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Cape York Peninsula Travel Sights Attractions
Aboriginal
Dreamtime
Paintings
The
Quinkan
Reserve
west
of
Cooktown
contains
one
of
the
largest
bodies
of
prehistoric
art
in
the
world
and
is
the
most
important
cultural
and
historical
Aboriginal
site
in
Australia.
There
a
thousand
or
more
art
sites
which
contain
tens
of
thousands
of
paintings
from
a
variety
of
techniques and
styles.
Of
particular
interest
are
the
Aboriginal
Quinkans
-
tall,
elongated
humanoid
figures
with
big
staring
eyes.
Aborigines
believe
that
these
spirit
beings
lived
beneath
the
rocks.
- Getting
There: Laura,
144km
by
road
west
of
Cooktown
Attractions: Giant
Horse
Gallery
between
Split
Rock
and
Laura
contains
some
of
the
largest
and
most
dramatic
paintings.
- Be
Aware: The
Quinkan
Reserve
Trust
was
established
in
1977
to
preserve
these
paintings.
Several
of
the
galleries
are
open
for
inspection
in
the
company
of
Aboriginal
rangers
of
the
trust.
Great
Barrier
Reef
The
world's
largest
coral
reef
system,
made
up
of
more
than
2
100
seperate
reefs,
protects
most
of
the
Queensland
coast
from
the
Cape
to
as
far
south
as
Gladstone.
The
Great
Barrier
Reef
is
World
Heritage
protected
being
the
largest
marine
park
in
the
world.
Covering
230
000
square
kilometres,
this
exotic
environment
contains
400
different
corals
which
support
an
estimated
1500
different
varieties
of
fish,
more
species
than
any
other
place
in
the
seas.
- Getting
There: The
Great
Barrier
Reef
is
closest
to
the
coast
around
the
Cairns
area,
making
Cairns
the
perfect
spot
to
begin
a
reef
adventure.
Attractions: Fishing,
snorkelling,
diving,
glass
bottom
boat
tours,
island
retreats
- Be
Aware: This
a
protected
area
causing
damage
to
the
coral
reef
is
a
criminal
offence.
Tides
may
may
rise
and
fall
six
metres
or
more
creating
very
strong
rips
in
some
channels.
Riversleigh
Fossil
Field
The
immense
field
on
the
ancient
Riversleigh
Plateau
has
revealed
creatures
previously
unknown
to
science.
This
graveyard
is
a
former
watering
hole
for
animals
where
fossilised
remains
from
three
distinct
periods
as
far
back
as
fifteen
million
years
have
been
discovered.
Extraordinary
animals
identified
include
flesh-eating
kangaroos,
lungfish, large
platypus,
marsupial
lions,
carnivorous
bats
and
7
meter
pythons.
- Getting
There: 150km
south
of
Burketown,
south-east
of
Lawn
Hill
N.P.
- Be
Aware: This
is
a
protected
area,
visitors
should
seek
advise
from
a
park
ranger
before
entering.
World
Heritage
Rainforest
The
tropical
rainforests
of
Queensland
which
cover
approximately
9000
000
hectares
of
coastal
area
between
Townsville
and
Cooktown
were
added
to
the
World
Heritage
List
in
1988.
An
area
of
immense
beauty
with
thick
humid
jungle,
waterfalls
and
streams
and
spectacular
cloud
capped
mountains.
This
is
one
of
the
wettest
areas
on
the
planet
and
one
of
the
few
intact
rainforests
left
in
the
world.
They
are
of
enormous
interest
to
science
-
supporting
18%
of
Australia's
bird
species,
25%
of
reptiles,
30%
of
frog
and
marsupial
species,
62
%
of
butterflies, 60%
of
bat
species,
and
90%
of
known
ferns.
- Attractions: Daintree
National
Park,
abundant
wildlife,
spectacular
mountain
scenery.
- Be
Aware: World
Heritage
Area
please
respect
our
environment.
400
flora
and
fauna
species
are
rare
or
endangered.
Frequent
tropical
rain
Game
&
Barramundi
Fishing
From
Cairns
fishing
tours
are
available
to
the
Great
Barrier
Reef
for
a
wide
variety
of
fish
species
including
the
highly
prized Black
Marlin. The
Gulf
Savanna
region
and
Cape
York
Peninsula
provide
excellent Barramundi and
game
fishing.
- Contact:
- Be
Aware: Obtain
advise
on
local
conditions
if
deep
sea
fishing.
Beware
of
crocodiles
if
fishing
for
Barramundi.
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