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Far North Qld

The Tropics - Townsville, Cairns, Atherton, Daintree and the ultimate in adventure at Cape York the most northern tip of Australia.
SA QLD NT TAS VIC WA NSW Australia Small
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 Description

Far North Queensland has always been a dramatic and wild place. Both Aboriginal and European history share tales of tragedy and triumph in attempting to tame and live in this region that is ravaged by tropical rains in summer, scorched by never-ending dryness in winter and inhabited by rare and dangerous species such as crocodiles, snakes and poisonous plants.

The city of Cairns however, is a thriving commercial town. Surviving on local sugar crops and a massive tourist industry Cairns, Townsville and Mackay enjoy a healthy trade. During the tropical wet season Cairns is just on the fringe and can occasionally be affected by cyclones.

Further north however, the rainforest is untamed. Roads turn to dirt and only 4WDs have access past Cape Tribulation. Unsealed roads in the tropics can vary from excellent to impassable depending on many factors. It is imperative to carefully plan your visit further north of Cairns, into Cape York.

The most northern tip of Australia is Cape York and every 4WDrivers ultimate destination. Only accessible during the dry months between May - October the trip can be very rough, with deep water crossings, deep ruts, varied terrain, few facilities and incredibly remote. Yet, over 10,000 4WDs will make the expedition from Cairns to "The Tip" and back each season. Vehicles have only been attempting Cape York since the late 1960s and only since the invention of the Landcruiser has it really become a feasible option for families.

Special vehicle preparation is compulsory, as is expert experience in driving a 4WD in challenging conditions. It is definitely the kind of trip to do in convoy. If you can't rustle together a few mates then 4WD clubs run regular trips to the Cape for members or there is the option of taking a tag-along tour where you drive your own 4WD but are guided and provided for by the tour organiser.

The major highlights of a Cape York trip include the rainforest area of the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation, Cooktown where Captain James Cook sheltered for repairs to the Endeavour in 1770, Lakefield NP, the OTL (following the historic path of the overland telegraph line), Laura and the nearby Palmer River goldfields of Maytown, the Wenlock River, the massive mining town at Weipa, the Iron Range NP, wild Chili Beach, Captain Billy's Landing, swimming at Elliot Falls and Fruitbat Falls, getting your vehicle through Gunshot, attempting to cross the Jardine River, the most northernmost townships of Bamaga and Seisa and The Tip itself at Frangipani Beach.

For detailed information about Cape York, see our trek notes

 Far North QLD Weather & Climate

Closest Weather Station

Cairns at 01:30 21 Aug EST
Distance from Cairns 6.55km NW
TemperatureFeels LikeRel. HumidityDew PointPressureRainfallWind DirectionWind SpeedGusts
20.6°C 19.2°C 73% 15.6°C 1020.2hPa 0.0mm S 17km/h
9knots		 26km/h
14knots

Closest Climatic Station

Cairns Aero
Distance from Cairns 6.55km NW
 JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean Max. °C 31.431.230.529.2 27.625.925.726.5 28.029.530.631.4
Mean Min. °C 23.723.723.021.6 19.917.817.017.4 18.620.622.323.3
Mean Rain mm 384.8448.5419.5202.1 92.347.229.527.9 34.239.392.4177.8

 Far North QLD Treks
Bloomfield Track Bloomfield Track
The Bloomfield Track offers a delightful Trek though the World Heritage listed Rainforest area of Far North Queensland on an unsealed track and provides a link between Cape Tribulation and Cooktown.
Burke Developmental Road Burke Developmental Road
This trek heads inland through the Athertons toward Chillagoe along the bulldust track called the Burke Developmental Road in the lower region of the Cape York Peninsula. Passing Staaten River NP, Mitchell and Alice NP and Dorunda on-route to the Gulf.
Cape York Cape York
Experience the thrill of standing at the most northern tip of Australia, visit gorges & waterfalls and enjoy the challenge of a 4WD adventure just to get there. [Feature Story]
CREB Track CREB Track
The CREB track, winding its way through the Daintree Rainforest from Bloomfield to Daintree, is a world class experience for four wheel drivers.
Normanton to Coen via Kowanyama Normanton to Coen via Kowanyama
This trek traverses through the beautiful Gulf Savannah region which extends from the Great Dividing Range in the east to the Northern Territory border in the west.

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What Others have Posted

davmac452 : 29 May 08 18:59
We have just returned from Cape York. 26th May08. All roads are i...

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Queensland Queensland
Queensland is Australiaa 3rd largest state in terms of population with 3.4 million people. It is the 2nd largest state in terms of landsize covering an area of 1.7 million sq km. 54% of the state is located in the tropical zone with Brisbane the capital city on the South Pacific Ocean in the temperate zone. Queensland is 10 hours ahead of GMT.
Far North Qld Road Conditions Far North Qld Road Conditions
Road conditions information for: Burke Developmental Road, Far North Queensland, Peninsula Development Road, Popular Diversions off Savannah Way [Feature Story]

 Recommended Reading
Cairns and Region Handy Map Cairns and Region Handy Map
Contains 5 separate map inserts at a scale of 1 22 500 as follows: Cairns CBD, Cairns Region, Edmonton, Gordonvale, Northern Beaches providing good detail for visitors. A 6th larger scale map insert shows the Cairns Region and would be useful for trip planning purposes.
Townsville and Region Townsville and Region
This double sided map features a regional map covering Cairns to Mackay and in as fas as Hughenden. It has a suburban map of Townsville as well as CBD maps of Cleveland Bay, Bushland Beach, Black River, Jensen, Mount Low, Deeraun, Saunders Beach and Magnetic Island.
Atherton Tableland Atherton Tableland
This is a road map showing Cardwell to the Daintree on one side and contains town maps of all the major centres within the area on the otherside. Includes all the major attractions, and comprehensive tourist information.
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The main part of this map is a road map at a scale of 1: 1,000,000 designed for planning a trip anywhere throughout the Cape York Penninsula region. The main route to the "The Tip" via the Penninsula Developmental Road is clearly shown along with other minor routes.
Cairns to Cooktown Cairns to Cooktown
This is an easy to read road map that uses one full side to show the various driving routes to Cooktown from Cairns. The CREB Track, Daintree Road, Bloomfield Track and Penninsula Developmental Road are all shown.
Natmap Raster 2005: Premium - DVD Natmap Raster 2005: Premium - DVD
This new NATMAP Raster was released in April 2005. This is a 2 DVD set that contains all 1:250 000 scale NATMAP topographic maps covering Australia, published to December 2004.
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Tropical North Queensland Tropical North Queensland
Townsville - Cairns - Cooktown. This map covers the coastal region of Far North Queensland from Townsville to Cooktown and extends west to Mount Surprise. The back of the map is packed with information and colour photographs of this spectacular World Heritage Area.
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The Tropical North QLD CD Map offer's Hema's Tropical North paper map in formats ready for use with your GPS tracking software, plus all the text and photos from the original map in an easy-to-use webpage format.