On to Cooktown ..., Australia

Traveler Thick Black Line. An odyssey
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- Jun 10, 2017
- ☀️ 23 °C
- Altitude: 49 ft
- Australia Queensland Cooktown Harbour -15.47413, 145.2479415°28’27” S 145°14’53” E
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Day 88
On to Cooktown ...
June 10, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
I had another fantastic drive today through stunning scenery.

By chance I find myself in Cooktown during the annual Discovery Festival. The town is named after Captain Cook who beached the Endeavour here to make hull repairs after running aground on the Great Barrier Reef during his first exploration.

Just out of interest, because it's pretty mind-boggling, Cooktown has a population under 3000 and the massive Shire of Cook (area 41,000 square miles, compared to England's 50,000) has a population of about 5000. Correct, 5000. I'd read that Cooktown gets about 26,000 visitors pa and couldn't understand why that was so remarkable - now I understand!Read more
Traveler Samoan dancers at the festival - I was told they all work at the banana farm in Lakeland. I felt a thread joining now back with my time in Hawaii - lovely
6/10/17Reply
Traveler Not what I think of as cattle country, but there are warning signs everywhere and I'd already passed a few small groups. A couple of mins later I passed maybe 50 being herded by 5 or 6 cowpokes. Then a small helicopter ran half a dozen across the road 150m ahead of me. Felt very dramatic!
6/10/17Reply
Traveler Stunning views from the James Earl Lookout just north of Palmer River Roadhouse
6/10/17Reply
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