Cape York 2020

[Patt31]

Hi All,

Thinking about heading to the Cape this year, any hints, tips etc on what we should see, where to stay and best time to go considering the wet season is a good one this year.

Thanks 

[lloydus67]

No help sorry, but I’m definitely interested in hearing replies


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[Bad Scott]

McGirr is ya man for that

[McGirr]

The office is open 

Mark

[jk]

The office is open 

Mark

Did someone say the bar was open  , count me in !!!

[D2 LANDY]

I'll be watching this thread with interest. I'm heading up in June

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[JusyApples]

I went last year early on in the season. No crowds it was great. I believe school holidays can get busy


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[McGirr]

Ask away with the questions

Mark

[Craig Tomkinson]

Hi Pat 31, I am heading up on the 6th of May just on a pure fishing trip with my mate towing up a 5m tinny and camp in one spot at Janie Creek north of Weipa for 3 to 4 weeks as the wet in a normal year is just about done from mid April. Then home for awhile to sunny coast QLD. Then around 25th of June for the school holidays I head back up with wife and 4 kids with our pop up Van in tow to go up to the tip, No fishing on this trip just sight seeing and looking at things, Just make shore your 4wd has had a good service, and what your towing the brakes and bearings are in good nick, and make shore your tires are legal and under 6 years old, if you have a older 4wd like mine I carry two spare fuel filters and one oil filter and spare wheel bearings for tug and van and tools, spare belts, fluids to suit tug, and bits and peaces, if staying in one spot for a few days make shore you have a good fridge freezer and something to run it, ether generator or solar and batteries, carry plenty of drinking water and some food in case you brake down, and to stay at some of the great places to see, I take my boat Epirp and its registered to my 4wd incase of emergence. We are not doing the OTT, been there done that, and if i break something on my 4wd been told its costs a lot of money to get the 4wd back out to the red road, we are just going to show our kids the tip of QLD not doing heavy 4wding done that on our farm for years,  on the way up will see places like Fruit Bat and Elliot falls, the tip, Sesia, and Thursday Island, on the way back visit Captain billies, Weipa and Pennyfather, then Portland Rhodes, Visit Cooktown and Archer point, Ayton and down through the Daintree, and do the Sky rial and train ride up to Karanda, and a few other places in between I have forgot, we are just free camping our way up and back and staying on some of the lovely creeks and rivers, I have missed heaps, someone will remember them, have fun, Craig     

[Beachman]

We went 2 years ago and my best advice is to cautious listening to advice from fellow travellers.

Multiple times we were told the section ahead is really tough and we should be towing trailers through it. We aren’t hard core 4WDers, but it wasn’t that hard.
We met at couple of Weipa locals at Bramwell station and the advice of which entry/exits we should use along the Tele track was for their laughing pleasure if we took their advice. 
Most of the difficult creeks along the tele track have multiple entries, look at them all and decide what’s best for you.
On the Tele track start your day early to avoid crowds if going in school holidays
Lots a fwits on the development road going way too fast and showering you in stones when they pass.
When we were there the police were doing random checks and searching cars/bikes at the Jardine ferry, so take the Alcohol rules seriously.

[doc evil]

Pretty much what Beachman said............. concur, PDR is full of fwits......in both directions. Keep your UHF on 40 and local knowledge is extremely valuable.

For me, worth camping at.....
Bramwell stn with the dinner/show. Brilliant.
Mutee head.............best free camp spot on the whole tip!!
Punsand Bay, a close second, but needs booking.

Worth visiting.....
Thursday Island.
5 beach run.
Captain Billy landing (you can camp, but needs to be booked).
Batavia Goldfields.
and the entire telle track.

Highly recommend getting the "destination cape york" ebook from Katrin    www.capeyorkaustralia.com

but most of all.................don't rush it and enjoy.

[Patt31]

thanks everyone for your replies.

We will be towing our camper trailer, but not too concerned about that been around Aus and through the Kimberley twice and many outback trips. Hubby is a very competent driver, so should be all cool on that front.

So many things to see and do along the way. whats the best way to get over to Thursday Island and do you need to book anything?

I am sure between now and then I will have alot more questions to ask. At present trying to find a Cape York guide book, yeah I know old school but when your in the middle of no where and no internet old school is good.

