I had a bit of an uncomfortable night trying to stay warm, I haven’t had this issue for quite a while! When we woke up, the park owner informed us that we had just endured the coldest night in 10 years at 5 degrees. We were fortunate to have had the “carport” shelter otherwise it would have felt colder still. 
We headed off, determined to reach Cooktown. We made a repair stop on the side of the road to reattach the air hose that popped off the engine with a scary bang then we continued our journey. “No known reason for this, and no harm done”, said my all knowing non-mechanic husband.

I had assumed that this area would present us with a flat red “outback” type of terrain but what we found was totally the opposite. We climbed up huge mountains covered in trees and presenting sensational views. We arrived in Cooktown in the late afternoon and headed to the Big 4 caravan park. These tend to be the most expensive chain of parks but it is the only one which advertises phone and Internet reception (Telstra only). Ray’s dad has been unwell so it is important that we are able to keep in touch with family at this particular point in time.. 
Since we have been travelling we have stayed in over 90 different caravan parks and have never been turned away when we have shown up on their doorstep. There has always been room when we are there and have our dollars at the ready. If you ring ahead to book often you get told they are full because you just might not turn up. A few spots are always kept for lobbers like us. Well not this time! We were turned away. The owner told us to quickly get to another park down the road as she knew they had a couple of sites left. The weather, dry 4WD tracks and school holidays had finally beaten us. 

We hurried to the other caravan park and with another couple in front of us, snagged the last two spots in the park. We were in what is called the “overflow” section, last resort spots. This means a fair hike to the amenities but a nice quiet spot away from everyone else. We headed into Cooktown to see the sights. Cooktown was named after Captain James Cook who sustained substantial damages to his ship on the Great Barrier Reef. He headed to the port of Cooktown to make repairs. The nearby Palmer River was also the site of a gold rush and the wharf at Cooktown became one of the busiest ports in Queensland at this time. 
The cannon had an interesting story too. It was sent out from England with 3 cannonballs and an operator because there was the fear of a Russian invasion. Things were certainly simple back in the 1880s!

The council and community has done a great job of providing lots of information for tourists and tour groups who venture here. It really is the last stop at the top unless you are into serious 4WDing and it’s great to have all the specific sights set out for you. We took our time checking out the statues and memorials but my favourite was the stairs specifically made for the Queen to step up on in 1970 when she visited to open the museum. We ended up at the pier where Caleb and Ray gleaned as much information as they could from the local fishermen there. When they were done (and I was chilly) we headed up to the lighthouse to watch the sunset over the Endeavour River. Spectacular!