Day 260 / 2015 - The Mossman Daintree Cooktown Loop

Daintree, Cape Tribulation and Cooktown are located North of Cairns on the coast at the base of Cape York. You can drive a loop starting from Mareeba through Mossman, The Daintree and Cape Tribulation. From there navigate the Bloomfield track to Cooktown returning back to Mareeba via the bitumen covered Mulligan Highway all up about 550 Km.

Leaving Walkamin we headed north along the Kennedy Hwy passing through Mareeba  arriving at the town of Mt Molloy this is the start and end point of our loop. From Mount Molloy we headed North East along the Mossman Mt Molloy Rd. Reaching the top of the Rex Range we stopped to take a photo of the town of Mossman below. Rex Range road is typical of the roads which access the tablelands. There are lots of twists and turns so you need to take it easy as you travel down. Once at the bottom we made our way to the town of Mossman and onto the attraction Mossman Gorge.

The gorge is located about 4 KM out of town. It was once considered a place where the locals went for swimming and relaxing but eventually became popular with the tourist as well. The number of visitors have become so large the access road directly to the Gorge is now blocked off and you park your car and enter via the tourist centre. You then catch a bus for a small fee which takes you down to the Gorge area itself. The bus completes a circuit from the Visitors centre to the old gorge carpark and back again every 15 minutes so you don't have long to wait for a bus. At the drop off point there are a number clearly marked walking paths you can take. Walking along the elevated boardwalk from the bus stop you pass through tropical rain forest before arriving at a lookout which gives a view of some of the many cascades and pools. From here you pass over a suspension bridge to a walk trail of about 2 km which takes you through more rain forest an some of the upper area pools. The walk is reasonably easy but there are some steep sections so a good level of fitness and mobility is need.

After completing the walks we returned back to the visitor centre on the bus returned to our car then headed north out of town stopping for lunch in a rest area next to the Mossman river. This was an interesting place as it seemed to be a hangout for some of the locals. While nobody gave us any grief the number of cars going past at speed next to us was kicking up a fair bit of dust so we quickly finished our lunch and moved on.

Our next stop was the Town of Daintree. We hadn't read or heard anything of particular interest to look at here but as it was only 10 km beyond the turnoff for the Daintree ferry so was worth a look even if it was just to say we had been there. The town or village is established next to the Daintree river. There is a small set of shops, school, pub and garage and that was about it. There is also a caravan park next to the river. If I could compare it to any other place it would be like Yallingup in WA a destination for a quiet weekend or week rather than somewhere you passed through.

Leaving Daintree we headed back towards the ferry which will take us across the river to Cape Tribulation. The only other way to Cape Tribulation is via Cooktown then back along the Bloomfield track. It cost $14 one way or $25.00 return for cars. The ferry is a cable pulled barge, carrys about 40 cars and takes 5 minutes to cross. Once on the other side we left the Ferry and headed along the Cape Tribulation Rd. The road could be better described as a bitumised track as it is not very wide and steep in places but suprisingly the traffic flowed okay without to many frights around bends.

Our first stop was at the Alexandra Range Lookout giving panoramic views over the mouth of the Daintree River and coastline. Travelling from here our next stop was the Daintree Discovery Centre. Here you can view the rain forrest from the bottom, middle and top by walking along the ground, elevated walkways and climbing the Tower of Terror. Its not really a Tower of Terror but it sounds a lot cooler than calling it a lookout tower. There is plenty of information and displays about the local Fauna and Flora. You are given a guide map and an audio player which you type in a location numbe then listen to an auditory comentary about the significance of that location.

Cape Tribulation promotes it self as being where the rainforest meets the reef and that pretty much describes it. You could be only a 50 metres from the beach and you wouldn't know it.  When you have access from the road to a  beach they are quite peaceful with the waves gently lap against white sand and protected by surrounding rainforest. The day was getting quite late so we decided it was time to look for somewhere to sleep for the night. We didn't have any camping equipment so we though we would pick one of the lodges dotted along the road.

Our first pick was the Cape Tribulation Beach House which had been recommended by the Discovery Centre. Unfortunately they were having a wedding that weekend and had no cabins that suited us available. We back tracked a few kms to the Township of Cape Tribulation. Township is proberbly not quite the right description a collection of buildings in the bush is a better one. We tried a place called the Ferntree Lodge which had a cabin that suits our needs. Ferntree Lodge was quite comfortable they have a resturaunt and 2 pools in a setting surrounded by lush rainforest. The cabins were quite nice very clean with there own private facilities. There was a downside no TV, no phone and no internet reception this is starting to sound like Gilligans Island but there was a bar and you could order cheap pizzas for dinner so things were looking up. The Bar had to close though each time the waitress went to pick up the pizzas from the kitchen maybe there is a staff shortage out here.

