Firstly, happy birthday to GG Pat- the leader of the October birthday buddies, pulling off 103 years today- best wishes from the JALC team we look forward to catching up to share some stories.
We only got to the outskirts of Cooktown before we made the obligatory stop in at Keating’s Lagoon – apparently some early settlers who owned land around here. A short boardwalk and birdwatching platform provided a good overview of the site.
Spoonbills, lots of Magpie Geese, and a crocodile lazing on the muddy bank were some highlights.
Not long after we were driving along shady roads with Daintree rainforest starting to take over. We got onto the Bloomfield Track which is 4WD only and we quickly realised why with very steep sections that needed slow ascents and very slow, low-range geared descents.
But the rainforest is beautiful and some of the glimpses of the ocean were spectacular. The track is only pretty short – the whole drive from Cooktown to Cape tribulation is about 100kms – but it cuts directly through – otherwise it’s a long drive around the outside.
We decided to find a camp half way along and a small clearing away from the road did the job – it was probably a small roadworkers stockpile site and it was a prefect stopover for a night.
The first thing we noticed were the amazing bird calls – as usual pre-dawn was an incredible chorus. We were keen to get going the next morning and see our next campsite at Noah’s Beach.
JALC-OZ-2018 