Sweers Island: Located in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, Sweers Island is surrounded by acres of rock reef, with some coral, much of which has never seen a fishing line. This, combined with the many rocky headlands on Sweers, make it a lure and fly fishing paradise. But it is also the perfect place for an away-from-it-all holiday and to view the unique Morning Glory cloud formations.
Cobbold Gorge: located within the rugged sandstone formations that dominate the local area 400km west of Cairns in north Queensland. This stunning gorge is extremely narrow, closing to a mere two meters wide in places, with spectacular 30 metre cliffs on either side. The Cobbold Gorge area is home to a diverse range of wildlife. Native fish abound in these waters, and of course, the freshwater or johnstone river crocodiles. A large variety of birds frequent the lower waterhole.
Morning Glory: a spectacular propagating roll cloud which frequents the sparsely populated southern margin of the Gulf of Carpentaria, it is one of the world's most exotic and interesting meteorological phenomena. Morning Glories are frequently observed during the spring months near dawn over the southern Gulf area between Sweers Island and the remote community of Burketown in northern Queensland. They often appear in the form of one or more, rapidly advancing, rather formidable roll cloud formations which extend from horizon to horizon in a long arc as far as the eye can see.
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Bamaga: a town near the northern tip of Cape York, it is the administrative centre for the Northern Peninsula Area and most northerly town in Australia. A town with a population of around 2,000, it lies 983 km north of Cairns. The original site for the township of Bamaga was at Muttee Heads, some 20 km south of the present Bamaga township. The area is shrouded in history with culture and war memorabilia.
Tourist activities include Sight-seeing tours to Thursday Island; guided fishing and pig hunting tours; bird watching in the nearby Lockerbie Scrub rainforest; visiting World War II aircraft wrecks in the Bamaga area and also at Horn Island (near Thursday Island) and, of course, the obligatory photo shoot at the “Tip of Australia”.
Somerset: an historical ruin of Somerset homestead, a cattle station established by John Jardine (father of Frank Jardine) in 1863. Jardine who had visions of the town eventually becoming a major port. Relics of a fort remain. 35 km north of Bamaga, it is a good camping area and day trip with facilities for barbecues.
Karumba: There is only one place on the Queensland shores of the Gulf of Carpentaria that can be reached by road, and it's a little town called Karumba. There are two ways to get there - north from Cloncurry on the Maltilda Highway, or west from Cairns on the Gulf developmental Road. The latter takes you through the Atherton Tablelands, then on to the Undara lava tubes, and the outback mining towns of Georgetown and Croydon, before reaching Normanton and Karumba.
Normanton: a charming outback cattle town near the Gulf of Carpentaria, located 712 km west of Cairns. he town is one terminus of the isolated Normanton to Croydon Railway, which was built during gold rush days in the 1890s. Among Normanton's most notable features is a statue of an 8.64 m long saltwater crocodile, named Krys, the largest ever shot, which was in the Norman River.
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Burketown: An outback township on the edge of the Gulf of Carpentaria, Burketown has given itself the tag of 'The Barramundi Capital of Australia' and to prove its point, Burketown hosts the World Barramundi Fishing Championships every year. This leaves little doubt as to what the draws people to one of the most isolated communities in Australia. There are other attractions in the region, however, such as Lawn Hill National Park (246km south) and the Riversleigh Fossil Fields - and you haven't seen a spectacular cloud formation until you've seen Morning Glory.
Matilda Highway: Stretching from Barringun on the New South Wales border to Normanton in the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Matilda Highway is a place of colourful characters, remarkable history and a changing landscape. Fully sealed, the Matilda Highway is the backbone of the Outback and the access point for many different side trips for you to explore and discover more of Queensland’s Outback.
The Savannah Way: one of Australia's ultimate adventure drives, traversing the top end of Australia and linking Cairns in Tropical North Queensland with the historic pearling town of Broome in Western Australia, via the natural wonders of Australia's far north. Some sections of the road are suitable for 4-wheel drive vehicles only, but others are sealed, making it possible for anyone with a motor vehicle to complete sections of the drive.
Lawn Hill (Boojamulla): Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park is one of Queensland's most scenic national parks, featuring spectacular gorge country, sandstone ranges and significant fossils. The Waanyi Aboriginal people have strong cultural ties with the park, while pastoralists of European descent have recent historical connections. The World Heritage-listed Riversleigh fossil site is 55 km south of Lawn Hill Gorge.
Palmer River Goldfields, Laura: located on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range at the bottom of Cape York Peninsula. Between 1873 & 1879, the Palmer River Goldfield, centred around the now the deserted townsites of Palmerville & Maytown, was Australia's richest alluvial field ever discovered.
Croydon: an historic township in the heart of Gulf country and the terminus for the legendary Gulflander railway from Normanton 150 km to the east. At its peak it moved over 10 000 people each year.
Mckinlay: an isolated outback community whose great claim to fame is that the local pub, now known as the Walkabout Creek Hotel, was featured in the original Crocodile Dundee movie as Dundee's regular drinking spot.
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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.
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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