Have left Lakeland behind us & arrived Cooktown mid morning today.....Top temp of 25c with wind speed of 30kmph....all in all a very warm breezy day     

Did one of the fastest camp set ups we've ever done & then it was off to explore.

In 1770 Captain James Cook & his ship the Endeavour ran afoul the Great Barrier Reef & seriously damaged the hull.  To avoid sinking over 50 tonnes of stores had to be off-loaded in order to free the Endeavour from the reef.  Cook needed to find safe waters so he sailed the damaged 368 tonne vessel into the closest river he could find.  They had a stay of 48 days in the harbour & Cook later named the river "Endeavour".  It was the only river in Australia that he named.

First stop was to Grassy Hill & the Lighthouse lookout which provide panoramic views of Cooktown, Endeavour River & Coral Sea - one of the best lookouts we've ever been to

Built in England, the lighthouse was shipped to Cooktown in 1885 & was automated in 1927                       

COOKTOWN

Cook climbed the hill on several occasions to view the surrounding reefs enabling him to navigate a safe passage out after repairing his ship

ENDEAVOUR RIVER LEADING OUT TO CORAL SEA

From there we drove out to Finch Bay to search for Crocs, but luckily they must have all been down river

ENDEAVOUR RIVER NP

FINCH BAY

MOUNT COOK NP

Mick the Miner

From Fisherman's Wharf (which was one of the busiest ports in Qld during the Gold Rush) was where we began the River of Life Walkway

The Queen's Steps made for HM Queen Elizabeth II for the Cooktown visit in 1970 for the opening of The James Cook Museum

Chinese Monument commemorating the Palmer Gold Rush

Milbi Wall made by local Aboriginal artists from tiles - depicts the local history from the creation of the Endeavour River to the present day

Capt James Cook 

Endeavour River & The Musical Ship

 James Cook Monument commemorating 1770 landing & the 1803 Gun which was cast in Scotland

 Enjoying Endeavour River

 Endeavour River

 Cooktown

WWI & WWII  Monument

James Cook Museum - Originally a Convent School built in 1889

Another day's sightseeing took us through James Cook Museum, Quarantine Bay & Keatings Lagoon.

 Anchor & Cannon from The Endeavour

 Quarantine Bay

Keatings Lagoon