Last day in Cooktown

My night’s sleep without disturbance was much better. I was awake early and read for a while and then checked news and emails on the internet including one from Prue saying she is now safely in Vancouver, Canada.

After my breakfast I went for a bike ride towards the airport and it is also the road to Hopevale community. On the return to town, the wind was really up and that made cycling tougher. The exercise was good though. I returned to the Caravan Park and cooled down before a shower. As I came into the Caravan Park, I said farewell to Sam and Rebecca who were packing to go south.

Then it was time to try another coffee outlet and finally I found one that is great. It is Restaurant 1770 which is right on the Fisherman’s Wharf. I had the usual cappuccino and raison toast. They leave the rest behind by a long way.

My next stop was “The Old Bank” built in 1891 for the Queensland National Bank which is now home to the Cooktown Historical Society’s fantastic exhibitions. It has retained the fabulous red cedar counters and the other decor. It highlights the town of Cooktown through the years which gave a glimpse of the town’s pioneering past. One thing it highlights was the town during World War II. It is quite amazing how much occurred here. 

Then to I went to the IGA supermarket to pick up a few things to ensure my independence while travelling to and from Cape York. There will be shops as I go up but I am told to expect some big prices for items.

After shopping, I returned to the Karavan and stored all the items in their respective locations, such as some in the freezer and some into the storage areas. Then I had my lunch.

The next destination was the James Cook Museum which is located in the former St. Mary’s Convent for the Sisters of Mercy. This building was designed by the Scottish architect, F D G Stanley who had been the Government Architect but later became a private one.

In the museum, it highlighted James Cook and his venture into what is now Cooktown. Some of his entries in his diary indicated meeting the local aborigines along with various exploration descriptions of his time there. There is also a description of the aborigine tales of that time that has been passed down to more recent members. There is also recognition of the large Chinese population here during the gold rush time.

This museum also gives a version of the rise and fall and rise again of the town of Cooktown. There have been some hard working residents and business people who have attempted and now successfully revive the town. Tourism is obviously a large part of the income to the town as well as from the fishing industry. Driving around town, one does get to see vehicle number plates from every State of this country. The largest number of visitors appear to be Victorians.

Before I returned to the Caravan Park I drove out to better inspect the airport which is tiny but quite busy with regular flights to Cairns and other charter flights. On the way out and back I had a great conversation on the in car phone with my old school friend David. 

Returning to the caravan Park, it was time to wash the clothes I was wearing as I am not sure of laundry facilities for a while but anyway all is clean again. While waiting for the washing to finish, I had a nice swim in the pool just about 50 metres from my Karavan. It is amazing to think that back home and to the west it is apparently so cold. The nights here do not get below 20 degrees.

Late in the afternoon, my dear sister, Bindie, called to see how I was managing. So I expanded on some of the items I had written about. It is nice to get a phone call occasionally. My mobile has been very quiet as it may be until I get to the top.

After dinner tonight, I started to put things away in preparation for departure in the morning. Most of the items that are located outside are now stowed in their travel locations. I have also attached the rubber sheet to the rear window in an attempt to prevent stones breaking it.

This may be my last blog entry until the weekend. This will because I have no internet access as I travel up the Peninsula Development Road to Loyalty Beach near the tip of Australia at Cape York. I am told that there is coverage at the top. So I have over 860 kilometres to travel over the next 3½ days. I plan to go almost straight up and then I can enjoy the time up there before coming back down to various locations on the return leg as I have to back track all but 80 kilometres as well as spend time in Weipa on return.