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Town in Queensland, Australia
Photo: en:User:John Hill, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Cooktown is a small coastal town in tropical north Queensland. In 1770 Captain James Cook landed 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. Although it still has well developed facilities, the town has more of a frontier feel, as is vastly different to the resort towns further south along the coast.
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Every June (on the June long weekend) Cooktown celebrates Cook's landing with a re-enactment.
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.
Close to town, provides a view little changed from that Captain Cook could have seen. The sunsets from Grassy Hill are renowned.
A Queensland national park with lookouts and walking trails.
Jackey Jackey was an historic building that used to be the general store. Now a Thai restaurant.
The Top Pub
Meals 7 days, and accommodation.
Six pole cabins, swimming pool on the road into Cooktown.
2 bedroom apartments and studios. A central pool and small tropical garden. Fronts straight onto the main strip. Nice view across to water from the restaurant and balcony upstairs, worth going up there for a coffee.
By car
Cooktown is just over 300 km north by road, from Cairns. The drive to Cooktown from Cairns is easy. The trip takes around 3 hours, is well signposted and hard to get lost.
By air
Hinterland Aviation offer a regular service from Cairns to Cooktown with flights 3 times a day Monday to Friday and a Saturday morning flight.
By bus
Country Road Coachlines travel by both the coastal and inland routes, connecting Cairns and Cooktown three times a week.
The township itself is easily traversed by foot, and there are a few interesting walks to the national park and beaches that start right at the edge of town. There is a taxi service in town, and an airport shuttle.
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