Cooktown Tours - 2 Day 1 Night Cooktown Explorer 4WD Tour | Bloomfield Track | CKED

Cooktown Tours - 2 Day 1 Night Cooktown Explorer 4WD Tour | Bloomfield Track | CKED

Travelling through the 150 million year old Daintree Rainforest in Cape Tribulation surrounded by breathtaking unspoilt scenery along the ancient Bloomfield Track to historic Cooktown, where you will walk in the footsteps of Captain Cook himself.

What better way to experience Australia’s history, flora or fauna than to actually go deep in the rainforest on jungle tracks.

On this 2 day overland to Cooktown safari tour, your experience will consist of exploring the Daintree Rainforest jungle on rough, rocky and sometimes sticky mud trails to experience the sights and sounds of this amazing place.

Your expert rainforest tour guide will bring the places alive with his or her knowledge of Cooktown and the flora and fauna and history of Far North Queensland Australia.

Learning has never been more fun for the more mature children or adults!

From Cairns our two days and one night of exploration for your personal discovery on our Cooktown tour certainly won’t seem long enough.

As your four wheel drive journey takes you through Cape Tribulation and along the Bloomfield Track you will immerse yourself in the full experience of the Daintree Rainforest to see some of the rare wildlife that only inhabits this part of our great planet.

You will emerge out of the wilderness to wonderful historic Cooktown where you will spend the night and explore the town. 

The next day will give you a chance to explore the Cooktown township at your leisure and get elbow deep in its rich history before returning via the quicker inland route of the fully sealed road of the Mulligan Highway. 

Itinerary

Day 1 - Captain Cook Highway to Daintree Rainforest, Cape Tribulation, Bloomfield Track, Historic Cooktown

Your historical 2 day Cooktown tour will start with you being collected from your accommodation by a specially designed air-conditioned 4WD (four wheel drive) vehicle. 

If you are in Cairns or Northern Beaches you get the added bonus of travelling along the Great Barrier Reef Drive on one of Australia’s, if not the world’s most scenic coastal routes northward towards the World Heritage listed Daintree National Park.

To cross the Daintree River to Cape Tribulation you will also have the unique experience of crossing the River by cable ferry.

You might even spot a passing Cassowary, a rare 6ft flightless bird that lives on the rainforest floor or if you look up high, a Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo up high in the rainforest branches. 

There are many rare plants and animals in the Daintree Rainforest teetering on the edge of extinction and this amazing rainforest is their last refuge from the continuing encroachment of man.

You will have a morning tea stop at Cape Tribulation Beach.  You might be in the rainforest wilds but civility and culture is only round the corner!

• Historical Bloomfield Track

Your adventure will then continue along the Bloomfield Track.  Be prepared to be amazed as you will be taken through some of the most incredible scenery, crossing rivers and creeks and up mountain ranges.

Your experienced tour guide will enlighten your journey with incredible stories and history of the iconic Bloomfield Track.

The Bloomfield track runs for 30km (18 miles) and was completed in 1984. The track was constructed as an alternative route to the Mulligan Highway. 

Due to environmental concerns the road was designed with as little switchbacks and bends as possible. This has led to the track resembling the layout of a roller coaster at times with its steep gradients – just perfect for the 4WD (four wheel drive) enthusiast. 

The Bloomfield Track passes over the Cowie and the Donovan Ranges and in rainy season it takes more than a 4WD (four wheel drive) to cross it – more like a motor boat!

You will stop at the Lion’s Den Hotel, (included in the price) one of North Queensland’s oldest running outback Bush Pubs that was built on the banks of the Little Annan River in 1875. 

Surrounded by 100 year old mango trees and tropical plants it is a quirky hotel made of timber and iron and known for its quirky decorations and walls adorned with visitor’s signatures. 

• Cooktown & It’s History

Arriving in Cooktown make sure your camera is powered up ready for the panoramic views from Grassy Hill viewpoint. 

As the sun sets at the end of your amazing first day, the view from Grassy Hill lookout with its spectacular 360 degree views is worth the journey. 

This was the first recorded place that a European spotted a kangaroo.

Stand in the footsteps of Captain Cook, who all those many years ago in 1770 looked out at the same view. 

As you look towards Cape Tribulation and the Endeavour River one realises that not so much has changed.

It is now the end of day one and time to go to your accommodation in Cooktown. Please note dinner and your evening's entertainment are at  your own expense.

Day 2 - Cooktown Tour

Breakfast is not included in the tour price, but is on offer at your accommodation at own expense.

After breakfast we now have most of the day left to explore Historical Cooktown

Cooktown is now a quaint sleepy estuary town, but at one time it was one of the busiest ports and a major business centres in Queensland during the gold rush. 

It is a significant town in the modern day history of Australia and also in its Indigenous roots. 

For more modern history we visit the world class James Cook Museum and just enjoy Cooktown’s natural beauty as we stroll down the banks of the Endeavour River.

Cooktown has something for everyone, old, young, male or female.  It is a place where you can immerse yourself in the local history and culture.

