Archer River Roadhouse

14 - 15 August 2025

We left Artemis Station without a firm plan about where we would spend the night. There are a couple of options at Coen, and beyond that, Archer River Roadhouse. There is also a campground after the turn-off to Kutini-Payamu NP. We drove through Coen and decided it was too early to stop - neither behind the pub, nor the campground at the guest house, seemed appealing. We continued on to a popular free camp just north of town, known as "The Bend". 

We stopped by the river and had a picnic lunch while we considered our options. In the end we decided not to camp at The Bend, and instead continued on to Archer River. The further we went, the closer we would be to the national park campground we had booked for the following nights. 

The campground at the Archer River Roadhouse is large and there was plenty of room for campers to not be on top of each other.  We found a spot with a bit of shade and settled in for the afternoon. We went for a walk down to the river and had a paddle but didn't swim. There were lots of caravans parked on the old (low level) bridge and families enjoying the water.

Plenty of room for everyone

Archer River is a good spot for an overnighter, and there were lots of others there on their way to or from "The Tip". In the morning we set off for a more than a week on the eastern part of Cape York.

Artemis Station

 12 - 14 August 2025

We left Hann Crossing Campground early and stopped for some birding and breakfast at Nifold Plain in Rinyirru National Park, before continuing on to photograph the Red goshawk, and then on to Artemis Station.

There's a croc in that waterhole

Artemis Station is well known as a breeding location for the Golden-shouldered parrot so it was on our list of places to visit. We arrived quite early in the day and chose a spot that would give us some shade. There was only one other camper when we arrived but the campground started to fill up as the afternoon wore on. It seems that Artemis has become a "go to" place for those wanting somewhere to spend the night on the way to or from "The Tip". It's a bit of a shame as, in our opinion, it has changed the atmosphere of the campground somewhat, with big groups "parking the wagons in a circle" with little regard for others. Birders, once the bulk of visitors, are now in the minority.

Regardless of the noisy caravanners, we still had a nice time at Artemis. The early birds left and we had the campground almost to ourselves - with one other birding couple - for most of the day, until the grounds started to fill up again. This time, in addition to the caravanners there was a big tour group. Definitely not what we had expected! It really is hard walking around a campground looking for birds with binoculars and camera when there are so many people nearby. 

We spent two nights at Artemis and Mick visited the feeding station a number of times to take photos of the parrots so it was a productive stop anyway. 

We had one more night to fill in before we were booked into Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) National Park but weren't sure where we would stop when we left Artemis. We'd decide along the way.

Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park - Hann Crossing Campground

 11 - 12 August 2025

After two nights at Twelve Mile Lagoon we moved on to another campground within the National Park - Hann Crossing. We've stayed there a couple of times before, but when we booked a few weeks before leaving Ravenshoe we weren't able to get the spot we wanted to so were forced to choose another one that we didn't think would be as good. As luck would have it I checked again a few days before we were due to arrive and was able to get back onto the spot we had last time. It's right on the river, huge, a short walk to the toilets and quite private. 

We left Twelve Mile quite late and stopped again at the ranger station, then continued on to Hann Crossing. Because we were only staying one night we didn't bother with the awning. This would also allow us to get away early in the morning.

Up early, ready to move on

We set up camp on the river at Hann Crossing and enjoyed a very relaxing afternoon, which included some birdwatching of course. In the morning we left as the sun was coming up and drove to another good birding spot, Nifold Plain. Mick spent a while taking photos and we had our breakfast there before we moved on to another spot to hopefully photograph the Red goshawk.

We'd found the goshawk on our ill-fated trip north the previous year so Mick was hopeful to find it again. His patience was rewarded with some great shots of the bird and it's nest. From there we drove on to Musgrave Roadhouse and the south to Artemis Station.

Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park - Twelve Mile Lagoon Campground

 9 - 11 August 2025

We felt our real Cape York adventure had begun when we left Endeavour Falls and headed towards Battlecamp Road that would take us into Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park. Along the way we stopped at Isabella Falls before entering the park. The unsealed road was in surprisingly good condition and we made it to Lakefield Ranger Station in time for lunch. From there we continued on to Twelve Mile Campground.

