Road Trip to Cairns....and a Little Beyond. Part IV, 18-20th August.

There was going to be a Memorial service in town to mark the 50th Anniversary of the battle of Long Tan (Vietnam) on the day after we leave Cooktown, and  accommodation was at a premium. The only place we could get into was the Sovereign Resort Hotel and they even knocked $30 a night off because we said their rates were higher than our budget allowed, the manager also gave us some tomatoes for free....a nice friendly place is Cooktown.  It was a bit breezy at Cooktown, which was good as it kept the humidity down, as well as the temperature. Lynn enjoyed the place more than I expected her to, could have been the nice place we stayed at, could have been the friendly service where we ate, could have been the nice views, could have been the cooling breeze, could have been because there were no bities......anyway she liked it. 

We now head south for the start of the journey home. We have booked a cabin for 2 nights at the Malanda Caravan Park, where we stayed in 1989.

The Brolgas coming into roost in Bloomfield Swamp (an old volcanic crater) at Malanda on dusk was pretty spectacular. They looked like groups of Pterodactyls when they were coming in. I went spotlighting that night and saw my first tree kangaroo, I also saw a couple of Barn Owls and a few Long-nosed Bandicoots.

Click on photos to enlarge.

These 3 days.

Sovereign Resort Hotel, our accommodation in Cooktown.

We were greeted by a tree snake, on the middle step leading to our room, on our arrival.

Sovereign Resort Hotel.

Sovereign Resort Hotel.

The original Sovereign Hotel (top) was built in 1874 and was one of the first double storey buildings in Cooktown.  It has since been demolished to make way for the new Queensland-style building (bottom).

The covered bowling green at Cooktown.

Boat ramp Cooktown.

Chill'n out in Cooktown.

Sunset silhouettes  (that's Lynn on the right).

Cooktown sunset.

Time for just one more shot.

Main street and some of the old buildings, Cooktown.

(clockwise)    Cooktown Hotel, 1885.  ___  The rear of the St Mary’s Convent.  ___
 Cooktown's post office, established in 1880 and still in operation.
 ___  The 'Old Bank' building was originally built in 1891 as the Queensland National Bank.

Cooktown and the Endeavour River from Grassy Hill Lookout.
 You can see rain falling in the distance on the right.

View from Grassy Hill Lookout.

View of the Endeavour River from Grassy Hill Lookout.

Cooktown. from Grassy Hill Lookout.

Cooktown's main street, there's more down to the right.

Cooktown was established in 1873, but no beacon guided ships through the reef until the lighthouse was built in 1886.

Grassy Hill Lighthouse.

Toilets and Monument in Anzac Park, Cooktown.

Everything.........including the kitchen sink.   It was time to empty the loo.

Waiting for lunch at Cooktown.

James Cook Museum.
The Brick building, built during the 1880s gold boom, was once the St Mary’s Convent.

Displays in the James Cook Museum.   'The gilded key used by HM Queen Elizabeth II to officially open this museum on 22nd April, 1970'.

The fancy wrought iron railing on the James Cook Museum building.

View from James Cook Museum.

View from James Cook Museum.

(clockwise)    This statue represents a typical miner on his way to goldfields in the 1870s.
 It is commonly known as "Mick the Miner" and commemorates the 125th anniversary of the establishment of Cooktown.
  ___   This statue commemorates explorer and navigator Captain James Cook.CAPTAIN JAMES COOK     1728 - 1779 Commander H.M.B. "ENDEAVOUR" Which Was Beached And Repaired Near This Site 17 June- 4 August, 1770
 ___   The Captain Cook monument, erected in 1888, 107 years after James Cook`s landing at the Endeavour River

The Milbi Wall (The Story Wall) built by Gungarde Aboriginal Corporation.

Finch Bay, Cooktown.

It was a little windy at Finch Bay, Cooktown.

A hole in the sand made by feeding stingrays, Finch Bay, Cooktown.

Someone has found a souvenir to take home.

There's plenty of things to keep you occupied up here.
'Ukulele Club!
Thursday 5 pm CWA (Country Women's Association) Hall.
   All Welcome'.

Cooktown Cemetery.  Jewish headstone from 1875 (right).

This structure stands over the remains of an unknown Chinese person, whose
 bones were found on the Palmer River Goldfield. There were thousands of
Chinese people buried on the goldfields of Cape York Peninsula, most of
whom still lie, forgotten, in the bush.        This is a memorial to them all.

The walk from the cemetery back to town takes you through the mangroves.

(clockwise from top left)  Cooktown Orchid,  Vanilla Bean,  red flower at Black Mountain,  Paperbark flowers,  frangipani,  ornamental pineapple.

The old and new bridges over the Annan River.

Flood debris on the old Annan River bridge.

Lynn doing the 'Cooktown Jig'.

Back past Black Mountain again.

The southern crossing of the Annan River near Black Mountain.

You can still see the remains of the old causeway over the Annan River near the newer crossing.

Time to stop and photograph some termite mounds.

Termite mounds. They weren't big but there were 1000's of them.

Give me a home among the ant mounds, with lots of blow flies, a cow or two and a kangaroo...................

View from Bob's Lookout on the Mulligan Highway.

View from Bob's Lookout on the Mulligan Highway.

Afternoon tea, or was it a late lunch, Mount Carbine.

No need to go thirsty, Mount Carbine.

This scene typifies, to me, what the country up here is like.

.....so I did a painting.

"Spotto".........a man on a horse.

(clockwise from top left)    Mudskipper,  Agile Wallaby,
 Lumholtz's Tree-kangaroo (yes it is an awful photo but it was the only one I saw and it was a first for me.
 Taken from the car while spotlighting.)

Some of the bugs.        
(clockwise from top left)   Green Tree Ants,  grasshopper,  paper wasp,  butterfly.

Some of the birds.

(clockwise from top left)     Olive-backed Sunbird (male),    Bar-shouldered Dove,
 Dusky Honeyeater,  Australian Brush-turkey  (it was sun-bathing),    Eastern Reef Egret (white form).

(clockwise from top left)    Varied Triller,    Barn Owl,   Rainbow Bee-eater,
 Blue-faced Honeyeater,    Brahminy Kite.

Some of the 200 late afternoon arrivals at  Bromfield Swamp, Malanda. Overcast and late light.
 (clockwise from top left)   Brolgas,  Sarus Crane (left, with more red on head),    Brogas,  Sarus Cranes,  Brogas.

Cameras:  Canon PowerShot SX60 HS and Sony DSC-W690.