Get ready for one of the best walking trails in Queensland. Prepare your comfy shoes for a long walk. Wear your best outdoor outfit for the heat. Hold your camera tight for the best view. Oh, don’t forget to bring your own bottle of water. There’s no drinking water available.
I believe you’ll be amazed at how exciting it is! Where will you start the journey? Let’s choose the big city – Cairns. It’ll be quite complicated because, as I said, this walking track I’m talking about is hidden. But there’s a technology called Google Maps. Such a savior!
You can easily type up ‘Kennedy Walking Track’ and it will show you the direction. The distance is about 147 km from Cairns. You’ll go towards Mission Beach – one of the famous towns in Queensland for it has many beautiful beaches. The Kennedy Walking Track is in South Mission Beach.
It’s located right at the end of the road. After driving through a residence, you’ll find a dead end and that’s the cue for you to stop. Park your car there. Not a wide space, I know. Just enough for less than 10 cars, I guess. But there are not many visitors anyway.
There’s a toilet. Quite dirty and smelly. If you don’t need it that bad, you might want to consider using it. Alright, are you ready? Grab your water, wear a hat if you want, and let’s go!
Oops, before you go, I want to let you know the mapping. There are some lookout points:
- Lovers Beach (Accessible Track) 320m (10 minutes)
- Lugger Bay 1.2 Km (30 minutes)
- Mije Creek 2.3 Km (50 minutes)
- Morgans Lookout 2.7 Km (60 minutes)
- Kennedy Bay Entrance 3.9 Km (1 hour 55 minutes)
Not bad, right?! Various spots you can target. If you have plenty of time, you can go to the furthest. But if you don’t have much time, walk short is still fine. Okay, enough. Let’s see what you will see.
This access track to Kennedy Bay is a Memorial Walking Track for Edmund Kennedy. It’s officially opened on 29th May 1988 by Mrs. Kerry Goodall, Deputy Chairman of the Queensland Council of the Australian Bicentennial Authority.
Before you know it, The Lovers Beach will welcome you. It’s like a deck facing the beach. There are some benches there. You can enjoy the view with your lover for a while before continue walking. While you’re taking a break, I want to let you know a bit of history about the walking track.
The track recognizes the beauty, environmental significance and history of Kennedy Bay, and commemorates the first known European expedition (1848) to have explored this idea. Included in the party was Jackey Jackey, an aborigine from NSW who provided valuable bushcraft knowledge to the expedition. The track was completed with the valuable assistance of the local aboriginal people.
The track was Len Staff’s vision and his desire to make it reality was shared by Norma and Bill Morgan – all local residents. This trio took on the immense three year task of organizing all the practical sides of the project – equipment, permits, help from government employment agencies and most important of all, the willing volunteers.
Unlike repairs and maintenance undertaken today, no machinery was used in the original construction. Locals and visitors from further afield, came each Sunday to assist the organized workforce to do the hard physical work that made the track a reality. Much appreciated advice and assistance was given by National Parks Regional Directors at the time, Peter Stanton (Cairns) and Bill Fisher (Townsville).
In spite of setbacks and problems, the track was finished in time for the 140th anniversary of the explorer’s landing in Kennedy Bay, also the bicentennial year 1988. Celebrations were held at the track’s end at Kennedy Bay. Built on the public esplanade, the track treats walkers to spectacular coastal views and a variety of coastal forest types.
The 4 paragraphs above were taken from the board I found at the Lovers Beach. I could’ve just put the picture here. But the words are hard to be read for it’s too small. I don’t want to make your eyes sore, so I just wrote it down.
Let’s go again then! The track is not just woody. After Lovers Beach, you’ll walk on the ground most of the time. Lucky, it was a good day when I was there. After the first point, you’ll find the second one. There’s no name of it. It’s just like a balcony with one bench at it. The view is the ocean.
Let’s walk again. Not far from the last spot, you’ll get to Lugger Bay. It was like walking towards heaven, you know. Maybe I’m exaggerating but that’s how I felt. The beach is so beautiful, the color is soft blue – even softer than the sky, the sand is cream like caramel pudding.
I walked along the beach keeping my eyes alert for crocodiles. Yes. The ocean there is full of crocs. I saw the sign. That’s why I was a little bit scared. It was in the middle of the day – the best time for the crocs to sunbathe. I wanted to see one at least, but I was also scared. It was totally a mixed feeling.
Anyway, at the end of the beach, there is Mije Creek. I think it must be the home for crocs. Just look at the water. It gave me goosebumps just by looking at it. And yes! Another warning sign – crocodiles inhabit this area. Thanks!
At Mije Creek, there’s wooden bridge. I crossed it and it led me nowhere. Well, at least, that’s what I thought at the time. There was no clear track. Only a short pole with an arrow on it. But that’s it. There’s no one to be asked as well.
I was so ready to turn back when there were a couple walking passed me. I looked at my husband, and he looked at me, and we nodded at each other. We then kept walking following that couple. Yeah, we’re a coward couple. But I admit that it was pretty scary to see the track. It was like getting into an uncertainty.
The track became more challenging and darker. I heard some strange voices. Probably came from cassowaries somewhere in the woods. Can’t think of anything else.
Several minutes later, I got to the Morgans Lookout. It was only like a balcony and there’s a bench. The couple I followed stopped there. Since I was curious, I carried on walking. This time, I wasn’t that afraid anymore.
The track got narrower after that. My husband kept saying, ‘Are you sure?’, ‘Let’s go back.’
But I kept saying, ‘A bit more.’, ‘Come on.’
The next point is Turtle Bay. The seawater is not as blue as in the Lugger Bay. But it offered me something different. I liked the vibes.
I kept walking through the stones ground. A couple of meters away, I found a farm. Well, I think it was a farm. It looked like it was owned by someone. I wasn’t sure, though.
At that point, Aldi didn’t want to continue. He’s afraid there will be something because the track looked mysterious. There would probably be a psychopath or something. Yeah, he watches thrillers too much.
Since my husband was afraid, it made me afraid too. So I had to forget my curiosity. Too bad. It was actually near the end. I could feel it. For whoever is reading this right now, I encourage you to keep going. Please. And tell me what it’s like at the end which should be the Kennedy Bay Entrance.
I turned back towards the beginning. I met an old couple walking the opposite direction with mine. The man said he saw a monitor lizard, but the woman said it was a crocodile. God only knows what it actually was.
I arrived at Lugger Bay again and spent some time to enjoy the view. I don’t know why, but I really liked it there. Even though there’s a creepy feeling crawling inside me while I was there, that place has something that kind of attached me. If I have the chance, I really want to go back. Because I can still hear Kennedy Walking Track keeps calling me to come back even until now.
