Cape York in July 2014

[Zilch]

After consulting members of the Gclan who we have had the pleasure of doing some off road time with over a number of years, my bro-in-law and
i are looking to do a trip to Cape York in early July, i have noticed we have hit the School Holiday peak period  Our current draft plan based upon
the time we have up there (10/11 days) looks as follows:

Day:   Route:          Stay

1  Port Douglas/Daintree/Cape Trib/Lions Den (1 night)
2  Battlecamp to Lakefield NP, Hann crossing (1 night)
3 Hann to Musgrave, Archer, Bramwell (1 night)
4 Bramwell to Elliot Falls (2 nights)
6 Elliot Falls to Punsand (4 nights)
10 Punsand to Bamaga to Laura/Musgrave (1 night)
11 Laura/Musgrave to Cairns.

Doable, rushed, reasonable trip?  I will be avoiding the more extreme parts of the OTT due to towing a camper..

Cheers

[McGirr]

Sorry to say Cape York is closed that time of year with the Myswag Cape Trip happening. 

Only kidding.

Depending on the road conditions.

1  Port Douglas/Daintree/Cape Trib/Lions Den (1 night)

2  Battlecamp to Lakefield NP, Hann crossing (1 night)

You can get to Archer River from the Lions Den by approx 4.00pm the same day. You will end up arriving at Hann Crossing about 11.00am depending on the time you leave.

3 Hann to Musgrave, Archer, Bramwell (1 night)

you could stop at Musgrave over night instead of Hahn River or even Coen by the river on the northern outskirts.

4 Bramwell to Elliot Falls (2 nights)

Easy drive. Make sure you have booked a site at Eliot Falls. The road in is very rough.

6 Elliot Falls to Punsand (4 nights)

10 Punsand to Bamaga to Laura/Musgrave (1 night)

That's a big drive. Stop at Archer River that night. You should arrive approx 4.00pm.

11 Laura/Musgrave to Cairns.

Archer River to Cairns arrive approx 4.00pm

The times are what we have done towing a camper and driving to conditions.


Give me a call anytime 0407287620 and I can go over things better.

Mark

[letsgo]

After we did our trip last year, we would say take as long as you can. Elliot falls area is great, we spent 3 night there, could have spent longer. Also up the OTT there are some really great camping areas that we wished we had stayed at. We went after he school holidays so it wasn't too busy. We towed an off road camper up all off the OTT, you can read our trip report http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=32176.0 heard Punsand Bay was good, can also recommend, Loyalty Beach.

You will have an awesome time

[Zilch]

McGirr thanks for the advice and will amend accordingly in terms of Archer River on the way back. We are looking for a lazy time on the 2nd day and thought pitch the tent early and go site see around Lakefield so why we choose Hann after chats with Gclan.. Only a 2 vehicle convoy at present.
Will defo give you a buzz in the coming weeks if thats ok

Letsgo, thanks for the link and i will spend some time going through it.

Cheers all
Jim

[McGirr]

Jim

No problems. Happy to help with ideas.

Apologies I had the wrong glasses on re Hahn Crossing thought it was Hahn River.

Yes good idea. Chat soon.

Mark

[gclan]

Hi Jim,

I hope Jamie gave you a few ideas the other day. It's been a while, we should take the Sports out for another run one of these days

Although it's always better to have more time on any trip, you'll get to see some of the best the Cape has to offer in the time that you've got.

The itinerary looks good, but as Mark pointed out, Punsand Bay to Musgrave or Laura would be a very long day.

It's around 580km down to Musgrave from Punsand Bay, and it is doable, but since you don't need to book any accomms. at any of the roadhouses/campsites on the way back south, you can travel as far as you feel comfortable, whether that be Archer River(410km), The Bend at Coen(470km), or Musgrave etc... and then just pull up to camp for the night.

Hann Crossing(Rinyirru NP/Lakefield) would be a nice spot to camp, and it would give you time to look around Cooktown, Old Laura Homestead and Red and White Lily Lagoons etc… Don't forget you have to pre-book if you're going to stay here.

