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Driving To The Top: The tip of Cape York is the symbolic top of Australia, and the ultimate Australian 4-wheel drive road trip is to reach it. It's not a drive for the faint hearted. Dusty tracks contrast dramatically with the abundant rivers, crystal clear creeks and spectacular waterfalls in this vast area of dense, unexplored rainforests, magnificent national parks, sacred Aboriginal sites, rugged mountains and swampy marshlands. This is the outback at its most wild and inhospitable.
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Thursday Island: The Thursday Island township is noteworthy for being the most northerly town in Australia. Across the water from the tip of Cape York, it is one of 18 islands in Torres Strait. Visitors to Thursday Island can experience one of Australia's Indigenous cultures, local art, community markets, relics of the pearling industry, colonial architecture and tours of significant sites from World War Two.
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Cooktown: For anyone making the trek to The Top, this is where it all begins. Situated at the end of the bitumen road at the spot where british navigaor James Cook repaired the damaged Endeavour in 1770, Cooktown boasts a unique character, based on its years of geographic isolation and hard life. The town is surrounded by the unspoilt natural beauty of the area, and first time visitors really feel like they've stumbled back in time and come across a local secret. There is plenty to do in and around Cooktown if you are not using it as your step-off point on a journey north.
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| Visiting The Region: The Facts |
Best Time To Go: The best time to visit the region is between May and November in the dry season. Even then, August and September are the only months to tackle the Cape on your own if you are not an experienced 4-wheel driver. No matter what time of the year, after rain the roads are generally impassible, so check road conditions before starting your journey. You will also need to get permits to camp in certain areas around the Cape York Peninsula, which can be purchased at both the EPA and RACQ in Cairns.
Drives
Walks
Railways
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How to Get There: Don't even think about driving up the Cape unless you intend coming in a 4-wheel drive vehicle, and have some experience in fording flooded rivers and beating your own path through the bush if attempting the drive outside of the months of August and September. After rain the roads are generally impassible, so check road conditions before starting your journey. You will also need to get permits to camp in certain areas around the Cape York Peninsula, which can be purchased at both the EPA and RACQ in Cairns.
If you are driving up from Cairns, and not detouring to Cooktown, Lakeland will be your last major chance to top up your food and grocery supplies. Lakeland to the tip is about 750 km on unsealed roads.
Reaching the Gulf of Carpentaria by road is a different kettle of fish. It's bitumen all the way to Karumba from Bourke, NSW (1,948km via Mitchell and Landsborough Hwys.), Cairns (752km via Gulf Development Rd) or Brisbane (2,156km via Warrego and Landsborough Hwys. and Burke Development Rd.
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Regional Centres
Other Destinations
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