Is an adventure to Cape York on your bucket list? It was on ours and we made it to the tip in June 2021! Here is our 3 week Cape York itinerary and some notes from our adventure. The best time to visit is after the wet season, during the winter months. Try to avoid school holidays if you want to avoid crowds.
Day 1 - Brisbane to Waverley Creek Rest Area
*Leave 4.30am, Lunch/Play @ Rocky - Kershaw Gardens 12pm-ish
*Kershaw Gardens has a huge playground and waterplay area for the kids.
*Kershaw Gardens to Waverley Ck - approx 2hrs/ 168kms.
Day 2 - Waverley Creek to Babinda Boulders
*Leave 4.30am, Lunch/Play @ Ingham 12pm-ish
Ingham to BB approx 2.5hrs
(Plan to get to BB early. The rest area was full so we had to keep driving through to a caravan park in Cairns)
Day 3: Cairns to Cape Tribulation
*3hrs drive *Captain Cook Highway
*Daintree Ferry (Open 5am-midnight) $18 per car one way or $31 return.
*Cape Trib camping - spot a croc?
Day 4: Cape Trib (via Bloomfield track) to Cooktown Holiday Park (Pool)
*Do CREB Track, Meg Falls for m/t? Lunch/Drink at Lions Den Hotel.
(Had planned to do the Creb track but it had rained and wasn't advised to drive it that day)
*Cooktown Lookout/Lighthouse, Waterpark along the Endeavour River good for kids. Can throw a line in here too.
*Washing Day
Day 5: Cooktown to Elim Beach (Eddie's camp)
*Isabella Falls, Coloured Sands Beach Drive, Cape Bedford - 4wd through the dunes.
Day 6: Elim to Weipa via Battlecamp Rd
*Lunch at Archer River Roadhouse * Last fuel stop before Weipa (we learnt this the hard way!)
*Stay at Weipa Camping Ground (Pool, kids playground)
*Weipa (Stock up on as much food as you can at Weipa - Bamaga IGA is VERY expensive and not a huge range. $13 for 2L tub of vanilla icecream!)
Day 7: Weipa
*Fishing, sight seeing.
*Washing Day
Day 8: Weipa to OTT - via Batavia Downs Rd
*Bramwell Roadhouse - Fuel
*Do Southern OTT.
*Camp at Dulhunty River (Bertie Creek would have been nice too - that’s the next creek along)
Day 9: Northern OTT - Stay at Sam Creek
(Canal Creek looked nice too but Sam Creek has a beautiful waterfall/hole for swimming)
*Fruit Bat Falls
Day 10: Sam Creek
*Eliott/Twin Falls
Day 11: Sam Creek to Alau Beach Campground
We ended up staying this night at Nolans Brook as our car flooded and took hours to fix.
*Jardine River Ferry (Closed 12-1 Daily) $130 return - ticket can be purchased at the ferry station.
*Washing
Day 12: Alau Beach
*Walk to tip, Croc Tent, 5 beaches drive, plane wrecks.
*Walk to the tip at sunrise and beat the tour buses - approx 1hr drive from Alau Beach
Day 13: Alau Beach
*Fishing Charter
Day 14: Alau Beach
*Mutee Head Drive
Day 15: Alau Beach
*Thursday/Horn Island Tour? NPA Cultural Festival at Bamaga.
Day 16: Alau Beach
- Seisha wharf fishing? Jacky Jacky Creek?
*Washing
Day 17: Alau Beach to Musgrave River Roadhouse
*550kms / approx 7.5hrs
*Line up early for the Jardine Ferry in peak times
*Lunch at Archer River Roadhouse - best burgers!
*Croc feeding 5pm
Day 18: Musgrave RR to Etty Bay
*Great place to spot a Cassowary
*530kms / Approx 9hrs
Day 19: Etty Bay to Airlie Beach
*Airlie Beach Big 4 - Pool/13 Waterslides for the kids
*530kms / approx 7.5hrs
Day 20: Airlie Beach
*Check out Airlie Beach & surrounds.
*Washing
Day 21: Airlie Beach to Rocky
*Lunch at Kershaw Gardens
*480kms / approx 6hrs
Day 22: Rocky to Brisbane
*Leave 5am Home 1pm-ish
I hope our Cape York Itinerary helps you to plan your adventure! If you have more time certainly stay longer in each place but 3 weeks was plenty of time to see what we wanted to see and have lots of fun along the way. If you have kids just pack plenty of car snacks and entertainment! Keep an eye out for my breakdown of our 4 days along the OTT! Have fun!
Kommentare