<p>The Walker women are committed to educating their guests who walk with them along the track to the Bloomfield Falls. As they travel over their ancestral land, they explain in a truly delightful way the lifestyle of the Yalanji people of Wujal Wujal.</p>
<p>What’s unique about this tour is guests are experiencing part of the family’s everyday lifestyle and their deep connection with the land.</p>
<p>Bloomfield Falls Tour – 30 mins tour departing daily year round.</p>
<p>Rainforest Walk – 2 hour tour departs daily at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. April to September</p>

<p>In 1875 a young Welshman from Rossville, Jack Ross and his wife Annie decided to open a new hotel where the Little Annan River and the Mungumby Creek joined, the area later became known as Helenvale. The new hotel was named the Lions Den Hotel, after the Lions Den tin mine on the nearby tableland. Sadly Jack Ross’ time at the Lions Den was short, for at the end of 1889 he died at the age of 23, leaving his young widow Annie and his infant daughter, Louise behind.</p>
<p>Six months later Annie gave birth to the couple’s second child. Annie Ross ran the Lion’s Den for several years on her own, while raising her two children before marrying George Watkin, and the hotel remained in the hands of the Watkin family for several generations. The hotel was in the same family from its establishment in 1875 until 1964.</p>
<p><strong>Origin of the name:</strong></p>
<p>How it came about its name was when a stowaway called Daniel, looking for work, left his adopted ship at Cooktown and was put to work in a mine. (The tunnel is in the mountain opposite the present hotel building).</p>
<p>The mine had no name when Daniel came to work there, and as the work was underground, it was a strange experience for Daniel.</p>
<p>Upon seeing Daniel standing in the opening of the tunnel, the owner of the mine characterized him as Daniel in the Lions Den, and the name took to the mine. The black tin slug, still in the hotel, came from the original Lions Den mine.</p>
<p><strong>Why the signatures?</strong></p>
<p>The signatures that adorn the wall of the Lions Den stem from an early tradition begun in the early mining days. The hotel was frequented for many years by miners working at the various tin mines around the area. In the early days as education and security of personal belongings was limited, some miners began leaving their pay packets at the public house (Lions Den) and writing how much money they had spent, or still had, up on the wall. The amount was written and recorded for the next time they returned to the pub and in turn each miner knew how much money they had to spend while on the premises.</p>
<p>Today the Lion’s Den Hotel is the perfect place to drop in for a cold drink and a meal. Stay in safari tents or in the spacious campground and enjoy swimming in the pristine waters of the little Annan River.</p>

<p>Mooks was raised on his traditional land where he learnt the old ways from his Grandparents, Uncles and elder family members.</p>
<p>He learnt about bush medicines and bush foods from them and he finds great joy sharing his knowledge of plants, his culture and the land.</p>
<p>As a tour guide, Mooks has over 40 years’ experience and in Kuku Nyungkul language he is known as a ‘Kuku bugga’ which means he loves to talk!</p>
<p>Throughout his life Mooks has always been a keen communicator of traditional culture, helping people from all walks of life, to make a deeper connection to country.</p>
<p>Tour options include a three hour tour and a 90 minute tour. Bookings essential.</p>
<p>Rossville Retreat also offers camping and bush lodges accommodation.</p>

<p>Bana Yirriji Art and Cultural Centre is a community and council run gallery and cultural centre with an artist studio. Come and visit the local bama artists and learn their culture. The art gallery is a great place to buy locally made jewellery and art. </p>
<p>Art Centre temporarily CLOSED – new centre location being sought.<br />Tropical Cyclone Jasper in December 2023 caused catastrophic damage to the Bana Yirriji Art Centre and Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council is working to find an alternate temporary location for artists to work from while funding is being sought to have a new centre constructed.</p>

<p>Cooktown Markets are held every Saturday morning in the shady parkland along the picturesque Endeavour River. Enjoy the relaxed market atmosphere in a stunning setting where everyone mingles, choosing from some of the Cape York Peninsula’s finest fresh produce. Sweet sensations include locally grown passionfruits, while bananas, mangoes and more are all eagerly sought after. Organic growers offer a range of fresh farm and garden produce including jams, honey, dried fruit and chutneys.</p>
<p>Locally made handicrafts, natural soaps, creams, jewellery, trinkets and second hand goods, fill colourful stalls with laid back locals ready for a chat as they display their wares. </p>
<p>The small rainforest community of Rossville holds their community market every second Sunday from 10am – 1pm at the Hatfield Market Place, a short scenic drive past the historic Lions Den Hotel. The markets showcase interesting local products and tasty fruit and vegetables.  The next markets will be held on Sunday 22 January 2023, then every two weeks after that. </p>
<p>The Bloomfield markets are held on the last Saturday of each month and are a focal point for this small rainforest community.</p>

