From Cape Tribulation our next stop was Cooktown along the 4wd-only Bloomfield track.

I took to the driving seat as getting a four wheel drive car was my bright idea. To change the gears from two wheel drive to four there is a separate stick next to the gear stick, but unlike the gear stick you don't have to put the clutch down to change, you just have to have your foot off the accelerator.

The terrain started off flat along a gravel surface, then it became twisty and steep. At some points I was right down in first gear being forced back in the seat by the sheer angle of the slope.

A short way into the journey came the first nerve wracking event. We'd reached a creek crossing, but unlike the two previous crossings I have done this didn't have a concrete bed, you had to drive through the water on the rocky river bed. I pulled over to weigh up the situation. We observed other people driving through without any problems (see picture) so Richard assured me it would be fine. I did double check he didn't want to take over and do this part and got a short, sharp answer back! So into first I went praying not to stall the car as I drove across. All was fine but what I didn't know at that point was there were another five to go! The worst was the deepest where half way across I felt the car start to float on one side so quickly increased the acceleration to find some grip. I made all six crossings successfully and was quite triumphant when we arrived in Cooktown.

Cooktown gets its name from Captain Cook after he stopped there to make repairs to his damaged ship after it ran aground at Cape Tribulation in 1770. The town isn't anything special but the views across the mouth of the Endeavour river are pleasant.

Like us most people stop at Cooktown before heading further north up the peninsular to Cape York at the very top.

At the campsite we met Ronny a retired policeman and his wife as they were in the next tent to us. They too were planning the 1200km return trip along unsealed roads to the top. But unlike us they had a decent amount of tread on their tyres and plenty of knowledge on cars and how to change a wheel - something neither Richard or I have done in all our years of driving. They called us 'brave' for attempting the trip but in Aussie terms that translates to 'stupid poms'!

Katy