Next morning we packed up and headed off north again. At the end of the Bitumen is the start the Bloomfield track which is designated as 4WD only. The receptionest at the lodge had said they needed to put the sign up as a suprising number of 2WD cars would try to navigate the track it's amazing where hire cars can go. We had heard there were a few river crossings and Anne wasn't to sure about that part. The track had suffered some damage from the last cyclone but Main roads were in the process of fixing it up so parts of it were in really good condition. We came across the first river crossing and stop to have a look. It wasn't much more than ankle deep and about 20 metres wide so didn't look to much of a challenge. I did engage the hubs though according to the advice we had been given this helps against the possibility of losing traction on slipery rocks.

Pushing on the road weaved its way through the rainforest with some fig tree roots  suspended above the middle of the road. The track is steep in some sections with the very steep parts covered in concrete. Where Main Roads had fixed up the track it was still quite slippery but nothing to worry about as long as you maintained a easy pace. Further on the road surface did change and was quite corregated but again maintaining an easy pace helped minimise the bouncing around. There were some drivers who felt the faster they went the better it was so we just pulled over and let them pass. I could see why 2WD is not recommended not so much for ground clearance but some of the steep sections were slippery and if you loose traction well your not going anywhere except back down again.

We had stopped at Woobada Creek crossing for a break and heard this racket coming down the track. Rounding the corner was a V8 landcruiser towing a 20 foot boat. The clattering we could hear was the boat bouncing around on the trailer we half expected to see a splintered boat further up the track. The entire unsealed part of the Bloomfield track is now only about 40 Km long so we soon ended back on the bitumen again when we reached the community of Wajal Wajal. We don't think it will be to long before the whole track is sealed making it easer for all vehicles to drive.

Travelling on towards Cooktown we came across the Lions Den Hotel near Helenvale. This is another one of those well known quirky pubs similar to the "Pub in the Paddock" in Tasmania or "Daly Waters Hotel" in NT where you have to at least stop look inside and have a drink or do Lunch. Inside it looked as though half the world had signed there name around the walls and on the roof. When we had arrived there was hardly a soul there but by the time 12 oclock rolled around the place filled with visitors.

Leaving "The Den" Cooktown was only another 31 Km's away along the fully sealed  Mulligan Hwy. On the way you pass by "Black Mountain" which looks like a waste heap from some mining venture. It is not recommended to climb the mountain as it infested with snakes. There are many European and Aboriginal stories of people and animals climbing the mountain only to be never heard of again.

Arriving in Cooktown we booked into the Seaview hotel which had a great view over the river and harbour. The hotel room was clean and well maintained and joy of joy's had TV and internet access at last back in civilisation. Or first tourist attraction was Grassy Hill lookout. This is the hill Cook and Banks climbed to survey seaward a passage through the the Great Barrier Reef separating Cooktown from the open ocean. He was dismayed when he saw how difficuilt it would be and took a number of addtional climbs and a few trips in a long boat before he was able to workout how to navigate back into open water again.

From there we walked along the riverside waterfront where a number of statues and cairns signified important events that occured on that spot. There is a statue of Cook himself as well as a cairn which identifies the location the Endevour was beached. Also on the waterfront was this large model of a sailing ships where musical instruments made from plastic pipes and wood had been built into it. This was a great place for kids young and old to discover their musical talents or lack off. Further up the main road was an interesting shop called The Jackey Jackey shop which had once been a Cafe but was now a vet surgery. There is an interesting sign painted on the windows pointing coffee in one direction and castration in the other.

Finishing up for the night we saluted the sunset with a glass of wine and nibbles from the verandah of our hotel room before heading down to the fish and chip shop located on the wharf just below our hotel for a feed of the best fish and chips we have had in sometime.

Next morning we packed up once again and headed off. Before leaving town we wanted to see Cook's museum located in the old convent. The museum displays a lot of local history including the buildings previous rolls through its life. Located in the Museum was an Anchor from Cooks Endeavour which had been raised from the sea floor in 1971 as well as 9 cannons which had been dumped overboard to reduce weight so Cook could float the Endevour off the reef when she ran a ground in the 1700's. All the cannons are displayed in Museums around the world including this one in Cooks Museum in Cooktown.

Finally it was time to head home along the Mulligan Hwy back to Mt Molloy, Mareeba and Walkamin. The road is all bitumen and in very good condition. The country side along this way is in stark contrast to that of Cape Tribulation's rainforest being much more savanah type.  Along the way we came across hundreds of cyclist participating in the Cardiac challenge which is a fund raising cycle ride from Cairns to Cooktown to raise money for FNQ Hospitals. If you have seen the hills they need to ride over you would understand why its called the Cardiac Challenge.