Road trip: Cape York frontier

By AG STAFF May 23, 2022
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One of Queensland’s most iconic off-road adventures is the drive up the Cape York Peninsula to the northern-most tip of Australia. It’s a journey that features on many a bucket list.

A journey to the cape is no longer the preserve of the tough four-wheel-drivers of old. These days it’s possible to drive some of it in any SUV or light-duty 4WD if the conditions are favourable and the roads dry. Even better, it’s possible to join a tour and have someone else handle all the logistics of this great Aussie outback adventure.

A boardwalk over a creek at the Daintree Discovery Centre Jurrassic Forest. Image credit: Tourism and Events Queensland / Brad Newton

AAT Kings Cape York Frontier trip is a seven-day, six-night tour that starts in Cairns and concludes on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait, from where you fly back to Cairns. On this small-group tour you will travel along the Bloomfield Track, north of Cape Tribulation, before visiting historic Cooktown.

From there the tour takes in Lakefield National Park and its wildlife before heading to the old mining town of Coen. The modern bauxite mining community of Weipa and its spectacular views across Albatross Bay are the next port of call on this trip that includes an overnight stay on a working cattle station. Cross the mighty Jardine River on a cable ferry before reaching the northernmost tip of the Australian mainland for that all-important selfie. Board a cruise to Thursday Island before transferring to Horn Island for the flight to Cairns.

Find out more here.