Cooktown

We were so comfy and Jan (the owner) was so lovely at Endeavor Falls, we decided to stay there for a little longer to allow us to see Cooktown. It was a short 20min drive away, Bertha was well and truly wedged in to her spot, and there was a pool for the kids, so it was an easy choice!

We were there on Market Day, which is always a bonus. Sadly, yet again, it was full of DELICIOUS Asian foods, which neither Duncan nor I feel up to first thing in the morning. I just can’t do laksas or curries before midday. Fortunately we were able to kill some time playing on the fantastic musical boat playground, and we all felt up for a spring roll after that.

We spent hours wandering around the fabulous Captain James Cook Museum, which has activity sheets for kids, popped up to the lighthouse and lookout and stopped for the BEST BURGER IN AUSTRALIA at a groovy little kiosk on the waterfront.

The next day, we were off south – headed to Port Douglas, which is just down the coast. Sadly that road is a 4WD track, and to get Bertha there, we had to go back up on the tablelands and down again. We decided not to load the car again, to make it easier on the engine, as there was a HUGE tough incline up Black Mountain. But first we had to get Bertha out! When Dunc had rung and enquired if we would fit, Jan had told him she had 60 acres and it wouldn’t be a problem. I joked that if it was 60 acres of rainforest it would. Apparently I was not incorrect to joke!

We had made our way in by driving in a tight curve around the back of some units and straight into the site. But to get out, Dunc would have to reverse back around the curve and drive up a ‘road’ covered in overhead branches. He had already climbed the trees to tie back the worst of the branches.

I didn’t film the extrication, as I was busy on the radio at the time, but he did it! I was super impressed and Dunc was mightily offended that I had such little faith in his abilities. He was less offended when I pointed out that he missed the 2^nd palm tree by only1.5cm.

We stopped again at the Palmer River Roadhouse for a break, and it was really satisfying to look at that sign and realize we had achieved our goal and gotten to the tip!