So if you have any more hints, tips etc keep posting

 

[Craig Tomkinson]

For me the OTT is the most over rated part of the Cape it went nowhere, its only around 160ks long I have been up it twice and both times I found more Fwits on that part on the Cape than anywhere, People just doing silly Shit for cameras, and stuffing up good 4wds for no reason,  if it keeps going they will shut it down one day, the only reason its still open as the Mechanics in Weipa and parts shops love it, Its a great place to stay away from, unless you like seeing Fwits doing silly things, Craig

[Bigfish]

thanks everyone for your replies.

We will be towing our camper trailer, but not too concerned about that been around Aus and through the Kimberley twice and many outback trips. Hubby is a very competent driver, so should be all cool on that front.

So many things to see and do along the way. whats the best way to get over to Thursday Island and do you need to book anything?

I am sure between now and then I will have alot more questions to ask. At present trying to find a Cape York guide book, yeah I know old school but when your in the middle of no where and no internet old school is good.

So if you have any more hints, tips etc keep posting

BEST BOOK AVAILABLE.  FROM SOMEONE WHO REGULARLY DRIVES THE ROADS, KNOWS THE SITES, KNOWS THE PEOPLE AND LIVES THERE!!!

https://www.capeyorkaustralia.com/destination-guide-ebook.html

It is an e-book but take a copy on your laptop/tablet or print out the whole thing/sections.  It gets updated and is by far the most up to date book with pricing, stays, dog rules, road conditions and hundreds of other bits of relevant info.


I also agree with Craig about the OTT...full of dickheads and big noters.  It will get shut down because of these galahs.

[Spada]

For me the OTT is the most over rated part of the Cape it went nowhere, I have been up it twice and both times I found more Fwits on that part on the Cape than anywhere, People just doing silly Shit for cameras, and stuffing up good 4wds for no reason,  if it keeps going they will shut it down one day, Its a great place to stay away from, Craig

I think your right Craig. YouTube sells it is at baddest, toughest, most hardcore 4wd trek in the country. Reality (my opinion) is it's 160km of relevantly uninteresting bush track interspersed with a number of pretty creek crossings. Admittedly some of those creek crossings (Nolans, Gunshot, and Palm) can be a challenge, but most of them are not that technically challenging if you stop and pick the easiest entry/exit. No denying there is some really pretty spots along the way, but in my humble opinion it's not the "last great adventure" that it's made out to be? Ignore my comments if you go too close to the wet season though.

[Spada]

BEST BOOK AVAILABLE.  FROM SOMEONE WHO REGULARLY DRIVES THE ROADS, KNOWS THE SITES, KNOWS THE PEOPLE AND LIVES THERE!!!

https://www.capeyorkaustralia.com/destination-guide-ebook.html

It is an e-book but take a copy on your laptop/tablet or print out the whole thing/sections.  It gets updated and is by far the most up to date book with pricing, stays, dog rules, road conditions and hundreds of other bits of relevant info.

What he said, It's a good cheap source of info.

[doc evil]

thanks everyone for your replies.

We will be towing our camper trailer, but not too concerned about that been around Aus and through the Kimberley twice and many outback trips. Hubby is a very competent driver, so should be all cool on that front.

So many things to see and do along the way. whats the best way to get over to Thursday Island and do you need to book anything?

I am sure between now and then I will have alot more questions to ask. At present trying to find a Cape York guide book, yeah I know old school but when your in the middle of no where and no internet old school is good.

So if you have any more hints, tips etc keep posting

The e-book can be found here.......... http://www.capeyorkaustralia.com
Once downloaded, no internet is required to view it plus you can print off what you need.

Thursday Island........we booked the ferry online Peddells and a local fella, Dirk - LAX tours for his half day tour. Dirk is fantastic. He only has a small bus, so limited to 4 or 5 couples. Very personalized and brilliant.

