Far North Queensland


Our adventure up the Bloomfield bump track didn't disappoint.  The drive took us up and down mountains and through river beds that made having a 4 wheel drive more than a nice to have!  It was a tooth jarring, hair raising trip with some slopes at 31% grade. (Meaning that you can't see the road in front of you either going up or down.)

After taking this trip, it became obvious why so many of the vehicles we see in the far north are equipped for any kind of emergency.  Trucks here generally are packed with two spare tires, water & fuel cans as well as a snorkel.  If you look at the picture below, you will see a black snorkel attachment coming out of the hood.  These snorkels enable a truck to take in air for the engine even when driving in very high water as you cross a river.  Up here being stranded due to flood waters is pretty common once the rainy season begins as the average annual rainfall is 6.5 feet!
Standard Aussie Vehicle 
Our stay in Cooktown and Bloomfield took us to areas where fishing and spotting saltwater crocodiles are the main attractions.  Cooktown was by far the bigger of the two with a few restaurants and a decent grocery store.  We found a great little pub that would be the equivalent of an American Legion in the states that served excellent bangers & mash along with the requisite green peas.  This part of Australia is still very connected to it's British heritage in their speech and eating traditions.  Cooktown is named after the famous Caption James Cook who was the first European to map the eastern Australian coast, New Zealand as well as Hawaii for the British Crown in the 1700's.  He was a brave and fascinating explorer.
Rocky shoreline of Cooktown
We ventured inland one afternoon to check out Split Rock which is an area where aboriginal paintings estimated to be at least 13,000 years old can still be seen.  It was a hot and dusty hike through scrub land just like you would imagine.  The experience of seeing these snapshots from the past was magical. They depict their life story at a moment and time but were also  "painted" over by  generations that followed.
Split Rock Aboriginal Art
Our time in Far North Queensland has come to an end.  We are grateful for all of the experiences this amazing part of the earth has provided.  Dan is singing "On the Road Again" as we are off to Darwin to explore what Aussies call the Top End for the next few weeks.  

Stay Curious!

Dan & Cheryl

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