OUR REGION
Cook Shire is the largest land area shire in Queensland. From the Bloomfield River in the south to just north of the Jardine River, it covers more than lipsum lore occupies 80 per cent of Cape York Peninsula.
Our Location
Geography
Cook Shire is the largest shire in terms of land area in Queensland. From the Bloomfield River in the south to just north of the Jardine river it covers over 100,000 square kilometres and occupies 80 per cent of Cape York Peninsula.
Local
Weather
Cook Shire enjoys a mild tropical climate, with the wet season usually bringing soaking rains and tropical temperatures from January to March, although our main centre of Cooktown boasts summer temperatures that average 5 degrees cooler than Cairns.
April to December is a drier time of year, with temperatures dropping to a mild average of 27 degrees.
During the wet season there are risks of cyclones and flooding. Residents and visitors are encouraged to read the Disaster Management page of this website and download relevant information on how to prepare for cyclone season.
For more information on the local weather and warnings visit the Bureau of Meterology website.
Planning a trip?
How to get here
The number of visitors and residents coming to our Shire continues to increase as road conditions and facilities improve. Â
Cooktown is 331km from Cairns (approximately 3.5-4 hours drive) and 266km from Mareeba (3 hours drive) via the fully sealed Mulligan Highway.
There are scheduled passenger flights to Cooktown and air charter operations providing access to all parts of the Shire, as well as regular tour buses, cruise ships and ever-increasing numbers of self drive tourists all looking for the real Australia and enjoying our amazing indigenous culture and bush hospitality.
To view the latest road conditions, how to get to the region and tourism information please visit the Cooktown and Cape York website.