Cape Melville National Park

Remote, rugged and diverse park with wild coastal scenery and impressive geological formations. Unusual wildlife, flora and fauna includes the foxtail palm. Crocodile habitat.Park features This remote park is characterised by the massive, tumbled granite boulders of the Melville Range, the sandstone escarpments of the Altanmoui Range and inland dunefields. The park features a diversity of plant communities including rainforest, mangroves, heathlands, woodlands and grasslands. The isolation of Cape Melville National Park has given rise to a high proportion of rare and endemic plants and animals, which are found nowhere else in Australia. Most notable of these is the foxtail palm, now a popular garden plant. Features of the park's landscape are woven into a rich tapestry of Aboriginal traditional stories and significant sites, creating a living cultural landscape. The long Aboriginal occupation of this area, which is known as Othawa, is evidenced by shell middens, burials and rock art sites, and has contributed to the significant diversity of vegetation in the area. Camping Bush camping is allowed in Cape Melville National Park, behind the beach at Bathurst Bay. Facilities are not provided. Please keep campsites on the sand to avoid encroaching into the beachfront vegetation. Camping permits are required and fees apply. Permits can be obtained from the self-registration shelter at the Lakefield ranger station in Lakefield National Park or in advance from the Cooktown QPWS office.