The Bump Track

Visitors to Far North Queensland who enjoy walking are often surprised at how few obvious walks there are here.  But there are in fact some really good, lesser known walks and one, the Bump Track has great appeal.

The track was blazed by Christie Palmeston in the 1877 as a route from the Hodgkinson Gold Fields in the western Tablelands to the coast at what became Port Douglas.  It followed a well established but unfrequented aboriginal track from Black Mountain to the Daintree coast.

The track is about 6kms long and is quite steep in places.  It makes a good day walk, including the side trip to look at the Mowbray Falls (when its not too wet).  When the track was first used teams of bullocks pulled wagons up the track from Mowbray, with rest stops at several places.  there was even a hotel one third the way up.   When cars made their appearance, horses, and sometimes bullocks were needed to get them up the steepest parts
 
                                          up the Track in 1928

There are no signs of the hotel or the bullock pens now but helpful interpretive signs tell the story and have some good photographs.

The track starts at Mowbray, just past the Diggers Bridge on Connolly Road.  The first part, Slatey Pinch is the steepest and narowest part.  Thereafter the track broadens and winds its way through rain forest, dry eucalypt scrub and across streams to Black Mountain Road.  There are excellent views from the track to the sea and across to the Mobray Falls.  The track continues across the road but most users terminate their trip here and return to Mowbray, downhill this time!  Look out for the difficult to find orange marker indicating the narrow track to the Mowbray Falls - on the right just past Robbins Creek on the ascent.  In the wet the Falls make an impressive sight but the track can be slippery. 

The trail is used by walkers, mountain bikers and horse trail riders.