Cooktown

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Tis us again
We had a great time in Atherton, visiting some of the local attractions. The old “Tin Mining” town of Herberton was especially good, with probably the best-kept heritage village we have seen so far. The visitor’s centre was also well managed with a very knowledgeable volunteer host on duty.

Another day trip included a drive around Lake Tinaroo. Very picturesque views from some of the many camping spots along the way! One disturbing thing we came across though, was a sign warning people of the presence of the “Giant White Tailed Rat”!! Apparently there are reports of it chewing through tents, vehicle cabling and other things with its sharp teeth and very strong jaws. Any thoughts of camping there were quickly dismissed!
We also stopped at some amazing Strangler Fig Trees (Cathedral and Curtain Figs). The pictures show how they have developed over many years.

Our stay on the Tablelands was very relaxing and it is certainly one of the places that get our tick of approval for another visit sometime.

27th July
The trip up here to Cooktown was very scenic with some great views of the Great Dividing Range to the east. The car got a real workout, with some very long and steep climbs, but it is a real workhorse and coped well. It will be due for a new set of tyres by the time we get back to the Gold Coast in September.

30th July
We’ve been in Cooktown since Wednesday and have managed to visit most of the places of interest. Grassy Hill, which sits above the town, has a great view of the entry to Endeavour River, where James Cook moored his ship for repairs after running aground on the reef, some 40miles away. Another trip included a visit to Helenvale where we stopped for lunch at “The Lions Den Hotel” (very much along the lines of Daly Waters Pub?) Yesterdays visit to the James Cook museum was so interesting, revealing lots of facts that we were unaware of, regarding his first trip to the region. As a result, I have downloaded an iBook of his Journal entries. Today saw us drive out to Endeavour and Isabella Falls and, once again, those dreaded signs were everywhere, warning of crocs!!!

Cooktown’s streets are lined with plaques telling history of different parts of the town. One of the interesting stories was how the granite block kerbing was derived. Each block was won by drilling holes into the main source rock, near town, then inserting pieces of wood into the holes and watering them until they swelled enough to split the rock. This tradition continued until very recent times. The grooves from the holes can still be seen all along the road edges.

Tomorrow has been earmarked as a day for maintenance, so I will check out the brakes, bearings etc. on the van. We plan to head back towards Cairns on Monday, with a couple of stops along the way.

Til next time
John & Rose

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Photos

Atherton Camp
Lovely tropical setting, all to ourselves!

Herberton Heritage Village
Old buildings at Herberton.

Toilet Mirror!
Never use a disabled toilet if you want to check your face!!!

Cathedral Fig Tree
Massive tree

Curtain Fig
Explanation of how the curtain was formed.

Giant Rats
Sign describing the caution to be taken when camping near Lake Tinaroo!

Captain Cook's Cairn
Cook came ashore at this spot in 1770.

Cook Plaque
Details of Cook's arrival in Cooktown.

Endeavour Falls
Nice falls - no crocs?

Split Granite
Snap showing kerbing in the street where the wood was inserted to swell and split the rock.

Comments

[judy stubbs]

great
hi you 2 have had a chance to catch on your blog love the one about the rats. we went to some of those places, yes tony loved atherton, and rose i have a photo beside that rock at 1770 we were there in the caravan park as well. love all your photo's just great. glad you had a great time with heather&paul in cairns. love to you both. j&t. xx