Endeavour River

The Endeavour River was named by Captain James Cook who in 1770 hauled his damaged boat 'The Endeavour' into the river to repair it after it had sprung a leak on the reef. He stayed 7 weeks and made the most of his stay. It was here that a lot of Australia's flora and fauna were first recorded. It was also here that the country's national symbol the Kangaroo was discovered. The Endeavour is the only river to be named by Cook.

The beauty of this river is that today as you sit at the wharf looking across to North Shore and up the river you are seeing the same sight that Jimmy Cook would have seen. There are no developments, no resorts, just a whole lot of nature.

The Endeavour river starts at the port of Cooktown and meanders north past the communities of Marton, Endeavour Valley and beyond. The Endeavour is diverse. Wide at the mouth, progressing northwards it is lined with over 25 species of mangroves; it then branches and changes dramatically to narrow creeks lined with palms and rainforest flora.

The journey from Cooktown wharf up the river into the North Arm is truly an amazing experience

At the mouth it is fairly wide, sandy bottomed and here you'll notice the predominant species of mangrove have stilt-like roots; these are the Tall Stilted Mangrove and Red Mangrove (Aboriginal name Barra Barra) and due to the shape of the roots there are many places where Barra and Jacks can lie ready to ambush.

You'll pass by Leprosy Creek, so called because of a quarantine station that was established at the mouth of the creek. The need for a station was identified when a boat arrived with a contagious disease on board - Leprosy. The boat remained moored at what is now called Quarantine Bay until the station was established.

Some time spent drifting around the flats of Leprosy on a high tide can be very interesting. You may encounter jabirus, pelicans, egrets and herons plus many types of wading birds (curlews,whimbrels, oyster catchers). Stingrays, turtles, shovel nose sharks and groupers are also often seen.

Proceed up the 'Mad Mile', so called because when the tides running out and there's a sou'easter blowing the short pitched waves can make for a bumpy journey (The 'Gadget' handles it with ease). Pass the deep hole and up into 4 Mile Creek. Remember to also look above you and you may see the resident sea eagle or osprey.

4 Mile Creek takes you up to the remains of the old railway bridge which had been planned to service the Palmer river in the 1800's. The copper sleeves on the poles still remain intact, a testament that the procedure really worked. Many more species of mangrove can be found here including the cannonball mangrove whose seed pod is nature's very own 'Rubiks Cube'

Next stop is the 'Stone Wall' at Marton (named after Captain Cook's birthplace). It's here that more remains of the railway can be seen. The railway was planned to reach Palmer river in the 1880s, and service the gold rush population. It only got as far as Laura when the gold rush ended, the Queensland Government then refused to fund it anymore. The service continued to run to Laura until 1961 when the tracks were removed.

Just before the North Arm junction there are a few stands of Tea Trees that harbour a couple of species of orchids (Tea Tree and Antelope) which flower between August and October, and a rather unusual plant, the ant plant, which is an epiphyte that grows on the paper barks and tea trees. It is unusual as it is home to a nest of ants inside its tuber and they enjoy a truly symbiotic relationship.

Carry on up towards the North Arm and on the way check out some incredible mangrove root systems. A good example of what a marvellous job mangroves do in keeping banks together and preventing erosion. Property developers take note and realise that there's no better defence against erosion than mother nature's very own system. They also look better than man-made shoring.

The mangrove systems in this part of the world are some of the oldest known to man. There are over 25 species in the Endeavour all playing an important part in harbouring a huge diversity of marine life. The mangroves are in fact one big nursery where many juvenile creatures spend the first part of their life in relative safety before departing to the nearby reefs to continue growing into adults and breeding; their offspring once again returning to the sanctuary of the mangroves.

Turn into the 'North Arm' and almost immediately you'll notice a difference in the Flora: native hibiscus hang out over the river and a few cycads can be seen. The mangrove remains dominant but look closely and you will see that the species are changing as the water salinity changes. Mangrove ferns start appearing out of the forest floor. As you proceed further up the river it gradually starts to narrow and the mangroves start giving way to the Rainforest palms and trees.

It is in the North Arm that you are most likely to encounter the saltwater croc, big and small and totally unfenced. Your guide will point out numerous slides and resting places of this truly magnificent 'dinosaur' and if you are lucky enough you'll get a good shot with your video or camera.

The best time for croc-spotting is during the winter months of June- August on a low tide. There are numerous sightings at that time of year and many different sized crocs can be seen as they are often reluctant to slide back into the cold water. You may even spot last year's juveniles.

For those people who take an interest in bird-watching the North Arm offers many species. Many different nests (old and new) can also be seen.

The variety of birds on offer includes:

Some excellent fishing can be found in the North Arm, casting lures to the numerous snags and fallen giants of the Rainforest that litter the waterway. Barramundi are probably the predominant species, but jacks, fingermark, trevally, barracuda and sharks could show up at any time.

A day spent fishing the North Arm whilst being silently manoeuvred around by electric motor enjoying all of nature's little jewels is a day you'll never forget and if the fish are really on it doesn't get any better. Remember, it's not just the fishing, it's where you're fishing. A commercial fishery would never compare to this. A truly wild and beautiful place.