The CREB track is the service access track for the Ergon Energy powerline to
Cooktown. It traverses a spectacular, yet sensitive, part of the Wet Tropics World
Heritage Area from the
Daintree River through China
Camp to
Wujal Wujal. The CREB Track was originally intended as a service track for the
Cairns Regional Electricity Board (CREB) power line. Heading south from
Ayton, near Bloomfield, the CREB Track winds its way first through open wooded ridges to Dawnvale station, and then slowly works its way deeper into rainforest and mountainous terrain where it climbs and descends precipitously, eventually reaching the
Daintree River. Lush tropical rainforest, clear flowing streams, stunning waterfalls and spectacular
views from ridge tops, make this one of the most exciting journeys you can do in the Far North.
The CREB Track is typically closed during the wet season and anyone considering travelling on this track should first seek additional information such as track closure/opening dates and track conditions, etc.
For further information, click for the
Douglas Shire website, however it can be late in confirming open/closed status so it is recommended you use the locally run Facebook page
Local CREB Track Conditions. You can contact the publisher of the FB page on (07) 40603136.
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
The CREB Track is located in the
Daintree region. Some of the track is within the Wet Tropics Managed World
Heritage Wilderness Area, other parts are on private property and in
State Forest. There is an ongoing process to review use of such restricted tracks within National Parks and World
Heritage Areas, so users are encouraged to not cause undue damage to the area by attempting to traverse in wet conditions. There are gates at the boundary of the Wet Tropics Management Authority area, and these will no doubt be closed when weather is not suitable for travel on the track.
The World
Heritage Daintree Rainforest is the second largest rainforest system in the world. The
Daintree rainforest is the centre of the wet tropics region, and as such is very rarely dry. With around one hundred and ninety wet days a year, it may be difficult to find a day when it is not wet. Travel on the CREB track is extremely treacherous when even slightly wet, due to very slippery clay soils and extremely steep slopes. The dry time in the region is June to September, but rains can fall at this time. “Winter” rain falls from April to May and sometimes into early June. Such rain is often accompanied by fresh easterly winds.
History
Aboriginal
This region is
home to the Kuku Yulanji people. They have weathered some very difficult times throughout the history of their contact with Europeans, but they have managed to retain a great deal of their culture. Aboriginal guides offer tours in various parts of the area.
The Kuku Yulanji people now live mostly in communities at the
Mossman Gorge and on the northern bank of the Bloomfield River. Historically the area supported a high density
population, with highly developed social structures.
Contact with Europeans was very often violent with fatalities sustained on both sides. European influences undermined the aboriginal cultural system which among other things, had a heavy dependence on food prepared from toxic rainforest species, that required lengthy and involved preparation.
European
After the passage of Captain James
Cook, one hundred years passed before any European
explorers ventured into the steamy regions of far north Queensland. The tragic loss of Kennedy and most of his party in 1848 seemed to reinforce the notion that this land was dangerous and uninhabitable.
The discovery of gold was the key to exploration and habitation. Frederick Warner found gold on what would be named the Palmer River. The explorer and prospector James Venture Mulligan set out from nearby gold fields with the aim of finding payable gold at the Palmer. His success precipitated a huge rush to the area and lead to the establishment of
Cooktown.
Hann was the first to venture into the upper
Daintree where the CREB track is located. Hann came from the
Mitchell river, heading for the coast at the Bloomfield River. So astounded was he with the steep terrain, that he wrote in his journal that he was thankful he had “landed safely on to the low lands”
Further European exploration eventually lead to timber getting, particularly Cedar which grew in abundance, and then to sugar plantations, first established near the
Daintree river and then more successfully at
the junction of two rivers near what is now the township of
Mossman.
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