Page 88 - Port Douglas Magazine 36

Fruit Bat Falls

PORT TO PENINSULA

A trip to the tip of Cape York Peninsula is a bucket list item for many
an adventurous traveller. Karlie Brady makes the four wheel drive
pilgrimage to the most Northerly point of Australia

y whole-body rattles as we drive the corrugated dirt road, My journey began a little further down the coast in Port Douglas, where

dodging potholes and bumps in the road, that if you aren’t myself, my partner and a few friends set off in a three-car convoy headed
Mquick enough to avoid, send the whole car ying o the ground. north up along the Peninsula Developmental Road where you just keep
We follow the dusty track for what feels like forever, driving further and going up and up and up.
further into the wilderness. An entire day driving is what you’ll face next with the only pit stops being the
You’d be forgiven for thinking the outback of the Queensland peninsula is roadhouses along the way. Each boasts their own famous burger, fuel, and

nothing but a hot dustbowl filled with human-sized termite mounds and accommodation if you need a break.
dead grass. However, while it certainly has its fair share of red dirt, mounds Our first stop is Bramwell station roadhouse where we fuel up amongst

and sunburnt plants, it is also full of many hidden treasures just off the the cattle that roam the car park. This stop also marks the start of the Old

beaten track. Telegraph Track.
Cape York Peninsula, North Queensland, the tip of Australia, is where I If you thought the track before was bumpy it’s nothing compared to the crazy
found myself this past September, on the trip of a lifetime. This picturesque, Telegraph Track which is a four-wheel-drive enthusiast’s dream. The track

largely undeveloped wilderness showcases some of the best natural follows the original telegraph line that ran from Cooktown to Bamaga from

attractions Queensland has to offer, from the typical iconic Australia outback 1885 to 1987 and many of the old telegraph poles can still be seen as you
countryside and hidden crystal-clear waterfalls and swimming holes to pass by.
untouched beaches and rainforest.
90 Port Douglas Travel Planner