<p>Courtesy Gone Fishing</p>
<p><b>Annan River</b></p>
<p>The Annan is situated 5 minutes south of Cooktown with a good boat ramp on the downside of the bridge.  Take care when navigating on a low tide as it is very shallow and rocky in places.  The Annan is a shorter estuarine system than the Endeavour and subtly different.  Barra fishing can be had up and down the river and out into the mouth at Walker Bay where some big saltwater barra can be had both on lures, fly and liveys.  Big jacks and fingermark are a common catch plus all your usual queenfish and trevally’s.  Good mud crabbing can be had especially after the first rains.  Upstream of the bridge extreme care should be taken, especially on low tide.  Some big deep holes and snags to fish; again liveys and lures can work well.  The mouth is sandy with the Esk river coming from the south and Saltwater creek from the north.    Generally runs a bit cleaner and warmer than the Endeavour.  Further information can be obtained from the Yuku Baja Muliku Ranger office</p>
<p><b>Archer Point</b></p>
<p>Following the road south out of Cooktown for 12 kms will bring you to the Archer Point turn off.  Follow the dirt road for a further 6 kms and you reach the beach where you can find some limited camping.  Beach launches are possible with a 4WD drive.  To get a good feel of the area go up to the lighthouse but hang on if it’s windy.  During the winter months there are frequent sightings of breaching humpback whales. With town so close for amenities this is an ideal spot to have that camping, fishing, and family experience. Visually, it’s fantastic, fringing reef, sand flats, small tributaries, the wet tropics. </p>
<p>More information can be sought from the traditional owners Yuku Baja Muliku (T: 07 4069 6910)</p>
<p><b>Tropical Islands</b></p>
<p> Hope Islands</p>
<p>Tropical Islands scatter this coastline and many are accessible by small boats when the weather allows.  Some like Lizard Island are big enough to house luxury resorts, airstrips and camp grounds whilst others are relatively small.  Camping is allowed on quite a few but booking in advance is necessary with QPWS.  Strict regulations are in place to protect these stunning locations and for further info contact GBRMPA/QPWS for zoning maps and camping restrictions.</p>
<p><b>Heli-fishing</b></p>
<p>Going in by chopper to that secret billabong, inaccessible headland or hard to access river mouth has to be one of the ultimate ways to travel and fish.  Getting there is usually very quick and spectacular, flying over dramatic escarpments, stunning rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef.  Flooded bridges and corrugated roads are no longer a problem and multiple fishing locations are possible in one day.  This surely will ensure a very memorable experience of fishing far north Queensland.</p>
<p>Half day charters through to extended holidays are available with several local companies offering packages for that once in a lifetime trip.</p>
<p><b>Reef Fishing</b></p>
<p> Cod and Nanygai</p>
<p>Unlike many spots along the eastern seaboard of the Great Barrier Reef Cooktown is the closest town to this iconic world heritage site ensuring your fishing time is maximised and not spent travelling.  Inshore reefs lie just a couple of miles out and even though they are close shouldn’t be overlooked.  However, travelling 10-15 miles out will certainly open up a lot more possibilities.</p>
<p>Fishing the reef is fairly straightforward usually it’s a matter of working out which way the current is running onto the face of the reef, (pressure point) where the majority of predators and baitfish will be and dropping the anchor so that you hang close to these marks.  Baits such as pilchards and squid work very well but those anglers wishing to experiment with soft plastics and jigs can also be rewarded with a multitude of species.</p>
<p>If however you want to chase red emperor and nannigai then a different approach is needed.  These fish tend to school up in deeper water usually over rubble patches, raised areas or around old wrecks so whilst your trolling around for Spanish mackerel keep your eyes on the sounder and when you see some life mark it on the GPS and return later. If you are new to the area then nautical charts are great things to study and will give you enough clues to catching fish if you study them carefully.  Zoning maps can be obtained from GBRMPA.</p>
<p><b>Game Fishing</b></p>
<p> Courtesy Steve Ahlers</p>
<p>Whether you choose light or heavy tackle Cooktown with its close proximity to the reef and the continental shelf offers the angler a world class destination.  The variety of species on offer is outstanding especially when you consider how far you don’t have to travel to catch them.</p>
<p>From September to December the marlin fleet from across the globe, converge on far north Queensland.  Many choose Cooktown as their base, chasing the elusive 1000lb (Grander) black marlin and to fish the Annual Lizard Island Classic.  It is during these months that big female marlin with their attentive males, are brought down the currents on the outer reefs feeding on the ample bait supplies.  This provides the angler an opportunity to target these leviathans from the deep.</p>
<p><b>Key Species</b></p>
<p><b>River and Estuarine:</b> barramundi, mangrove jack, fingermark, tarpon, queenfish, trevally, salmon, cod, bream, grunter, flathead, jungle perch, sooty grunter.</p>
<p>Barramundi closed season; 1st November, midday – 1st February, midday.</p>
<p><b>Inshore/offshore: </b>marlin, sailfish, wahoo, mackerel, bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, coral trout, cod, red emperor, spangled emperor, sweetlip, fingermark, nannigai, queenfish, trevally, cobia,</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/fishing/fishinghopevale">Fishing near Hope Vale</a> – McIvor River and Cape Bedford</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/fishing/fishinglaura">Fishing near Laura</a> – Lakefield, Bathurst Bay, Bathurst Heads and Cape Melville</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/fishing/fishingrainforestcoast">Fishing in the Rainforest Coast</a> – Bloomfield River</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/fishing/cape-york-fishing">Fishing Cape York Peninsula</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/cooktown_region/fishing%20trails" target="_blank">Download</a> the Fishing and Birdwatching Brochure </p>
<h3>Fish with the local experts on a fishing charter:</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.fishingcooktown.com/" target="_blank">Gone Fishing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.cooktownbarracharters.com/" target="_blank">Cooktown Barra Charters</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.cooktownbluewatercharters.com.au/" target="_blank">Cooktown Bluewater Charters</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bungiehelicopters.com.au/" target="_blank">Bungi Helicopters – Heli Fishing</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://capeyorksafaris.com/" target="_blank">Saratoga Fishing and Hunting Adventures</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomfieldescape.com.au/" target="_blank">Bloomfield Escape</a></li>
<li>For local advice, bait, tackle, rod and reel repairs – visit <a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/tours/local-tours/thelureshop">The Lure Shop</a></li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Cape Bedford</strong></p>
<p> Fishermen at Elim Beach</p>
<p>Travelling north out of Cooktown harbour you pass Indian Head and Knob Point both worthy fishing spots.  About 12 nautical miles north from Cooktown is South Bedford, this location offers a good culmination of contours, inshore reef, wrecks and current lines coming together to form one great fishery. Trolling lures for Spanish mackerel, tuna, queenfish and big trevally can result in fast and furious action in this highly dynamic area; getting a feed shouldn’t be a problem.</p>
<p>A few miles further north takes you to North Bedford with its stunning perspective of the coloured sands and a view of the McIvor river mouth.  Plenty of inshore reef and a few wrecks to fish. Big barra and coral trout inhabit the rocks and are caught regularly on a variety of methods.  A fun method is to throw surface lures around for some truly spectacular hits.</p>
<p><strong>McIvor</strong><strong> River</strong></p>
<p> Courtesy Gone Fishing</p>
<p>Lies approx 20 nautical miles north of Cooktown; up and around Cape Bedford.  It takes about 1 hour by boat or 2 hours (approx 80km) from Cooktown by road to get to Morgan’s landing. You can camp and launch smaller boats at Morgan’s landing which is 8km off the main track. 4WD is necessary and launching on a low tide needs extreme caution.  Alternatively drive onto the Flattery beach, turning right for the river mouth, along the sandy beach until the very end where there are limited camping spots and small tinnies can be launched.  Access by road is not advised during the wet.  The McIvor is a truly unique fishery.  Coral reef lye just offshore; flats fishing possibilities abound at the mouth in the right weather.  Big sand dunes come down to the river inside the mouth, where lots of fun can be had with queenies and trevally on Poppers.  The river then twists its way up through the mangroves passing deep holes and snags, junctions, rock bars etc.  A saltwater resistant palm called Nypa dominates the mangroves in several places providing a jungle feel.  Fishing can be awesome with many methods working well on all your usual estuarine tropical fish.  Traversing the beach is best done on a low tide.  Certainly an area that’s unique and well worth an exploration.  It has it all for the 4WD, fishing and camping enthusiast, or for those that just want to get away.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/fishing/fishing">Fishing in Cooktown</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/fishing/fishinglaura">Fishing near Laura</a> – Lakefield N.P., Bathurst Bay, Bathurst Heads, Cape Melville</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/fishing/fishingrainforestcoast">Fishing in the Rainforest Coast</a> – Bloomfield River</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/fishing/cape-york-fishing">Fishing in Cape York Peninsula</a></p>
<p><strong>Fishing Tour Operators:</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/tours/local-tours/gonefishing">Gone Fishing</a></p>
<p><strong>Where to Stay:</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/stay/hopevale/elimbeachcampsite">Elim Beach Campsite</a></p>