We generally choose campgrounds with toilets but wanted to stay somewhere different on this visit to Rinyirru so we booked a couple of nights at Twelve Mile. There are no facilities but the sites looked to be well spread out and we managed to book one right on the river. The track in is narrow and windy in parts and we had to stop at the turn-off for a group of five vehicles to leave before we could begin the drive to our campsite.

We had read lots of reviews and chose Site 5, and we are very glad we did. The site itself is huge and sits on the high bank of the Normanby River. Because there is quite a long track down to the site we weren't bothered by others driving by. Some of the sites are right on the road but ours was very private. We were able to position the camper trailer to get some sun and some shade. 

The view from our campsite

We spent a couple of very relaxing days watching the resident crocodile opposite our camp, and driving along the track to check out the other campsites - and to look for birds. We had collected firewood before we reached the camp so we were able to have a fire too.

We didn't need to hurry on our last morning as we were only going as far as Hann Crossing Campground so we took out time and headed out mid-morning.

Endeavour Falls

 7 - 9 August 2025

After a walk along the beach to marvel at the coloured sands at Elim Beach, we headed back towards Cooktown, stopping to spend a couple of nights at Endeavour Falls. The caravan park comes highly recommended, with lovely green grass and lots of trees. The falls are accessed from a track at the back of the park.

The falls are a short walk from the caravan park

We planned to spend two nights there getting prepared for our Cape York Peninsula trip, stocking up on groceries, washing and organising the storage so everything we might need would be easily accessible. 

Once the washing was on the line we drove into town with a stop  suggested by the caravan park owner. A suspension bridge spans a creek that joins into the Endeavour River at a T junction. Walking across the bridge we spotted a large crocodile on the bank of Endeavour River. We walked a little further and realised she was the smaller of a pair sunning themselves on the water's edge. She was big, but he was huge. 

We continued on into town and another walk along the river before heading to pick up groceries and then on back to the caravan park. Restocked and repacked we were ready to venture further north.

Elim Beach

 5 - 7 August 2025

We arrived at Elim Beach just on lunch time and were given a choice of a few spots to camp. We chose one that was ample in size and would give us some shade as well as sun for solar. It was close to the amenities and also allowed glimpses of the beach. There are no powered sites, and showers are cold water only. It's a popular fishing spot, but is most well know for the coloured sands further along the beach. 

The coloured sands start about 300 metres from the campground, and can be reached via a well formed sandy track from the campground. We checked the tides and decided to leave that excursion until our last morning. We went for walks on the beach and also a drive back along the road towards Hope Vale, looking for birds of course.

We enjoyed a very relaxing couple of days and packed up ready to leave, then drove down to walk to the coloured sands. The colours and formations were amazing, and we were the only ones there for most of our time. We walked a long way and were constantly surprised by what we saw. One of the most unusual sights was a "waterfall" of sand coming from high up the sand cliff, and cascading towards the bottom.

The coloured sands are definitely worth a visit

We returned to the campground and hitched up ready to continue our journey. We had booked to stay in Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park but still had some time to spare so we decided to head back towards Cooktown to get ready for the trip to the Cape. This time we chose to stay out of town at Endeavour Falls.

Cooktown

 4 - 5 August 2025

Our plan was to drive from Daintree towards Elim Beach which is north of Cooktown. The shortest way to travel is via the Bloomfield Track, but towing is not recommended at the moment. The road suffered significant damage from Cyclone Jasper and the intense rainfall that followed. Even though this was in December 2023/January 2024 the road is still undergoing repairs. We know that some people ignore the "no towing" request but we aren't those people, so we went the long way.

We travelled back up the Rex Range Road, with another stop at Abattoir Swamp and then a lunch stop at Rifle Creek near Mount Molloy. From there we headed north along Mulligan Highway. We decided that we would make up our minds how much further we would go, once we reached Lakeland.

Because we'd had a late start, and Elim Beach was still a fair way off, we decided to have a night in Cooktown. You can't make a booking for Elim Beach and we didn't want to arrive late in the day and end up with a less than ideal camp spot, so we continued on to Cooktown and the caravan park we have stayed in a couple of times before. It was quite crowded but we did get a good spot where we could stay hitched up for the night. 

A small history lesson for those not aware.

In the morning we drove to Mulbabidgee Keatings Lagoon for a walk to the bird hide and then returned to town for a walk along the foreshore. We left Cooktown and drove through Hope Vale and then on to Elim Beach, where we planned to spend a couple of nights.