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On 17th June 1770 Captain Cook beached the Endeavour on the sandy banks of the river here having struck the Great Barrier Reef off Cape Tribulation - he walked to the top of the highest hill to survey the surrounds... and was the first European to sight a Kangaroo. Presumably not road-kill.

He and his crew spent 48 days here making repairs to the Endeavour - as a mark of respect, we spent 4.8 days here and replaced the back tyres on The Beast.

Cooktown is small, with a population of around 1400, and this is the largest town for 400km, it has mountains surrounding its perimeter and the Endeavour river running along its Northern edge.  Sunsets here are incredible as the silver of the river cuts through the surrounding greenery, and the dust in the air creates dramatic red and violet streaks on the clouds.

There's plenty to do around here, but booking ahead seems essential as the town is simply not set up for tourism - everything is 'tomorrow', and that's if you're lucky, "next week" is more likely.

Being impatient, we make our own activities - and end up walking around the Victorian botanical gardens which were re-discovered a few years ago and is currently regenerating.  It has a superb visitor centre which details the deadly snakes, spiders and crocs which frequent the area and backs on to a wonderful beach - shame about the nearby croc infested mangroves...

Cooktown will have a non-stop tarmac  road leading to it by 2005, I believe this will kill off much of its charm as the big aircon buses roll in. So if you plan to, visit it before the black stuff arrives.

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