<p><strong>Bloomfield River</strong></p>
<p> Courtesy John Duncan</p>
<p>A beautiful little river set in the northern end of the wet tropics with a magnificent back drop of spectacular mountains and rainforest.  Good land based fishing can be had at the mouth, the local wharf or Weary Bay.</p>
<p>A very adequate boat ramp can be found just up from the wharf but care should be taken navigating this river on a dropping tide.</p>
<p>Good barra, jacks, fingermark, trevally, queenfish and salmon are caught regularly throughout the system but like most fishing timing is every thing.  Plenty of deep holes, weed beds and snags to explore with lures, fly and live-baits.</p>
<p>Hire boats and charters are available on this very dynamic tropical river and  good camping/accommodation are available in Bloomfield and Ayton.</p>
<p>Cooktown is 1 hour drive away making it a great day out</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/fishing/fishing">Fishing in Cooktown</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/fishing/fishinghopevale">Fishing near Hope Vale</a> – McIvor River and Cape Bedford</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/fishing/fishinglaura">Fishing near Laura</a> – Lakefield N.P., Bathurst Heads, Bathurst Bay, Cape Melville</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/do/fishing/cape-york-fishing">Fishing in Cape York Peninsula</a></p>
<p><strong>Tour Operators:</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bloomfieldescape.com.au/activities/boating-and-fishing.aspx" target="_blank">Bloomfield Escape </a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/tours/local-tours/gonefishing">Gone Fishing</a></p>