Cooktown

We were here 16 years ago, soon after the road from Cairns was fully sealed. At that time this was a quiet little backwater that had aspirations to become the next Noosa/Port Douglas destination. In 2023 there is certainly more tourist infrastructure here but it is in no way a tourist trap.

We start our day with a drive north to Hopevale. On the way we catch up with a couple of pretty little waterfalls. The aboriginal town of Hopevale is smart and tidy and surprisingly interesting.

After lunch it is off to the local museum. I am keen to spend time here and absorb the exhibits as Captain Cook features prominently here. Lately cancel culture morons have been tearing down Cook’s statues in Australia alleging he is a genocidal invader. Reassuringly the statue  on the main street here is upright and not defaced. Cook spent two months here in 1770 after the HMS Endeavour struck a reef here hence the name of this town. THe museum has relics from the Endeavour as well as detailed records of Cook’s logs that dispel any notion that Cook in any way had any violent notions let alone acts towards the natives. Cook was a brilliant explorer, navigator and master mariner and I celebrate him as such.

Cooktown Orchid