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Cape York Rivers
Up one levelColeman River
As Cape York’s long dry season slowly lurches towards its end, the rising heat and moisture hit a threshold and the Wet arrives abruptly. Like most rivers of the Cape, the sudden rains and gushing waters of the Coleman River system breach its banks and spill out onto the immense floodplains and wetlands, carrying vital nutrients, seeds and fresh water to the landscape. It is a life-giving and distinct cycle that defines this truly wild river system.
Holroyd River
From the steep rainforest-clad slopes of the McIllwraith Range in eastern Cape York, the wild Holroyd River journeys westwards through tropical savanna country before becoming a jumble of meandering forested streams in a sea of salt pans and extensive floodplains. The intense waters of the Wet replenish one of Australia’s largest floodplain areas, inviting a wealth of birds from all over the world and replenishing the mangroves and marine environment with fresh water and vital natural nutrients.
Archer River
Rising in the rainforests of the McIlwraith Range and traversing the vast savannah landscape and enormous wetlands of western Cape York, the free-flowing Archer River is an icon of the region. In the upper reaches, its sandy banks provide idyllic camping and swimming holes, while the flooding flows of the wet give life to the sprawling Aurukun wetlands near the mouth of this wild river.
Watson River
The Watson River just south of Weipa on the west coast of Cape York tumbles into Archer Bay in the Gulf of Carpentaria from its journey through the Cape’s distinct savanna forest landscape and plentiful wetlands. As the river swells in the wet season from late November to March, the enormous Aurukun wetlands are replenished with fresh water and food and invite even more wildlife to benefit from the abundance.
Wenlock River
The wild Wenlock River is an icon of Cape York. The giant Saltwater Crocodiles, dense riverside rainforest with the possum-like Cus-Cus, rich fish diversity, extensive wetlands and wild wet season flows make it a river of exceptional biodiversity and natural beauty. The Wenlock also has great cultural importance to the local Indigenous people.
Ducie River
The Ducie River on the west coast of northern Cape York is refuge to a rich diversity of fish and other unique wildlife and an important provider of fresh water and nutrients to Port Musgrave and the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Jardine River
Weaving its way through wilderness heathlands and rainforest, the Jardine River in the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula is one of the world’s healthiest river systems. Eliot Creek, a key tributary of the Jardine, boasts two of the Cape’s most famous waterfalls and swimming holes – Twin Falls and Fruit Bat Falls. These are just a fraction of the many natural marvels of this wild river catchment.
Jacky Jacky Creek
Pure, white, massive sand dunes and vast mangrove forests are the hallmarks of the breathtaking landscape of the Jacky Jacky Creek catchment, on the remote north-eastern tip of Cape York Peninsula.
Olive River
The Olive River on the east coast of Cape York, which includes spectacular dunefields, perched freshwater lakes and sandblows, is refuge to a rich diversity of fish and other unique wildlife and an important provider of fresh water and nutrients to the healthiest section of the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef.
Pascoe River
The distinct hook-like course of the Pascoe through rainforest, savanna, heathland and mangroves makes this wild river system one of the most diverse on Cape York Peninsula.
Lockhart River
The Lockhart River is not only central to the Indigenous community of the same name nearby, but is the lifeblood to a wealth of biodiversity. Flowing northwards in a picturesque valley between the coastal ranges of Howard, Adam and Meston and the rainforest clad McIlwraith Range further inland, this wild river on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula is also an important provider of fresh water and nutrients to the healthiest section of the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef.
Stewart River
The Stewart River catchment, on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula, hosts a great diversity of unique environments. From the unspoiled rainforest of the McIllwraith Range, to the savanna country of the lower plains, to the coastal wetlands and mangroves, the Stewart’s free-flowing rivers ensure the ongoing health and abundance of life in this remarkable region.
Jeannie River
Picture the diversity: the boulder mountain landscape of Cape Melville, the sandstone escarpment of the Altanmoui Range, the startling white dune fields and perched lakes of the coast, the vast rivers and estuaries fringed by dense mangrove forests and wetlands teeming with waterbirds. This is the Jeannie River catchment, one of Cape York Peninsula’s most rugged and undisturbed wild river systems.