With a big drive ahead of us today, an early start was paramount. Both crews were on their game this morning, and by 8:05am, we were at the servo fuelling up the cars and heading north to Cooktown.
Our first stop was at the Daintree Ferry Crossing. For a fee of $24 per vehicle (return), you get a 3 minute ride across the picturesque Daintree River, but unfortunately you can’t get out of the car.
We continued north through the green canopy of Daintree National Park until we reached Cape Tribulation, where we stopped off for a quick snack and Harper feed at a small cafe. After the legs were sufficiently stretched and the bellies adequately accomodated, we were back in the vehicles and leaving the bitumen behind for the infamous Bloomfield Track. The track itself is a mix of gravel and sand and covers around 30 kilometres between Cape Trib and the Bloomfield River crossing. The gradients are very steep, with some of the most precarious now concreted to assist the steep climbs and descents. Both the Dmax and Prado covered the ground quite easily, and to the suprise of Paul, the exciting water crossing of the Bloomfield River was no more…The crossing is now a large concrete bridge, bypassing the need to get the tyres wet…
Once across the Bloomfield, we made our way north on a mix of sealed and unsealed roads, until we reached the outer limits of Cooktown. The drive into Cooktown presented us with Black Mountain, a moutain range consisting of black (actually dark grey) boulders. It was quite weird and even a bit eerie the way the mountain consisted of these rocks without the usual green follage.
We soon arrived in Cooktown and drove over to the boat ramp, an important sight in Queensland and our nations history where on the 18th June 1770, the HMS Endeavour and Captain Cook came ashore.
After the obligatory photos, we headed down to the Sovereign Resort restaurant for lunch. A nice meal was had by all, except both mine and Katreen’s Chicken Cesar Salad arrived with no chicken….The staff were nice and apologetic, bringing the offending condiment on a seperate plate and offering a free drink as compensation.
With our hunger satisfied, the Dmax crew headed up Grassy Hill to the lighthouse whilst we drove around town taking some photos, and looking for Grassy Hill and the lighthouse (which we still didnt find…). Eventually we caught up to the Dmax crew at the Black Mountain lookout on the way out of Cooktown and after a snappy debrief, headed for the iconic Lions Den Hotel at nearby Helenvale.
As we entered the historic hotel, I struggled to maintain my composure. I had seen the pub in more than a few magazines and 4WD videos, and to be actually standing there was ‘magic’. We all had our photos taken out the front with the lion standing watch over the entrance, before heading inside for a drink. The kids kept themselves entertained by reading the various quotes and anecdotes written in texta all over the walls of the hotel.
We noticed that a number of travellers had left their signed trip shirts hanging from the rafters inside the pub itself. The idea struck me that we should leave our Riff2Tip mark on the pub. With Paul being the only one in ‘uniform’ that day, the responsibility fell to him. Before we knew it, Paul had purchased a Lions Den polo and his Riff2Tip shirt was on the table. After a donation was made to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and Brookey sourced a texta from her collection, we all signed the Riff2Tip shirt. With the assistance of Ethan and a cable tie, the shirt now hangs proudly from the rafters.
Alas the afternoon was bearing down on us, and with still 250-275kms ahead of us, we said our goodbyes to the iconic landmark and headed south back towards Cairns. It wasnt until around 8:15pm that we arrived back in Cairns, but we pushed on and met up with the Dmax Crew on The Esplanade outside the night markets. After a leisurely stroll through the markets and a nice meal of pizza and pasta, we made our way back to the Coconut Resort and hit the pillows…
Interesting Facts of the Day – Obviously Cooktown was named after James Cook but up until 1874 it was actually called Cook’s Town. The first recorded sighting of kangaroos by Europeans was on Grassy Hill in Cooktown. Finally the Cooktown Orchid is the State Flower of Queensland.
Riff to Tip 2014 
Look forward to your log entry day. I have done a lot of things over the years, however non can match this wonderful adventure that you are all on I can feel the excitement and emotions in your writings and I thing is just a magic trip to be m
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