Cooktown to Darwin
Marita3
Mark & Helen Syrett
Sat 29 Sep 2012 11:21
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We spent 36 hours in Cooktown although Camelot left
a day earlier as they bounced on the bottom all night. We went ashore to a
rather sad place that had once been a gold rush town of 30,000
people.
 The main claim to fame is that Cook came here to
repair Endeavour
 and there is even a museum in what was once a
cathedral and then a nunnery. It was rebuilt after falling into disrepair and
opened as a museum by HM the Queen in 1970.
 We continued our sail up inside the reef with a day
sail to Lizard Island, named by Cook as he came here in a pinnacle and climbed
the hill to try and spy a way out through the reef.
 We stayed here for three nights as the snorkelling
from the beach was wonderful. We walked to the lagoon on the other side of the
island
 the path took us on a nature trail and we saw
lizards
 and ant nests
 We then sailed for three days and two nights
inside the reef, in company with large bulk carriers,
 to Escape River in order to get the time
right for the tides around Cape York. We sped through Albany Channel
 and around the top of Australia and across the
Gulf of Carpentaria to Gove
 the photograph says it all and we left after 5
hours rest!
Helen caught a Spanish mackerel (3 kg)
 followed a few days later by one weighing nearer
6kg. A very tasty fish.
 we were escorted by a large pod of dolphins for
about an hour
 in the amazingly clear and relatively shallow
water
 We arrived in Darwin and after receiving the mussel
treatment we went through the lock gates into Tipperary Waters Marina.
 where we are spending a week to recharge
batteries.
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