Lakefield National Park
Back in October '00 I teamed up with fellow palm enthusiasts Mark Wushke and Mike Dahme to do some palm hunting on Cape York Peninsular, in Far North Queensland. (That's them taking it easy to the left)
Day 1 - Cape Tribulation to Cooktown
We packed up the 4WD, filled up the tank and headed north into the unknown (well unknown to us at least!). The road turned to dirt just before Cape Tribulation, and followed the coastline as a dusty rocky rutted track (the infamous Bloomfield Track), made worse by the frequent traffic of mainly four wheel drives, along with the occasional truck or two. Along this stretch of road were many wonderfully scenic areas, with pockets of rainforest lining both sides of the road, and views of the turquoise ocean visible through the few openings in the forest. The road was steep in sections as the area was quite hilly and progress was steady at best, giving us all time to admire the scenery. There were several species of palms growing along the roadside, Calamus being the most common, although there were large stands of Licuala ramsayii, along with scattered populations of Normanbya normanbyi and Archontophoenix alexandrae. Ptychosperma elegans was also common in some areas. Each sighting brought the vehicle to a dusty halt, whilst the palm crazies inside looked for other palm species and took countless photos of these commonly cultivated palms growing in habitat. Bruce would wander off into the bush and we would spend the next 20 minutes trying to herd him back to the car. This was the start of a trend...
Further north the lushness of the lowland rainforest left us, and the vegetation reflected the seasonal dryness this region receives. There were occasional pockets of Archontophoenix, Normanbya and Ptychosperma along creeks and rivers, but large areas of dry Eucalypt forest separated these for many kilometres. There were stands of Livistona muelleri growing here, preferring the seasonally dry weather. Just north of the town of Ayton we turned left and headed west for several kilometres to visit a long lost friend of Mike's. Here we were, a couple of hours north of Cape Tribulation, driving down a dusty road in the middle of nowhere, and staring us in the face was a property covered in exotic palms! These ranged from Roystonea, Dypsis (many species) Caryota, Elaeis, to Wodyetia and Normanbya. A little oasis set in the middle of the bush! As it turned out, it was a neighbour who apparently has a great interest in palms and had joined the local Palm and Cycad Society in Cairns. Mike's friend had several hectares of land, also with several palm species planted. Mainly commonly cultivated species such as Dypsis decaryii and Wodyetia bifurcata, although a large Arenga pinnata was impressive.
Local lore had it that there was a different form of Archontophoenix growing on the tops of the nearby mountains. We could not gather whether this was a northern stand of A.purpurea or another variety of A.alexandrae. One day somebody will investigate and we'll have an answer! After a quick cuppa and a chat we once again headed north to our evening destination - Cooktown. We crossed several creeks and then a decent sized river - the Bloomfield River before finally hitting sealed road again just south of Cooktown. An impressive landmark was Black Mountain, a large hill totally devoid of any vegetation and looking like a pile of black rocks (see photo at left). As we drove closer, we could clearly see that it was comprised entirely of granite boulders covered in black lichen, which gives it a spectacular, sinister
appearance. We drove into Cooktown just on sunset, catching the evening breeze off the water and stopping to admire the views across the harbour. Our last chance at civilisation and time to go to the last ATM to cash up, fuel money being critical up there!
Day 2 - An early start to the day and we headed straight to the local botanical gardens, resurrected and restored to perfection in the '80s and with a history of over 100 years. There were quite a few palms species represented, most were clearly labelled, and the gardens were well maintained. Most of the palms growing there were commonly cultivated species, although there were several Livistona species that weren't labelled. After approximately 30 minutes we had seen all there was to be seen, so headed to our next destination...Barrett's Creek. Driving down the sealed road to Cooktown airport, we then turned right up Barrett's Creek road, a dusty track that leads to who knows where! A couple of kilometres down the road and there they were - a stand of Livistona sp 'Cooktown'! According to some, these are Livistona drudei, but a lot of people would argue this fact. There were quite a few large individuals, and many smaller plants growing in this area. The palms were growing in low swampy ground, which although dry at the time, would have been very wet and boggy during the wet season. The palms themselves were quite stately, and certainly are an attractive species that would be great in cultivation.
