Cooktown Memories 2013 - Day 37

Cooktown 2013

Day 37

Cooktown

Isabella Falls

 Our first morning in Cooktown and we decided to drive out to the Endeavour Falls and Isabella Falls about 25 km.  The weather was hot and humid, pretty normal for FNQ. 

Isabella
falls

Wildflowers

A water crossing

The road to the falls was sealed at first and then a reasonably good dirt road with some corrugations in parts, but we weren't towing the van so the conditions didn't worry us too much.

Reflections

 After spending some time at the Isabella Falls, we drove back on the same road to the Endeavour Falls which we entered through a caravan park which would have been great to stay there but our caravan is not made for off road conditions.  The Endeavour Falls were lovely and it was only a short walk through the caravan park to the falls.

Endeavour Falls

Endeavour Falls

Endeavour Falls

On the way back to Cooktown we stopped to take some photos of the waterlilies, which were beautiful, but as we got out of the car we discovered a very bloated and smelly wild pig, so took a few quick photos of the waterlilies and made a hasty retreat to the car.  I have never smelt anything so bad.

After lunch we drove up to the still operational Grassy Hill lighthouse built in 1886 located on the site of Captain Cook's landing in 1770.  In 1993 the lighthouse was converted to solar power.

Grassy Hill Lighthouse

View from the lighthouse

Grassy Hill Lighthouse

Finch Bay

Finch Bay

Finch Bay

After a short stroll along the beach at Finch Bay we went back to the wharf area for some more photos.

Cooktown Wharf

Sculpture in bronze to commemorate the goldrush pioneers

Saturday morning and of course I had to go to the Markets, and it was a very interesting mix of fresh fruit  and handcrafts.  I had a taste of some tamarinds and really enjoyed the slightly tart taste, and while we were sitting down having a refreshing smoothie, a lady started talking to me and I told her I had been having trouble with my RA and she said she usually had a stall at the market and sold a "special oil" which helped many types of pain but she didn't have any with her but gave me her phone number.  I think the special oil might have been illegal but I would have been tempted to try it as my pain level was getting a bit too high for comfort and we had been doing a fair bit of walking, but I didn't phone her and just continued with my prescription medication and rest. 

Our next adventure was to The Lion's Den, a popular pub about 30km south of Cooktown.  We were looking forward to seeing this iconic hotel which has an amazing collection of memorabilia and good Aussie food and we weren't disappointed with our Barra Burgers and a nice cold beer.  

On the way back we stopped at  Keating's Lagoon and went for a short walk and almost trod on a green tree snake.  It was a beautiful green and stayed long enough for a photo before slithering away.

Green Tree Snake 

What a lovely colour for a snake

Next morning it was time to leave Cooktown, so after hooking up the van, we headed out but stopped at the James Cook Museum located in an old 19th century convent.