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General => Previous Member Trips => Trips, Tracks, Touring and Reports => 2012 Cape York Members Trip => Topic started by: Symon on September 22, 2011, 07:57:59 PM
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After looking at these two videos a few times -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5AKWghp1Us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY0p0rYMCAQ
I'm keen to give this one a crack. Obviously with the camper off and after quite a lot of preparation. Anyone else keen?
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Might be able to get some tips off Darren.
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One of the guys at work tried it this year and the brand new Hilux turned into a submarine and stopped when the computer was flooded. A;; repaired under insurance luckily
GG
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It seemed deeper in the first clip, and when Darren did it. I was surprised that the bloke from ET said he'd done it quite a few times, but didn't put a water bra on for such a ling crossing.
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This one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY0p0rYMCAQ
D'oh! just realised this was already posted :-[
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We drove up to the crossing a few months ago with the thought of doing it. It was about top of the wheel height and flowing quite hard. The thing that stopped us was the very soft sandy bottom. We walked out about 10mts and it was hard just walking, you sunk into the sand without trying and soon had the water up to your goolies. I would dearly love to do it but its a long way from home to be a 'drowned' hero.
I guess late in the season would be the time to do it.
P.S, we have done wider, heaps deeper crossings but none with as soft a bottom as the Jardine.
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Symon I will hold your beer while you cross !!
I think who ever attempts it will get bogged as the soft sand is the killer. The running water does not help.
May have to have 10 snatch straps and yogi on the other side to sling shot you across. ;D
Mark
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I was thinking of about 100m of dynamica rope and a few snatch straps....
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If it was like we saw in the vids ......... hell yeah ..... if it was like it was when we were there this year .... Shit no ...... but I am happy to help you if you want to give it a crack ...... as long as I don't have to walk out and hook up the snatch rope if you get stuck ;D
yogi
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Can't believe how low the Jardine River was when the E.T. crew crossed it. It was hardly up to the side steps.
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I thought there was potentially huge fines for crossing the jardine is this still the case (not saying I follow all the rules just curious)
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Watto I may be wrong, but I think because the ferry fee includes your camping fees/land access permit for on the north side of the river, this is where you run into trouble by driving across it. Willing to be corrected though. I think if you drive across it and then look to pay your access fees you should be right.
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Can't believe how low the Jardine River was when the E.T. crew crossed it. It was hardly up to the side steps.
They did it right at the end of the dry season, there was hardly any water in Nolans either.
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:-[ ........I have to admit that the thought of doing the Jardine Crossing is appealing BUT there's no way I would have tried it this year....Toooo Deeeepp. I think you would have to suck it and see when you arrived at the crossing as to weather or not it was viable.
If we have another wet season like last year I wouldn't like your chances.................But I'll cheer and watch from a safe distance :cheers:
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I would say no, but the wife would say yes ;D
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Have thought about asking my wife to walk that crossing.
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I have walked it and on both occasions there is no way I was prepared to cross. Doesn't mean I couldn't achieve it, just means I assessed the risk as too high for flooding my vehicle. Each to his own I guess.......
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Don't get me wrong here guys, I would walk it as well before driving it. When I saw it this year the depth was enough to turn me off it.
Might be better next year, it might not!
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710a using Tapatalk
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Hi,
not infested with large-ish lizards ?
cheers
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Why do you think I wanted my wife to walk it...
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Back when we did the Cape trip (about 1981 or 1982 ish) everybody went over the Jardine including some boys in a white panel van who didn't make it very far, but got snatched out ... of everything ... I have a photo of the panel van doing it and my dad doing it in his shortie ... we kids all marking logs and the likes with our tasty little bodies ... can't imagine NOT doing it really ... lizards or no lizards.
Kit_e
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If the water level is low and enough support and good preparation it is worth a go !! I would walk the crossing as the sand bank is long enough to see what is in the water. I will bring my snorkel and goggles just in case ;D
Mark
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I've heard that you need alot of things to cross the jardine.
I have most of them just need to find someone to loan me 2 things and i'm in mate all the way ....
1. a rather large set of kahunahs.... ;D
2. Keys to thier car. ;D
Obv I don't expect one person to lend me both..LOL
Jetcrew :D
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I'll cheer you on from the bank but I won't be in it. The bottom is just to soft and the mazda is not high enough, I only have 31 not 35 inch tyres.
Bert
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I thought there was potentially huge fines for crossing the jardine is this still the case (not saying I follow all the rules just curious)
You are absolutely right.
I know a couple people who were fined last year.
I do not remember exactly how much the fine is but I do know its a darn sight cheaper to pay the ferry.
But perhaps pay the ferry fee before driving across???
Bill and Morag
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The ferry fee includes your camping permit for the area.
So i would say "pay the ferryman" and then cross.
Ian.
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I camped there a week ago fella's. At the moment (& it may have been low water level in the middle of the year) the water level is roughly 800 - 1.2m all the way accross. The middle is also very sandy & squelches between your toes when walking. Additionally the water was flowing at between 7 - 10knots (very fast). Remember that with water up near the top of the tyres (about 750mm) it will only take a car length of deeper water (or a softer bottom) to create a floating boat (as your doors are sealed).
We heard the day before we got there that someone had tried in their brand new Navara & had rigged up 75m of Dynema rope + 8 snatch straps that reached to the other side & off he set. Halfway accross he was floating then he opened the door to get out! Bad move as the car then filled with water & the rope broke (even Dynema can't hold back the river). Sure enough on my way out two days later there was the Navara snagged in the trees about 3 kms down stream upside down.
Also releasize that the level of the Jardine doesn't always follow the patterns of rain, ie you can have a small wet but still get huge amounts of water coming down. This is because more than 50% of the water (in all of the creeks up there) comes from an underground aquifer from PNG.
Nolan's Brook last week was also about 1 - 1.2 meters in the centre as was Cannibal Creek (the ruts on the northern bank also make Cannibal "winch out only country"). The other VERY bad one was the southern bank at Palm Creek - it's ok gowing north but winch out only coming south. Gunshot was a doddle - but I did take the chicken track!
About the permits & fines. I've never heard of anyone getting fined for using the old Jardine Crossing. I have also done a one way trip (coming down from North after loading my 4x4 onto the freighter in Cairns & getting it offloaded at Seisia/Bamaga) & back over the Jardine ferry where I wasn't even asked to produce a ticket (the ferry guy just assumes that everybody has come up beforehand so doesn't ask).
My recommendation regarding the old Jardine crossing is - if it has more than 750mm of water in it anywhere accross the entire width AND/OR it is flowing at more than 5 knots - then don't try. Unless of course you are prepared to throw your car away. Good luck.
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fwiw, I'd do it :)
We heard the day before we got there that someone had tried in their brand new Navara & had rigged up 75m of Dynema rope + 8 snatch straps that reached to the other side & off he set. Halfway accross he was floating then he opened the door to get out!.
I dont know about tryin to get out, but if your car starts to float, its recommended to open door and flood it to stop it floating and hope to get traction again.
Bad move as the car then filled with water & the rope broke (even Dynema can't hold back the river). Sure enough on my way out two days later there was the Navara snagged in the trees about 3 kms down stream upside down.
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Here's another vid for anyone
mad keen enough to have a go, but it was late in the dry season. He makes it look really easy. Obviously the trick is to hug the bank and drive upstream a bit first and let the current work with you, not against you.
Driving across Jardine River Patrol 4.2 Cape York (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQM4jlRmpnE#ws)
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Yes end of the season the river is down and an easy crsooing.
Mark