Also growing in the same area were Livistona muelleri, which are distinctly different. We were just about to leave, when we realised that Bruce was missing. Where did he go? We listened very carefully, and could clearly hear crocodiles in the nearby mangroves. After calling him for a few minutes, he finally appeared out of the mangroves about 300 metres down the road. He had become engrossed in the native plant life and had wandered off, losing all track of time and direction...luckily the crocs weren't hungry that day! We continued on, heading northwest to Laura and the Lakefield National park, in search of more Livistona spp and Corypha utan. Half an hour out of Cooktown we crossed the Normanby river, and right in front of us was a stand of the most massive palms! This was the first of many encounters with one of the giants of the palm world - Corypha utan. We stopped to take photos, and only when standing underneath these monsters did we actually comprehend the sheer dimensions of these palms. Although growing under typical bush conditions, they were far more massive than the plantings in Cairns. They are certainly tough adaptable plants. There were some large scattered individuals, as well
as a stand of younger plants growing along a dry creek-bed. Nothing prepares you for the size of these beauties!
Back in the Toyota again, and on to Laura to grab some accommodation and a nice meal. For the remainder of the trip to Laura we saw perhaps three or four Corypha, and not one other palm anywhere, the landscape becoming drier and less palm friendly by the kilometre. We finally arrived at Laura, and settled in to the Quinkan Hotel, better known as the Laura Pub. There wasn't too much action in town, so after walking the length of the main street twice, we settled down for the night, eager to head into the National Park the following day.
Day 3 - Laura - Lakefield NP - Princess Charlotte Bay
We woke to the smell of a good old-fashioned bacon and eggs breakfast - the perfect start to the day, although not too good for the cholesterol count! After a bit of a chat with the locals, we packed up and headed north to Lakefield National Park, to seek out more palms in habitat, of course.
An hour of bone crunching, dusty rutted road, and we reached the Ranger station at New Laura. We had instructions on where to find some good stands of palms, so carefully noted our progress and kept our eyes peeled, staring at the vegetation growing along the creeks and rivers, hoping to find some 'treasure'. The bush was very dry, the wet season not yet upon us, and being a tropical savannah type of vegetation made it reasonably easy to look for palms. After 20 minutes the cry went out - 'there it is!' We had found a solitary Livistona growing on a dry creekbed about 300 metres from the road. We slid the car to a stop, grabbed cameras and headed off into the bush. An interesting walk, a bunch of palm desperates trying to make their way through 1.5 metre tall grass, just to see a single palm! We walked to within 100 metres of the palm, mindful that there may be snakes in the long grass. Well, when you can't see more than a metre or two in front of you, the mind certainly starts playing tricks!
Some of the more 'urban' members of the group were now a little concerned...earlier we had been told of the hazards - Crocodiles, Taipans, wild Boars.
It all seemed very safe near the road, but once off the beaten track you realised that an encounter with any 'nasty' would not be a pleasant experience! Luckily we didn't have any incidents, and maybe our stomping around in the long grass scared off any unwanted visitors. We found the lone palm, then with a bit more searching found another mature individual and some juveniles growing nearby. Certainly not a thriving population! This palm was rumoured to be yet another variation of Livistona 'Cooktown' or L.drudei, but again had some differences and was also geographically isolated by a hundred kilometres or so. Maybe it will turn out to be this species, but for us it was another 'mystery palm'! We then headed further into the park, stopping at Kennedy Bend, a permanently moist section of the Kennedy River, with large stands of Corypha utan growing on its banks. The Corypha population was very healthy, with hundreds of tall plants growing along all of the watercourses in the area. A sight to see, and in our eyes, the most dramatic vegetation in the region. Following a quick break we headed further north to the black soil quagmire of Breeza plains and on to Princess Charlotte Bay.
The area was dotted with many stands of Corypha, all you had to do was look to the horizon to see the palm crowns standing proud above the treeline. A light drizzle settled in to annoy us and make the track extremely slippery, the black soil turning to grease and reducing our speed to about 10 km/h. We finally reached the water at Princess Charlotte Bay, our northernmost destination, so we stopped for some lunch and a cool drink. After lunch we set about exploring the area, although the drizzly rain hampered us, and in the end we ran out of time, with several hours of dirt road to cover before we reached Laura again. We did see quite a few large Corypha loaded with immature seed, and several in flower. Unfortunately they were some distance away on private property. The species certainly appears to be thriving in the area, and is by no means threatened. We then packed ourselves up and headed back to Laura, via Musgrave and the Peninsular Development Road, which is like a gravel freeway in comparison to some of the tracks we'd driven on during the day. Arriving back at Laura, we tucked into a nice dinner and reflected on the day's events - the land of the giant Corypha will not be forgotten in a long time!