Black Mountain Rest Area

Black Mountain Rest Area is THE place to stop for photos of this astonishing mountain that looks like a huge pile of black granite boulders stacked on each other. Located about 25 km south-west of Cooktown on the Mulligan Highway, the lookout is on the eastern side of the crest of the Black Mountain boulder field - the only public access to the park. 

Black Mountain was once a body of hard granite rock that has been fractured and exposed over millions of years - other material was washed away exposing the boulders. This rock is actually grey and the dark appearance is due to a film of microscopic blue-green algae growing on the exposed surfaces - I have never seen anything like it.

Black Mountain National Park is a World Heritage Area and home to numerous threatened species -this jumble of black boulders apparently protects rare animals found nowhere else in the world. Black Mountain is also known as “kalkajaka” (place of the spear), an important Aboriginal meeting place and source of many Dreamtime stories - you are asked to respect this site.

Apparently there are large crevices all over the mountain in which horses and people have supposedly disappeared - there are warning signs about trying to climb these granite boulders. It is easy to pull off the road and park while towing a caravan and the viewing platform gives you loads of information about the importance of Black Mountain.