It is basic bush camping with a nearby pit toilet, and we really enjoyed our camp here, but if you'd prefer some more home comforts, Musgrave isn't too far up the road.

Four nights up at the tip will give you plenty of time to explore or relax, and a full day at Eliot Falls will be great. You'll have time to swim in Fruit Bat Falls, Twin and Eliot Falls and The Saucepan, but you'll probably leave wishing you had more time here…most do.


Just a hint if using Google Maps to work out driving times, they occasionally hugely overestimate them. Punsand Bay to Weipa via the OTT bypass roads and Batavia Downs shortcut suggests 11hrs40mins, and it took us 6-7 hours including 2 stops.

Not sure if you've had a look at our trip report yet, but there are loads of photos and the odd bit of info that might give you a bit of an idea of some of the places you'll be passing through and visiting too.
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=25497.0

Good luck with the rest of your planning Jim. You'll get lots of great help on here, and you know you can also contact us anytime with any questions and we'll try to help.

You'll have an amazing time, and I really wish we were going back up too.


Cheers
Karen

[Zilch]

Hi Karen, agree on getting back off road, mentioned it to Jamie on the phone the other day, he stated our favourite dune bashing
place has been subject to closures... not good. The Sport is getting a makeover by OL in Brookvale over the next 2 months, already
ordering the plates, Snorkels, Sliders, after speaking to Jamie the jury is out on whether a bar is needed due to the front and
rear clearances on the Sport. I will post some transformation photo's on the RRS forum in about 2 months.

Hann crossing and Elliot Falls sites both booked, there was only a few Camper Trailer sites available on the dates we wanted
at Elliot. I am going to call through to Lions Den, Bramwell, Punsands, Archer River and prebook the sites in advance if possible.

Found google maps to be pretty useless at the moment on giving any meaningful distances and times

Cheers

Jim

[gclan]

Punsand Bay is definitely one to pre-book, and the Lions Den Hotel also if you're after a powered site. When we went 2 years ago, we couldn't book unpowered sites at the LDH, it was first in best dressed. The campground was full by mid-late afternoon, with a line up to get in.

Bramwell Station and Archer River Roadhouse both had plenty of open space for camping, and we were told just to turn up, but agree it wouldn't hurt to ring and check anyway.

Don't know if you are planning to go over to Thursday Island or not, but if you are, that is another thing I'd pre-book. The ferry and tour booked out when we were up there July 2012, and they turned people away. Same with the fishing charters.

The Hema Cape York Atlas and Guide, and Ron and Viv Moon's Cape York:An Adventurer's Guide, are both handy planning tools as well, and we used them on the trip as well to give us more of a background and insight into the Cape.

I also liked Hema's Bush Tucker Man Cape York map. It's got a waterproof/tearproof coating and it has lots of little hints, tips and facts printed on the map re: bush foods, fishing, survival/first aid tips, historical info etc...

As for Google Maps, I found Whereis to be slightly better when estimating driving times, but only slightly.


Have fun accessorising the Sport. I'm looking forward to seeing the post makeover pics


Cheers
Karen

[Zilch]

Anyone have a real world estimate in terms of Musgrave to Bramwell junction/station, Google maps claims 12+ hours 
seems excessive

Cheers

Jim

[McGirr]

Anyone have a real world estimate in terms of Musgrave to Bramwell junction/station, Google maps claims 12+ hours 
seems excessive

Cheers

Jim

Allow approx 4 to 5 hours depending on road conditions.

Mark

[Zilch]

thanks mark

[Zilch]

actually going to hire a Camper Trailer for the trip, any recommendations in regard to a good hire company in North Queensland.
Would like one that actually can take power either from the car when on the road or when static from the camp site power where
available, rather than just purely rely on the batteries on board. Hire companies i have spoken to so far suggests i am having to
buy a mains/battery charger pack to provide a level of adaption..not to phased (excuse the pun) with that, but wondered if any
come with the 240 plug in

Cheers

[Zilch]

Sorry its been a while but an update:

