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Far North Queensland
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Far North Queensland offers a wide variety
of things to do for the visitor, including plenty of activities
and places to visit. Whatever you want you will find it,
whether it is to the National Parks and waterfalls within
the Atherton Tableland,
the rainforests of Cape Tribulation and the Daintree, or
diving on the Great
Barrier Reef. |
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Cairns is
a popular place to stop on your journey through Far North
Queensland. A great day trip from Cairns is out to Kuranda
set within the Atherton Tableland. You can get here on the
Kuranda Scenic Railway or the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway,
and it is well worth visiting.
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Nearby is Mareeba a rice and tobacco growing
town, which holds a popular Rodeo in July. Continuing west from
Mareeba is Chillagoe, an old mining town featuring some spectacular
caves for you to explore. It is well worth joining a guided tour
around the Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park.
Continuing west from Cairns you can also head
to the Gulf Savannah which
has the Gulf of Carpentaria to its north, and the Northern Territory
border to its west.
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Heading north from Cairns along the Captain
Cook Highway, you will pass some wonderful coastal towns
before reaching Port Douglas.
These include Clifton Beach, Ellis Beach, Holloways Beach,
Machans Beach, Oak Beach, Palm Cove, Pebbly Beach, Pretty
Beach, Trinity Beach and Yorkeys Knob. Many offer accommodation
and better beaches than in Cairns itself.
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Port Douglas is a very pretty area, offering
a fabulous beach, beautiful marina, stylish shopping boutiques
and cafes, and a wide range of accommodation. Port Douglas
is located a short 1 hour drive north of Cairns, along a
wonderful coastal route.
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Just north of Port Douglas is Mossman, which
is the most northern sugar town in the whole of Australia.
Worth visiting is the spectacular Mossman Gorge which offers
some great walking trails and some good swimming spots. If you would like to find out about the Aboriginal
foods and medicines found within the Mossman area, then join one
of the interesting tours.
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North from Mossman is the Daintree,
which was once a logging town although is now famous for
its wonderful Daintree River Cruises. A vehicle ferry also
crosses the Daintree for travellers continuing north to
Cape Tribulation.
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This whole area is home to the Greater Daintree
Rainforest and makes up a large majority of the 0.1.5% of
rainforest in Queensland today, which is half of the 0.3%
in the whole of Australia. This is nothing when you think
that Australia was almost covered completely in rainforest
about 50 million years ago. Many 'Ferrels' also live in
the rainforests, claiming that their way of life is the
way of the future.
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Once across the Daintree, there are several bays
and beaches off of the main track to Cape Tribulation where you
can find accommodation and a number of activities on offer. Just
past Daintree you can turn off to Cape Kimberley Beach and Cow
Bay, as well as visit the interesting Daintree Rainforest Environmental
Centre. There are some great displays in the centre,
and you can learn a lot about the tropical rainforest. Near Thornton
Beach you can join a cruise along the Cooper Creek crocodile spotting,
which is great fun. North again at Noah Beach is a great walk
through the rainforest called the Marrdja Botanical Walk.
From Cape Tribulation you can continue along
the coast to Cooktown,
although the only access is for 4WD and may be completely
blocked after heavy rain. The Bloomfield Track continues
north until the Wujai Wujai Aboriginal Community, where
a further dirt track continues north to Cooktown, passing
Bloomfield, Helenvale and Rossville. There are several places
to stay in this section including camping and forest lodges. |
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If you do want to head to Cooktown from
Cairns but don't have a 4WD, you will need to head along
the inland Cooktown Developmental Road. You can join this
road from Mareeba in the Atherton Tablelands or continue
north along the Captain Cook Highway and turn off just before
you reach Mossman. However, you should check road conditions
after rain as this route is also often blocked.
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Along this route you will pass the Black
Mountain National Park, Lakeland, Mt Carbine, Mt Molloy
and Palmer River. The Black Mountain National Park is made
up of granite boulder hills. Black Mountain is also called
Kalkajaka, meaning 'Place of the Spears' in Aboriginal.
It is also said that there are routes under the mountain,
although many people have died trying to get through.
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From Lakeland, just east of Cooktown, you can
head north again along the Peninsula Developmental Road which
you can take to the top of the Cape
York Peninsula. The peninsula is also called the Tip,
and marks the northern most point of Australia's mainland. This
road can get very rough, and so it is best to take a 4WD.
POPULAR QUEENSLAND TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
PLEASE NOTE: The Queensland travel destinations outlined above are only a small selection from the tens of thousands of Australian travel information pages available on Australian Explorer. A comprehensive list of destinations for Queensland Holidays can be found on the main Queensland Holidays location guide. |
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