Cape York 4x4 Camping Trip Info Needed

[chris95]

Hey Guys,

So The family have decided that we would like to do the Cape York 4x4 and camping adventure during the September school holidays this year. I am after some information from people who have done this trip before or have good 4x4 knowledge.

We would like to tackle some/most of the Telegraph (OTL) track and have already booked an off-road camper trailer. We would like to camp at camping ground for most of the trip and would also like to do a bit of sight seeing/exploring ont he way and at the top end. We will be leaving from Townsville and are planning on going for roughly 2 weeks and travelling with at least two other families.

So we own a 2000 Toyota Prado GXL model, 3.4L petrol V6. So far its quite stock apart from Bullbar and side steps. The upgrades planned before the tip are; Snorkel, All Terrain Tyres and UHF. We will also be buying a Recovery kit, portable fridge and small portable air compressor. Aswell as setting up a continuous  Solenoid and Anderson plug to use the campers Auxiliary battery. (saves spending $1000 on a duel battery system)

So do you think these upgrades are suitable for this trip and do you think its over doing it or not enough, keeping in mind we hardly 4wd at the moment but hopefully this trip will make us want to do it more often. Also any recommendations on brands and types for these upgrades would be greatly appreciated, especially tyres.

We will be pulling a Desert Edge-Breeze Deluxe camper trailer with a few more accessories added from stock, we are hiring it from a mate of mums who owns the local Outback Campers here in Townsville.

Now moving onto the trip, can anyone with experience up there give some advice on what to do and what not to do. What camping Spots are nice and just general in information about the trip and the tracks. Also what difficulty is the telegraph line, we have very little 4x4 experience but are planning to start doing some local tracks before the trip. The people we are travelling with have 4x4 experience.

Cheers Chris

[Kit_e_kat9]

They are working on the trip report for this years event, so hopefully you'll find some excellent infomation in that.  Shouldn't be too far away ...

One thing I will mention ... the OTL changes quickly ... what it's like now won't necessarilly be what's it's like in September ... driving wise.

Kit_e

[Diesel Power]

Chris
What you have described sounds like a good starting point for 4wding and set up for cape york. You may see other posts on here where the carnage list was extensive, but you must remember that those trips are run early in the wet season where the going gets tough.
My last trip to the tip was in August 09 where we had no issues as listed in previous posts, and our party of vehicles had similar set ups to yours, two vehicles had 2 inch suspension lifts. In September it will be dustier as it getting later into the dry season, and the river levels will be lower. A good thing about the OTL track is that if your not to confident about certain sections you can bypass that section.
You will have a great time regardless,
Regards Angus.

[blkd4d]

Hi Chris I will be up there in September I'm traveling with 2 others 2 of us with camper trailers
We will be doing the tele track your car sounds  ok can give you more information maybe make it a bigger group
Anders

[McGirr]

Chris
The Otl this year was very tough in some places.
Palm creek has a steep drop off and steep exit that may require winching out.
Gunshot has a tight turn with a camper but ok.
Lagoon creek was deep up to the bonnet.
Nolans brook was also deep.

The trouble is these tracks change nearly daily but the water is still up and will slowly drop over the next couple of months.

You can by pass gunshot and there is a by pass on the northern otl after sams creek if you do not wish to attempt nolans creek. The by pass roads are good but will get more corrugated as the weeks go by depending on the amount of vehicles using it. The water levels should be down by sept. The modifications are fine and will get you there and back. If you have confident mates you will not have  a problem just take your time and enjoy the adventure.

Mark