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At 537,000ha, Lakefield National Park on Cape York Peninsula is Queensland’s second largest park. The park is drained by large rivers and contains spectacular wetlands ? home to waterbirds, barramundi and estuarine and freshwater crocodiles. Rivers become a series of waterholes in the dry season but the wet season transforms the park into a vast inaccessible wetland.

Lakefield has a rich and varied landscape with river estuaries, mangroves and mudflats to the north around Princess Charlotte Bay, extensive grasslands and eucalypt and paperbark woodlands on the river floodplains, and sandstone hills and escarpments to the south. Patches of the unusual Corypha utan palm grow in the grasslands on the marine plain. Gallery rainforest fringes parts of the Normanby and Kennedy Rivers. The park is a wildlife refuge and home to several rare or threatened animals including the golden-shouldered parrot, star finch, red goshawk, Lakeland Downs mouse and spectacled hare-wallaby.

Before European settlement in the 1870s, numerous Aboriginal clans speaking at least 11 different languages lived here and in the surrounding lands. Lakefield’s traditional owners, the Lama Lama, Kuku Warra, Kuku Yamithi and Kuku Thaypan, are closely involved in managing the park.

Explorer William Hann crossed the North Kennedy River at the site now known as Hann Crossing, during his expedition to Cape York in 1872. Lakefield’s grazing history dates back to the first lease for Laura cattle station granted in 1879.
Exploring Lakefield
Lakefield is a remote national park and offers a style of camping to match. It is also the most accessible park on the Cape and a great place to spend a few days relaxing and exploring. The best time to visit is April to October. Summers are hot and wet.

Bush camping is allowed at a number of sites near rivers and waterholes. Pay your camping fees on-site at self-registration shelters throughout the park.

Few facilities are provided so visitors must be self-sufficient. Take drinking water, a fuel stove and mosquito nets. Generators are not allowed. Remove your rubbish. Bury human wastes well away from waterholes. Boil the water for five minutes before drinking. Do not use soap, shampoo or detergent in waterholes.

Campsites include Twelve Mile Waterhole on the Normanby River opposite New Laura Ranger Base, Old Faithful Waterhole, 23km north of New Laura, Mick Fienn and Dingo Waterholes, 33km north of New Laura, Kalpowar Crossing, 3km east of Lakefield Ranger Station, Seven Mile Waterhole, 13km north-west of Lakefield, or Hann Crossing, 6km south-west of Bizant Ranger Station. Kalpowar Crossing has grassy individual campsites, cold showers, tap water, picnic tables, fireplaces and toilets along an 8km stretch of a permanent fresh waterhole. Hann Crossing has individual campsites and pit toilets. Bookings are recommended for school holidays, long weekends and Kalpowar Crossing.

Go birdwatching early morning or late afternoon around the waterholes. See brolgas, sarus cranes, comb-crested jacanas, magpie geese and black-necked storks. Look for birds and enjoy the view towards Jane Table Hill from the treeless Nifold Plain, north of Hann Crossing.

Recreational fishing and boating are allowed in the park. Size and bag limits apply to barramundi. The Bizant boat ramp provides the best access to Princess Charlotte Bay. Canoeing is not recommended because this is crocodile country. Estuarine crocodiles live in the rivers and waterholes in this park. For your safety, never swim, canoe, clean fish or prepare food at the water’s edge, or camp close to deep waterholes. Be croc-wise.

Visit the restored Old Laura Homestead on the former cattle grazing lease or the site of the former Breeza Homestead where horses were bred for the Palmer River goldfields. See spectacular displays of red lotus lilies and white lilies in the Red and White Lily Lagoons 8km north of Lakefield ranger station.
Walking
Tracks are provided at Kalpowar Crossing and Hann Crossing camping areas. Wear a hat and sunscreen and take drinking water.
Getting there
Lakefield is 7–8 hours north of Cairns along the Peninsula Developmental Road. Turn right to Lakefield 2km north of Laura. Four-wheel-drive is recommended. From Cooktown, travel via Battlecamp Road. This can be rough and takes about four hours. Access from Coen via the Musgrave Roadhouse is four-wheel-drive only. Allow three hours from Musgrave to Lakefield ranger station.

Roads are rough requiring higher than usual fuel consumption. The closest supplies and fuel are at Laura and Musgrave. The park is accessible only in the dry season, April to November, and closed to traffic in the wet season. Check current road conditions before travelling.



Further Information
Lakefield NP
New Laura Ranger Station
PMB79 Cairns Mail Centre QLD 4871
ph (07) 4060 3260

Lakefield Ranger Station
PMB29 CAIRNS MAIL CENTRE QLD 4871
ph (07) 4060 3271

QPWS
5 Webber Esplanade
PO Box 611 COOKTOWN QLD 4871
ph (07) 4069 5777
fax (07) 4069 5574
email >>>SPAMSCHUTZ!! >EMAIL BITTE PER Private Nachricht erfragen (Login erforderlich!)<<<.qld.gov.au


Tracks
Kalpowar Crossing
Normanby River circuit
4·5km, 1–1·5 hours

Hann Crossing
North Kennedy River track
7km return, 90 minutes