SEALED ROADS ARE THE CAUSE OF COMPLAINTS FROM MANY 4X4 TRAVELLERS
THE CAPE is an incredible natural environment, with breathtaking scenery, long and sandy beaches, the largest lowland and tidal (mangrove) rainforests in Australia, the longest parabolic sand dunes in the world, perched dune lakes, endless monsoon woodlands, coastal flood plains, arid grass lands, an abundance of riverine systems that feed waterfalls, tidal estuaries, and wetlands that extend to far horizons.
These environments house a vast array of wildlife and flora native to the area, including the largest reptile in the world – the misnamed saltwater (Estuarine) crocodile. Put simply, it eats people if they’re stupid enough to ignore the dangers – and people are killed every year across the tropics. The crocs live in both fresh and saltwater environments, sometimes hundreds of kilometres inland in stream pools and billabongs. They also inhabit remote islands and coral cays in the Coral Sea.
The Cape has seen little change since Lieutenant James Cook raised a flag on Possession Island, just west of the Cape’s Tip, in 1770. It remains sparsely populated with less than 20,000 people
calling it home. The official historic border of the Cape is north of Mitchell River and Rifle Creek at Mount Molloy. The official scientific border is the longitudinal line that extends from Cooktown to Pormpuraaw, but no-one takes much note of it. The ‘scientific’ Cape is about 115,350km² in size and extends more than 1000km from Cairns to the Tip. It’s bounded by the Great Barrier Reef lagoon to the eastern side, the Torres Strait to the north, and the Gulf of Carpentaria to the west.
The Cape only has two seasons, Wet and Dry. For the Wet, the amount of rainfall and the season’s duration varies from year to year. It’s recommended not to travel once the build-up of rainfall commences in November, with the Wet proper often beginning anytime from Christmas and lasting until late-april. Many bush tracks remain closed until June, and National Parks rarely open until mid-may. The times of travel and track openings are totally dependent on the vagaries and the duration of the Wet, though.
Access to the Cape is possible via the Peninsula Developmental Road (PDR), which extends from Lakeland, south of Cooktown, to Weipa. The myth that the region is a third world country is far from true, as much of the PDR has long stretches of bitumen and well-maintained dirt sections. In fact, about three quarters of the road will be bitumen by 2018.
Currently the PDR is sealed as far as Laura, with long stretches of bitumen sections extending to Weipa. Sealed roads are being continuously added and are the cause of complaints from many 4WD travellers who reckon the Cape is losing its wilderness identity. That may be so, but people who live there are just as entitled to good roads as the rest of the country.