of Far North Queensland. We passed only a handful of cars on the windy roads up and down the mountain range. We stopped in Mareeba and tasted some local black mountain coffee at the coffee works display room. The rest of the way was spent listening to podcasts and enjoying the scenery with no mobile signal access. We saw birds of prey, camels, horses, cows. Unfortunately, we drove over a snake basking on the road, possibly a tree snake but maybe also a taipan. We stopped fifteen minutes from Cooktown at a local pub Lions Den that was recommended to us by our hippie Airbnb host in Cairns. This old roadhouse was filled with memorabilia and had a small museum with preserved snakes in jars, spiders, turtles shells and crocodile skull. Cooktown was unlike anywhere else we have been in Australia. The misty, tropical town was deserted when we arrived and had a quiet and eery feel. We drove up to the Grassy Hill lookout overlooking the endeavour river. There were giant leeches 20cm in length suckered to the steps leading up to the lighthouse. We had been warned by a lady from Mission Beach about the wind. She was right, and the wind speed was up at 32km an hour! As we looked out to see, a plaque read Thomas Cook's words from when he first arrived off Australia's coast, where he depicts a wild and wilderness place. Since colonial times, not much has changed, and Cooktown's population remains at around 2300 people. There is a small street with a few pubs, bowlo, RSL, a post office and a few other small shops.

We took a late afternoon hike up to Mt Cook. Unexpectedly, as we were walking, a snake blew off a large rock above our heads and landed on the ground in front of us. It was just as startled as us and scurried into the bush. We used a stick to sweep away giant cobwebs crossing the paths, with golden orb spiders hanging in the air. If that wasn’t enough, down by the water’s edge of Cherry Tree bay, the seawater meets the edge of the bush and is prime crocodile territory. Adrenaline already running high, a giant monitor lizard scurried through the leaves making us jump! Cooktown was the Australia that everyone imagines with dangerous animals falling out the trees and lurking in the waters! Cooktown is pretty much as far as you can go without access to a four-wheel drive, and the roads further north are notorious for dangerous flooding.

Our next stop was the high-end tourist town of Port Douglas. There was a small market at the Marina, and then we had a walk through the town to check out potential bars and restaurants for the following few days. The next morning we drove north up to the Daintree Forrest, crossing the crocodile-filled brown, murky river on a car boat. On the other side, we drove up and down the coastal road, looking into the bush for signs of the wildlife, including more cassowaries.

Mangroves protruded the rivers, and we walked along suspended boardwalks through the rainforest, which is estimated to be 180 million years old. In 2019 the river flooded when it rose to 12.6 metres, breaking a 118-year record. The man working at the ticket booth showed us where the water damage had left marks on the wall. We walked up and down Cape Tribulation beach keeping our wits about us for stealthy crocodiles known for roaming the salty waters. Every crack of a branch made us stop and turn our heads to look into the jungle flora. Unfortunately, the closest we got to seeing a cassowary was a fresh poo bang in the middle of the walkway, which did mean there was one close by!

As it was Easter, all the restaurants were super busy, but we managed to get a spot at a Mexican with alfresco dining. The Main Street in Port Douglas at night has a very European summer holiday vibe to it! The next morning, we went on a hike up the Bump Track, a 12km return track with a very long and steep incline marked as a double black diamond mountain bike trail. Five minutes in, Will spotted a snake slithering through the undergrowth. We stopped for lunch at the creek before returning to Mossman town for a coffee and then visited the iconic lookout of the seven-mile beach at the top of Flagstaff hill.

It was time to start heading back south, so we left Port Douglas for the six-hour drive south to Townsville. We stopped at the Rex lookout on the way before arriving at Rambutan hotel located in the bustling strand area in Townsville. That evening we went to the trip advisor number one rated restaurant Wild Rice. The Thai and Laos fusion was popular and worth going to! We finished the night off with a cold ginger beer by the rooftop pool, enjoying the warm evening weather.

There were Easter Markets on in the city centre, and we hiked to the popular castle hill lookout. As we were further south, it was sunnier and less of a humid tropical climate. Trail runners use the castle hill track to practice as it’s pretty rugged and steep in parts. From the top, you can see Magnetic Island across the water and the sprawled-out community of Townsville from above. After a long day of walking, we went to the Quarter deck for dinner. This bouge restaurant overlooks the water and has a tropical upmarket vibe. There was a buzzing public holiday atmosphere, lovely food, live DJ and great views in paradise.

We caught the passenger boat over to Magnetic Island, a short 35-minute journey. Although the island is small, it was too hot to walk with all of our belongings, so we caught the bus to our accommodation on Serene place. The place was relaxed with a laid back island vibe. We were staying in an off-grid converted shipping container with an outside shower and everything we needed. We went on a stroll and popped into the popular pirate-themed Scaliwags cafe and then jumped on the bus, which runs between Nelly Bay and horseshoe bay. Overhearing the driver talking to another passenger, we decided to get off at Geoffrey bay. It was a short walk from the beach cove to the rock cliffside. Almost straight away, we were greeted with a tiny wallaby (around 30cm in height) munching on some pumpkin seeds and carrot that had been left for it to eat. These cute looking creatures live amongst the rocks, and are found in abundance on the island. Our Airbnb owner also ran a Sri Lankan street food stall up the road, so we decided to visit for dinner. They have set up temporary tables overlooking the water and have an upbeat playlist and some fairy lights for when the sun goes down. We ordered the butter squid, Spanish mackerel curry, roti, rice and naan! The food was delicious, and the views incredible as the sunset on Magnetic Island.

The next day we climbed up to the Hawkins point lookout, which has a 360-degree view of the picnic bay. Back in the town, we were surprised at how quiet Picnic Bay was and how many shops and restaurants were closed. We caught the bus to Arcadia and then started a trek into the island’s rural inner part. We visited the fort area, known for koala spotting, but unfortunately, we didn’t see any. After hitchhiking our way back to the shipping container, we spent our last night on Maggie and returned to our favourite Sri Lankan restaurant for sunset. There were a few groups of local island residents who had brought down their picnic blankets. There is a reasonably small island community on Maggie (as the locals refer to it), and everyone appeared to know each other.

On our last full day, we caught the ferry back to Townsville, visited cafe Dominion and went for a swim in the pool. We saw some incredible wildlife this trip: snakes, cassowary, wallabies, spiders, camel and a range of scenery from the bush, desert, rainforest and ocean. The windy shores of Cooktown, the humid rainforest of the Daintree and the blue skies of Townsville and Magnetic Island. Far North Queensland, vast in parts, bustling in others and with lots of variety to offer whether you’re on a budget or want to splash out! As always, there’s still more to see. So the next time we’re back up this way, a trip to the Great Barrier Reef (out of stinger season) will be on the agenda.

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