Cooktown
Cooktown is in Cook Shire in tropical north Queensland. In 1770, Captain James Cook spent 48 days here on the banks of the Endeavour River repairing his ship Endeavour, after it ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef. A century later, in 1873, it became the port for the Palmer River Goldfields. Today it is billed as the gateway to the wilderness. It offers Mountains, Outback terrain, as well as some of the top scuba diving around.
Travel to Cooktown & Visa Requirements
- Is 2,047 km on North Coastal Road or 2,137 km via Peninsula Road north of Brisbane, the State Capital.
- Is just over 300 km north, by road, from Cairns.
Tours & Getting around Cooktown
Cooktown attractions and sightseeing
- Discovery Festival, Every June, where Cooktown celebrates Cook's landing with a re-enactment.
- James Cook Museum, documents Cook's voyages, Aboriginal and natural history, the gold rush and the legacy of the Chinese miners. The museum is housed in a former convent school that was built in 1888 and run by Irish nuns.
- Grassy Hill, Close to town, provides a view that Captain Cook could have seen.
- Remains of blacksmith shop and chinese well (Turn off Bichtuman onto Oacky Creek Rd about 20km along) at the oldest mango trees in oz.
Cooktown city tours
- Explore the beaches, bush and mountains on the 'Walking tracks
Cooktown souvenirs & shopping
Cooktown Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive
Cooktown nightlife, bars, clubs & pubs
Cooktown cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels & lodging
Get out
to oackey creek rd and follow the road to the oldest mango trees in oz planted between oackey creeck and lions creek over 30 tree in a line alog the road about 20km off bichtuman. amazing!!!
Ask for help at the Cooktown travel forum
This page was last edited at 18:56, on 30 September 2006 by Michele Ann Jenkins. Based on work by Wikitravel user(s) Huttite and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.
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