 

[bkim]

For me the OTT is the most over rated part of the Cape it went nowhere, its only around 160ks long I have been up it twice and both times I found more Fwits on that part on the Cape than anywhere, People just doing silly Shit for cameras, and stuffing up good 4wds for no reason,  if it keeps going they will shut it down one day, the only reason its still open as the Mechanics in Weipa and parts shops love it, Its a great place to stay away from, unless you like seeing Fwits doing silly things, Craig

Couldn't agree with you more Craig, some of these idiots should have driven it in the sixties, when it was the only track we had, you were sometimes lucky to get as far as the Archer from Coen airport in a full days drive, sometimes only as far as Deep creek, you would shovel a ton or so of sand into the 6x6 at the Wenlock to soften the ride, the trucks were tippers, so all the trays were bolted to the chassis with high tensile U bolts to stop the trays from coming off the trucks when flexing, then drive from Morton Telegraph station to Coen airport to pick up gear dropped off by Tootsie Holzheimer on her run though to Weipa.

Even in the early seventies we thought the track was really good if we left Morton at daylight and arrived at Coen airport at around 7 to 8pm.  Sometimes used to be 4 days and 3 nights to get from Coen across to Iron Range airport (now Lockart River) as it was still called then,

In those days you would do work on the track as you went in the real bad spots, particularly if you were one of the first vehicles in after the wet, it was expected of any vehicle going through, to try and leave the track in better condition than you found it, if possible

[Bigfish]

Couldn't agree with you more Craig, some of these idiots should have driven it in the sixties, when it was the only track we had, you were sometimes lucky to get as far as the Archer from Coen airport in a full days drive, sometimes only as far as Deep creek, you would shovel a ton or so of sand into the 6x6 at the Wenlock to soften the ride, the trucks were tippers, so all the trays were bolted to the chassis with high tensile U bolts to stop the trays from coming off the trucks when flexing, then drive from Morton Telegraph station to Coen airport to pick up gear dropped off by Tootsie Holzheimer on her run though to Weipa.

Even in the early seventies we thought the track was really good if we left Morton at daylight and arrived at Coen airport at around 7 to 8pm.  Sometimes used to be 4 days and 3 nights to get from Coen across to Iron Range airport (now Lockart River) as it was still called then,

In those days you would do work on the track as you went in the real bad spots, particularly if you were one of the first vehicles in after the wet, it was expected of any vehicle going through, to try and leave the track in better condition than you found it, if possible

Problem will be solved in a few years when the whole road is bitumenised...

[doc evil]

Problem will be solved in a few years when the whole road is bitumenised...

They won't bitumenise the southern bypass, only the PDR to Weipa will be done.
It is economically viable to keep the mines open rather than the tourist track north........

[Bigfish]

They won't bitumenise the southern bypass, only the PDR to Weipa will be done.
It is economically viable to keep the mines open rather than the tourist track north........

Trouble is..its not only a tourist track.  The communities spend millions on sea cargo, plane travel and the bitumenising of the road will help all these communities and see the Cape grow a hell of a lot more. Save a lot of time as well. Even if not totally bituminised it will be upgraded to a decent quality in an effort to keep it open for longer.  Crossings will be upgraded and we will see more tourist ventures starting up. Just the difference over the last ten years is huge.

[Beachman]

When we were there 2 years ago we had a couple of beers with the road crew while watching the State or Origin.  They advised they have a contract for the road to be 100% bitumen from Cairns to the fork in the road to either Weipa or the road to the Ferry.

Reason the bitumen stops there is the road to Weipa is owned by the mine so they need to pay if they want it sealed and the local council wants to keep it dirt to the ferry.

But apart from flooding after cyclones, the Cape should be accessible for at least 10 months of the year. 

[filcar]

Cape partly closed North of the Jardine...

https://www.unsealed4x4.com.au/cape-closed-for-2020-season/?fbclid=IwAR2aDfTbs7JdNTe7aIOjEYbxr6DTMfohKZLjxM6oUwUYujvQbOJl2k3OPeg

[Fox67]

This ^^ puts a bit of a spanner in the works.

[Bigfish]

Cape partly closed North of the Jardine...

https://www.unsealed4x4.com.au/cape-closed-for-2020-season/?fbclid=IwAR2aDfTbs7JdNTe7aIOjEYbxr6DTMfohKZLjxM6oUwUYujvQbOJl2k3OPeg

That is going to have a big impact on thousands of travellers.  Hope they have a plan "B"..