From sea, the Cape Bedford headland is an impressive part of the Cooktown to Lizard Island landscape.
And often as we sail past on one of our northern adventures, we could see dirt tracks leading up to the top of the southern headland.
At night, campfires on the beach.
Naturally, it has been a quest of ours to conquer Cape Bedford by vehicle for quite some time!
So on our last trip to Cooktown we found ourselves with half a day spare – and decided to find the track and get to the top.
On the way we travelled through the Hopevale Community, home of the traditional owners of this beautiful part of the country, for 50,000 plus years.
And visited the Coloured Sands of Elim Beach. Another sight we have seen by sea but wanted to traverse on foot.
Before visiting the coloured sands, you must obtain a permit either from the Elim Beach Campground.
The campground was run by traditional owner Eddie Deeral who has since passed away.
However it is still open and a glorious location to camp and explore the area.
Just a short drive to the right (it’s signposted) will get you to Eddie’s camp for the permit.
Since our trip to Cape Bedford was a day trip, we dropped in, grabbed the $10 permit and headed off to explore.
We must say though, that in future we will head back and stay a few days as it was spectacular. A 4×4 is a must – please don’t take your 2WD vehicle on the beach unless it’s a dune buggy!
Watch the video of our day exploring Cape Bedford below.
Trip Highlights
Getting to Cooktown.
The bitumen comes all the way into town these days so it’s easy to bring your boat.
If you are going to spend a ton of cash on ,accommodation, boats, tackle and fuel, the best bet to maximize that investment is in knowledge.
So be sure and take a look at our online fishing courses.
Sales of our courses ensure we can continue to bring you top fishing videos and free workshops etc.
I hope you enjoyed our video on exploring Cape Bedford and the Elim Beach coloured sands.
As we mentioned previously, Cooktown is the gateway to the north.
If you’ve missed our trip to Princess Charlotte Bay you can watch the whole adventure >> here.
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