Cape York Peninsula

 

Cape York and the Gulf Savannah are the last Australian frontier. Located on the northern most tip of Australia, Cape York Peninsula is a wild and sparsely populated wilderness area and is only accessible during the dry months of April to December.

Daintree is a fascinating place to come and explore.
Daintree Village (population 100) is 20 kms by sealed road, into the valley, from its entrance at Rocky Point. It is a good place to start your Daintree adventure and to base yourself for a couple of days. Situated on the banks of the famous Daintree River, the Village is clean, green and picturesque. The Daintree Village Jetty, one of the departure points for river cruises, is a short pleasant stroll downhill from the General Store located in the main street of the Village.
In the surrounding of the village of Daintree you can spot the largest tree frog of the Australian Mainland
(Litoria infrafrenata, left), the largest python, the Scrub Python (Morelia amethistina, center), and a large Bird Eating Spider.
The seemingly undeveloped land of Cape York will surprise and delight. The dusty tracks contrast dramatically with the abundant river systems, crystal clear creeks and spectacular waterfalls. This is a vast area of unexplored wilderness, magnificent national parks, sacred Aboriginal sites, unexplored rainforest, rugged mountains and swampy marshlands.
Several fantastic flowers and other interesting floral things can be seen along the track.
Some tiny skinks (Carlia sp.), a starling, and some wallabies are roaming around.
The Cape Tribulation was named by Captain Cook in the late 1700's, since it was just a little north of here
that his troubles tribulations started when he ran his ship on to the Endeavour Reef. In the '70's it was a hippie
outpost with a number of settlements, particularly at the infamous Cedar Bay, further north towards Cooktown.
Today with further improvements to the road, Cape Tribulation is becoming more popular for visitors. It's not
surprising as this stretch of the coast is incredibly beautiful. It's one of the few places in Australia where the
rainforest runs right down to the water.
Cruising along the track gives you the chance to see some reptiles. A Lace Monitor (Varanus varius) and
a Black Headed Python (Aspidites melanocephala) were crossing the road.
Cooktown - the gateway to the wilderness - was founded in 1873 as the port for the Palmer River Goldfields. This was more than a century after Captain James Cook spent 48 days in 1770 on the banks of the Endeavour River repairing his ship.
South of Laura is Split Rock and the Quinkan Aboriginal rock-art galleries, situated in the spectacular sandstone country.
Coen is the main centre of the peninsula and has two general stores, a police station, and a pub.
       
Join the old telegraph track passing through remote cattle stations before reaching the Wenlock River crossing. Once over the river the country opens up into heathlands with giant termite mounds.
A nice road sign welcomes you to "hell". From here the road stretches through open forest with sometimes
bull dust and creek crossings.
Brush Turkeys (Alectura lathami) and several species of dragons, including the
Frilled Neck Lizards (Chlamydosaurus kingii, below) can be seen beside the track.

Jardine River is near the tip of Cape York Peninsula. Follow the old telegraph line or the Peninsula Development Road to the park. It is better to use the Aboriginal owned ferry to cross this river. All the activities were observed
by an Argus Monitor (Varanus panoptes panoptes above) and a big spider (Nephila sp., right).
After crossing the Jardine River, you can follow the track north. Watch out for signs,
where you can have a look for crashed WWII aircrafts.
On these sandy tracks sometimes some skinks will be seen roaming around.
Above left a Northern Blue Tongue Skink (Tiliqua intermedia) and another Skink (Egernia sp.)
A special highlight for us was the spotting of a pair of Eclectus Parrots (Eclectus roratus). On the left picture you can see a male and in the middle is the female. A Spotted Tree Monitor (Varanus scalaris) was also around.
In the deep forest, there might be a chance to see some
very interesting wildlife. During one night we saw a
Noisy Pitta (Pitta versicolor) just behind our tent.
Travelling around the Cape you have to cross several creeks and you might camp beside a lovely waterhole,
but always keep in mind,
this is crocodile country.