• Cooktown Cemetery

If you wish to soak up the history of a place and find out about its social history then Cemeteries are always a wonderful place to wander around .   Cooktown cemetery is no exception.

Among the gravestones and memorials you will find a diverse history of the social, cultural, religious practices that were found in the people of Cooktown.

Graveyards are not simply to remember the dead but also act as a wonderful testimony to the richness of people’s lives.

The first gave in the cemetery is the one of Rev Francis Tripp in 1874.

The saddest grave is that of Mrs Watson. She managed to survive an Aboriginal attack on where she lived on Lizard Island and with her infant son managed to escape to the next island. 

Unfortunately there they perished due to dehydration, as there was no water on the island.  

In a touching commemoration of Mrs Watson and her son’s sad deaths, a monument was erected.  At one time this could be used as a water fountain by the people of Cooktown, a touching reminder and memorial of these two tragic lives.

• The James Cook Museum

The Queensland National Trust’s James Cook Museum has been recently renovated.  

Nationally regarded as the best regional museum outside of any capital city in the country it is worth a visit. Initially built in the gold rush era of 1888-9 as the convent of Saint Mary the building has undergone a few changes of use and even became the first high school in North Queensland.

The US used it during the WWII as a command post after the Sisters of Mercy were evacuated. After a period of neglect it was restored to its former glory in 1970 and was reopened by the Queen as the “James Cook Museum”. 

Further refurbishment in 1999 has ensured that it will continue to be a credit to Cooktown, its visitors and the town’s history.  

• Cooktown Botanic Gardens

Next up is a visit to the Cooktown Botainc Gardens where we enjoy a guided walk viewing some of the same plants collected by botanists, Sir Joseph Banks and Danile Solander, as well as plants traditionally used by the local Aboriginals.

Relax at Nature's Powerhouse Museum and Information Centre. 

• Nature’s Powerhouse Museum

With so much natural flora and fauna in the area, this has attracted a high standard of artists wishing to capture this beauty.  

Cooktown’s Nature’s Powerhouse Museum is home to a stunning collection of botanical illustrations and paintings of flowering plants that can be found along the Endeavour River.

The highly revered botanical artist Vera Scarth-Johnson’s work of highly detailed botanical paintings and drawings are exhibited here. 

So impressed was Australia with her artwork and passion for the fauna of the area that she received an Order of Australia Medal in recognition of her work in 1995.

Alongside Vera’s work Nature’s Powerhouse Museum also houses work by Charlie Tanner, who spent his whole life recording the reptiles and the bio-diversity of the Cape York Peninsula.

• Grassy Hill Lighthouse

Well, you wouldn’t want to pay the postage on this!

Unbelievably the lighthouse was actually built in England after which it was shipped to Cooktown in 1885.  In the war, between1942 and 1945 it helped the war effort when a radar station was added, which was then demolished after the war.

After 100 years of loyal service protecting and warning ships in the area it was made obsolete. Thanks to the amazing effort of the Lions Club it has now been restored back to its former glory.  

• Grassy Hill Sun-Dial

You might think it is a sun dial but look are deceiving, this is in fact a “Global Positioning Monument”.  If you wondered how far away you were from loved ones in Tokyo, London, or New York, this will tell you.  Yes, you could Google it, but this old fashioned reference needs no power and is around 24/7.

• Captain Cook’s Grassy Hill Monument

Cooktown wouldn’t be complete without a monument to the man who gave the town its name and reputation.  After his landing and his trips up Grassy Hill the monument is a fitting reminder.  To the side of the hill is a large board on which is detailed all Captain Cook’s trips and journals.

• Your guide on the tour can give you more information on the sites to see on your visit.

• Return Journey to Cairns

Late in the afternoon you will depart Cooktown via the inland road, the smooth and speedy, Mulligan Highway. 

The highway is the inland route back and will take you through a diverse landscape of grazing of cattle on the plains of the large cattle stations and will take you through the Palmer River gold mine region, which was the site of teeming optimistic gold prospectors in the gold rush of the 1870’s.

• Black Mountains

We have a short stop at the eerily mysterious Black Mountains, aptly called as the black granite peaks loom up menacingly into the skyline above you.

This geological feature encourages the imagination, as it looks like some giant has just petulantly dropped millions of massive black granite boulders the size of houses there. A loser in a giant marble game?

These mountains are steeped in Aboriginal folklore, legend and myths and are a heavily significant feature of the Kuku Nyungkal people’s cultural landscape.  The Black Mountains are known locally to Aboriginals as Kalkajaka (meaning “place of spear”).

In more modern times it is said people have disappeared exploring these mountains and they definitely have an eerie feeling akin to the black rock version of hanging rock.

Next up is the Byerstown Range lookout and the Palmer River Roadhouse.

You will be dropped off at your accommodation places ready for a good sleep and to dream about the wonderful sights that you have seen in the last two days.

If you would like to stay just a little bit longer take a look at our 3 Day 2 Night option.