….with Far North Queensland…and Cooktown in particular.

“Why?…There’s nothing there” most people say in passing conversation.

I beg to differ. The area is in equal measure both stunning, confronting and compelling.

Stunning in its geography, its landscape and its’ rich fauna. Confronting, in the way generations and generations of indigenous culture were permanently altered, often eroded, with the arrival of white settlements in the 19th century. Compelling, in the story the town holds within, of its role in the ‘discovery’ of this Great Southern Land.

The picture above shows the view I had from the Seaview Motel, worth every bit of its three stars and retro 1950’s feel. Our room was situated on the top level of a tiered garden. It had a concrete floored veranda and a set of unpretentious balcony furniture at which to sit and watch the sunset over The Endeavour River.

To state the obvious, it was superb.

It was in this area that Lt. James Cook spent seven weeks repairing his boat The Endeavour after it hit a reef off the coast of Cape Tribulation in 1770. And it was here that the first significant contact was made and recorded, between local tribes of indigenous people and European navigators.