Exploring Cooktown and the Scenic Starke River Track in Far North Queensland

I’m always drawn to the top end every winter for the warmth, the sheer raw landscape and so many places to explore. Now I’ve been to Cooktown a few times, but this trip I wanted to explore a new track that I heard about that traverses north along the coast then across to the busy Cape York tracks.

Cooktown has a long and chequered past from when Cpt James Cook landed in 1770 for ship repairs on the HM Endeavour after it struck the Great Barrier Reef. Cook and crew stayed for two months while repairing the ship in the Endeavour River, which Cook named after his ship.

While waiting for repairs to be done, Cook and his right hand man Joseph Banks ( botanist and naturalist ) explored the area naming mountains and collecting new specimens including a Kangaroo. While on the top of a grassy hill, Cook noted that the area was full of mangroves and didn’t have much hope of a new settlement.

Roll on 50 years and the first coastal explorers reached the area climbing and naming Mount Cook, and it was then in 1873 that explorer James Mulligan found substantial gold deposits in the Palmer River creating a new gold rush to the area. Originally just a tent city near the entrance of the Endeavour River, Cooks Town was becoming busier as a new landing place for prospectors. Re-named as Cooktown on June 1 in 1874, the town boomed with a new port and with multiple shops and hotels stretching for nearly 3km.

The boom was so intense that within a few years there was a 50km rail line, a telegraph connection to Brisbane, botanical gardens were established and a third of the population were Chinese. Cooktown boomed with tens of thousands of gold prospectors landing and heading out to the Palmer River goldfields.

Today it’s a great base where travellers heading north to Cape York can delve in its history, wander up Charlotte Street with heritage buildings, explore the stunning lookouts, natural wonders plus there are 6 Cook memorials around town highlighting his trials and tribulations.

Probably the most visited place in Cooktown is Grassy Hill, as this was the spot where Captain James Cook and Sir Joseph Banks stood looking for a way out of the river and past the shallow shoals for his vessel the Endeavour. The lookout has many information boards but also is the site of a lighthouse that was erected in 1886 bought out from England on the ship New Guinea.

Just out of Cooktown are the mysterious Black Mountains where huge black granite boulders have slowly made their way to surface after millions of years of weathering. There's many stories of cattle and people going missing while wandering around the rocks, during times of wind there’s howling which some stories say its the spirits calling from the inside.

I had a peaceful night camp at Isabella Falls which is a free camp just 40km nw of Cooktown. Popular with travellers heading up to the tip it has limited space so its best to get in early.

My turn for the Starke River track was just up the road from my overnight camp along Isabella McIvor River road for 30km to Mount Webb station.  It’s from here that the Starke Track starts. Rated as a medium track on maps and online, it was honestly just a nice drive through several Aboriginal land trust areas, where the cattle were serious fat and the area was severely green from a late wet season.

I diverted off the track towards the Starke River bush camp and boat ramp hoping to see the resident crocs but due to a cool day with fresh winds I saw none,  but the mangrove lined river definitely looked crocky.

Back onto the track and I crossed the top end of the Starke River Track and the deterioration of the track meant this was definitely where the track maintenance stopped. I found on my GPS that it was from here that it was also called the Wakooka Track.

It wasn’t long before I found some old ruins including cattle yards, shed frames and the windmill bore. Going by the disrepair and long grass surrounding the area its been abandoned for some time.

From here the track went from bad to worse and I’d say from the past wet season it took quite a battering where run offs created bad ruts for miles. There were sections where the track ran up creek beds and the sand was some of the softest I’ve driven on.

The only maintenance this track receives is from the few 4wders that pass through and the bike tours that run out of Cairns several times a year. I heard about one steep section out of a creek where a winch was required and it wasn’t long before I came across Jeannie Creek. Now to be honest, it was steep but but no winching required, with a little right foot and plenty of flex it was a good drive to the top.

Passing the Altanmoui Range the track starts throwing rocky sections into the mix where it was slow going for quite some time. What is known as “The Lookout” was a nice spot for a break and look down on where I had just come from, it looked like something out of Jurassic Park with heavily timbered areas, high mountain peaks and old volcanic mounds.

The Wakooka Track finally ended at the abandoned Wakooka ruins which were at the Cape Melville NP sign and also indicating that Cooktown was 180km behind me. From here the road significantly improves into a good unsealed road all the through to the Kalpowar Crossing and camping area.

After a peaceful night at the Kalpowar camping area my next stop was out to Old Laura homestead about 60 km away. It always amazes me the locations where these stations were setup over 100 years ago, and the complex Old Laura is no exception. This is a must do stop on the way to the top of Cape York where visitors can wander around the homestead and out buildings. There’s been a little restoration the past few years just to keep the main build standing and preserve it for a little longer. These buildings date back to 1894 when just getting here would of been more of a mission than an adventure.

The homestead was set up as a pastoral lease back in 1881 and was originally on the main route between Cooktown and the Palmer River goldfields and was a popular meeting place for prospectors and pioneers as they traversed through the region. During the 1940’s more buildings were built and a small community of people lived here including Aboriginal stockmen and their families, veggie gardens were setup and even a tennis court was built.

Cooktown is loaded with history and natural wonders and a great place to spend a day or two when heading up to cape York. While not an overly demanding track the Starke Track is seldom used by travellers but a good alternative if you have a spare few days around the northern tropics.

WHERE

Cooktown is nearly 2000km north of Brisbane at the base of Cape York and is often regarded as the gateway to the Cape and is the last major town heading north. Cooktown is situated right on the coast and accessible by either sealed roads from Cairns, or up the adventurous Creb or Bloomfield tracks. The Starke Track starts 80km NW of Cooktown and is a remote, unmaintained track that takes up to 8 hours to travel its 150km section.

WHAT TO EXPECT

With natural beauty and history to boot its a popular destination for many travellers all year round. Buildings date back to the 1880’s when the gold rush boom came to Cooktown, explore Captain Cooks landing with multiple moments around town, Chinese history, and some of the best fishing the north has to offer.

MY TOP TIPS 

• Spend a day or two exploring the history around Cooktown from when Cook landed, the history of the goldfields, old buildings, Chinese history and much more.

• Explore the natural wonders in the shire with waterfalls, mysterious mountains and the stunning coastline.

• Be prepared for the the Starke - Wakooka track where it will test your patience with long stretches of ruts, soft sand patches plus multiple dry and wet creek crossings.

• Free camp out of town at either Isabella Falls or south at Archer Point.

• Wander around Old Laura Homestead, read about the hardships & triumphs of days gone by.