An 'end of the road' town of 2,400 people swelling hugely with visitors during the dry season. Cooktown is situated on the estuary of the Endeavour River, and as most Australians would know, the names "Cook" and "Endeavour" belong together. It was here in 1770 that the first European visitors to the east coast of Australia, the crew of the Endeavour captained by James Cook, took refuge for several months while repairing a major hole in the ship's hull after they'd struck a coral reef off Cape Tribulation (guess why it got that name?) and nearly sunk.