Off the Track 4x4 Tackling the Tele – Lions Den HotelOff the Track 4×4

For many years the Lions Den Hotel has played an important role as the last stop before Cooktown and the rugged Black Mountain pass. Nowadays this iconic little pub is on everyone’s bucket list. Everyone wants to get a photo out the front with ‘Leo the lion’! If you don’t know how popular Leo is, check out this story to read about when someone stole Leo’s tail!

The historic Lions Den Hotel has been an important stop for tourists and locals for decades. After a gruelling few weeks of rugged dirt roads, dust and corrugations as you travel throughout the Cape York region, this is a welcome relief and stop over point for a well deserved drink.

History

In 1875 a young Welshman from Rossville named Jack Ross decided to open a hotel in an area which later became known as Helenvale. Right on the banks of the Little Annan River, where it joined the Mungumby Creek, Jack and his wife Annie opened the Lions Den Hotel. The hotel was named after the Lions Den tin mine on the nearby tableland.

You should take a bit of time to walk around the inside of this quirky little pub, there is plenty of history and decorations and many signatures and stories from travellers adorn the walls and ceiling of the rooms. Yes, amongst all those signatures we are there too …. somewhere!

Accommodation
Accommodation options range from powered and unpowered camping sites to on site cabins and Safari Tents.

During our visit in 2013 with Stewy, Kristy and Rori we all stayed in a Safari tent for something a little bit different. They are fully screened to keep the bugs out and come with private deck areas, as well as fridge and tea & coffee making facilities.

Facilities

The Lions Den Hotel has everything you need from a licensed bar, meals, fuel, ice, souvenirs etc. The large deck areas are the perfect place to sit and relax and share some stories over a cold beer or two.

As we were nearing the end of our epic journey our whole group took the opportunity to share a meal and a few drinks together. As we relaxed on the deck, we all had a great night filled with lots of laughs, a few drinks and plenty of food.

Early the next morning we were all up ready to head off for a day on the tracks ….. 4 of our vehicles were tackling the CREB Track. But before that we had more photos to take ….. like the standard ‘Leo the Lion’ photos, every has to get a pic of their vehicles in front of the sign out the front!

Below is our photo from our visit with Stewy in 2013 compared to 2018. 5 years later and new vehicles for both of us!

Contact

The Lions Den Hotel is located 28km south of Cooktown on the Bloomfield Road between Cooktown and Cape Tribulation.

Phone (07) 4060 3911 www.lionsdenhotel.net

During our visit in 2013 there were the most amazing jade vines that were hanging from the trees around the deck of the hotel. These delicate little blue, green flowers almost didn’t even look real. They looked like little claws swaying in the breeze.

We had never seen anything quite like it in our lives, they were stunning. To find something this beautiful and delicate in such a rustic, relatively remote location was amazing. We found out that they were called Strongylodon macrobotrys, commonly known as jade vine and they are a native of the tropical forests of the Philippines.

This time we were looking forward to seeing these amazing flowers again, but we were informed that unfortunately they were destroyed in one of the cyclones which hit the area, such a shame.