North of
Cape Tribulation, the Bloomfield Track is an interesting drive through the Rainforest. Numerous improvements have been made over the last few years, including a 3.5m
bridge above the Bloomfield River (2014). There are still several creek and river crossings and some steep climbs and descents so while it was once strictly for 4WD vehicles only and quite challenging after rains, it is now far more accessible to a wider range of tourists. The track is now
well graded and as such is now considered a "road". The steep ups and downs are now concrete and the river crossings are hard bottom. Be aware however that the track is still narrow and unsuitable for large caravans but is ok for more maneuverable camper trailers.
The Bloomfield Track ends near the Aboriginal Community of
Wujal Wujal and travellers can either continue north using our
Ayton to Cooktown Trek Note, pickup the more challenging
CREB track, or retrace their steps south.
How to Use this Trek Note
- To download this information and the route file for offline use on a phone, tablet, headunit or laptop, go to the app store and purchase ExplorOz Traveller. This app enables offline navigation and mapping and will show where you are as you travel along the route. For more info see the ExplorOz Traveller webpage and the EOTopo webpage.
Environment
Being a true Rainforest Habitat it is normal to expect some level of wet conditions during the trek - ranging from drizzly rain and wet sections of track at the beginning of the trek at
Cape Tribulation to a drier and more barren environment towards the end.
History
Cape Tribulation was so named by Captain James
Cook after his ship ran aground on Endeavour Reef. Aboriginals however, called the area Kulki. The first track through the
Daintree was an Aboriginal footpath, that with the arrival of settlers and miners, was later upgraded to a packhorse track. In 1983 the Bloomfield Track was formed for vehicles by bulldozers, attracting international attention to the fight to save the lowland
Daintree rainforests. The conservationists lost that battle, but the publicity generated by the blockade indirectly led to the Federal Government's moves in 1987 to nominate Qld's wet tropical rainforests for World
Heritage listing. Despite strenuous resistance by the Queensland timber industry and state government, the area was inscribed on the World
Heritage list in 1988 and one of the key outcomes was a total ban on commercial logging in the area.
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