Day 1 Leaving Cairns heading to the Lions Den via Cape Tribulation (booked)
day 2 Lions Den to Hahn Crossing (booked)
Day 3 Hahn Crossing to Bramwell Station (confirmed but booking not necessary, told to just turn up by Ken    )
Day 4 Bramwell to Elliot Falls (booked)
Day 6 Elliot Falls to Punsand Bay (booked)
Day 10 Elliot Falls to Archer River
Day 11 Archer River to Cairns
Day 12 Cairns to Airlie Beach

Camper Trailer ordered from Cairns 

Roll on July..  Karen / Jamie sure you do not want to tag along 

[gclan]

If only we could Jim

We'd drop everything in a heartbeat and head up to the Cape with you if we could, especially since our Sport was left at home last trip, and now that the Defender is dead, it would be great to give Black Betty a run to the Tip

It's shaping up to be another great year up there. Very envious.

The countdown is on


Karen

[Zilch]

What happened to the defender !!!

[Zilch]

counting down the days, the sport is 80% there, goes in for its final bits next week (sliders, step out bars and Compressor bash plate, anderson plug) then off we go  leaving Sydney around the 26th, a week in Airlie to chill, then Cairns and the Cape from then on..

meeting the gclan this weekend to have a few  and get some notes 

[gclan]

Was great to catch up on the weekend. The Sport's looking good.

Now you've just got the waiting game ahead of you, so we hope it goes quickly

Have a fantastic trip, and we look forward to catching up again afterwards to hear all about it 

[Zilch]

Cheers , the final bits are on, i will post the final pictures with the sliders etc the weekend.. just a large lump to pay to LR next week for a major service (hit the six months service interval but shy of mileage by about 9000    Look forward to a few wines in August back in the Hunter 

[Zilch]

last day of the trip leaving Musgrave to head back into Cairns, car was so upset it threw a turbo and ended up on a flat bed 
Still at Trinity Land Rover waiting for Allianz to sanction the work, bizarre has it did the whole Cape Trip without a stutter, no
damage etc, yet on the final morning when i pushed the "start engine" button, Restricted Performance and Engine Management
came on ... a massive thank you to John Mcdowall at Musgrave for securing the vehicle for 24 hours until it could be recovered, we
buggered off with our bro in law back to Cairns with the Hired Camper Trailer in tow..

Speaking to the Trailer Hire company today who are storing some stuff for us, another hirer with a new VW Amorak is having it all shipped back
via the Barge to Cairns.. seems there is not a lot of luck..

Another couple at the Punsand Camp site opposite our pitch lost their vehicle when towing their trailer across Nolans, apparently written off,
someone stated its been a bad year for Nolans and vehicles, glad i exited left at the Sign to head off to the Bypass at the Mistake Creek turning,
I will post some pictures in the coming weeks

Cheers

[gclan]

That's such a shame to hear about the Sport, but glad it was at the end on the way home so that you still got to enjoy your trip.

Good luck getting the repairs all sorted. I'm looking forward to catching up and hearing all about it, and to seeing some pics of the Sport up at The Tip


Cheers
Karen

[yogi]

Sorry to hear ..... but I know you would have had a great time up there. It always amazes me that you can claim that sort of stuff on insurance ..... Can you PM me with how you go about that and what you need in your policy please.

yogi

[Zilch]

Yogi i took out the extended warranty option with Land Rover which is basically a 2 year top up underwritten by Allianz, so once the 3
years is up with Land Rover it automatically moved under Allianz for the next 2 years. It was quite expensive for the 24 months, but assuming
they cover the Turbo replacement charges, i would have definitely got my costs back two fold..

Thanks

Jim

[yogi]

Good on you and thanks for the reply

yogi

[muzza01]

Yogi i took out the extended warranty option with Land Rover which is basically a 2 year top up underwritten by Allianz, so once the 3
years is up with Land Rover it automatically moved under Allianz for the next 2 years. It was quite expensive for the 24 months, but assuming
they cover the Turbo replacement charges, i would have definitely got my costs back two fold..

Thanks

Jim

Good luck Jim, I hope Allianz come up with the goods.

[Zilch]

cheers all, spoke to Trinity today, they are looking at maybe only changing the actuator at this time and then see if it still throws
up the codes.. pictures will be uploaded in the very near future

Cheers

Jim