I know this trip report about our Cape York trip is over 4 months late, but I figured lots of people head up that way and are always wanting pics, video and information regarding the area so here it is!
A selection of pictures from the trip can be view here but i will put the thumbnails throughout the report:
http://s707.photobucket.com/albums/w...20York%202009/
A number of videos can be viewed on YouTube of the water crossings and falls you can visit up in the area along the Old Telegraph Line but these are also linked to throughout the report:
http://www.youtube.com/user/DanPurds
Our crew consisted of three vehicles; a Jeep XJ, a Jeep FSJ and a Holden Suburban. We had 8 people between the three vehicles. The total trip length was 4 full weeks and was approximately 9,000km from the Blue Mountains NSW all the way to the tip and back.
I will just let you know that not everything I say in this report may be 100% accurate. During the trip I was ill and was half asleep on the OTL - I never fell asleep in the car but my perception of distances might be a bit skewed or the particular order of things during the day might be off slightly. I do apologise for slight errors but this is my best recount along with the research we did prior to and after the trip.
27 June 2009
Two of the vehicles left from the Blue Mountains and headed up the F3 camping just near Port Macquarie.
28 June
The Jeep FSJ left from the Blue Mountains and met the others in Ballina NSW.
28 June - 4 July
I was not on the trip at this stage and i'm sure you guys don't want full details of the trip as it was mostly driving up. However, they did visit Australia Zoo on the 30th of June, crossed the Tropic of Capricorn on the 1st of July, visited Airlie Beach on the 4th and 5th of July.
5 July
My brother and I flew up from Sydney to Cairns meeting the others at Cairns airport. During the afternoon we had a quick look at the city of Cairns and stayed at a caravan park in cairns.
6 July
We unhitched the caravans and left them at a caravan storage facility in Cairns. In Cairns we refueled, petrol/gas/jerries and headed up north along the coast on the Captain Cook HWY.
On the way up we stopped at Rex's Lookout. It's on the main road and fairly obvious stopping point.
From there we kept heading north. When we reached Mossman we headed inland to Mossman Gorge. This is a really nice area, not far from the main road and is good for a bit of a swim!
After going back to the main road we kept going north where the road turns to Mossman Daintree Rd. Not far out of a small town called Wonga is a turn off which takes you over the Daintree River on a ferry. Not far after the ferry is a lookout which is on the right hand side of the road pretty much at the apex of the road. Its definately worth a short stop.
From the lookout we continued along the road. You drive through a lot of rain forest and will go past a number of walks at least one you have to pay for because its a bridge walk while others you don't. We were inclined to do a nice free circuit walk. I don't know the location or the name of the one we did but i have a picture from it!
We kept going north and headed up the Cape Tribulation Bloomfield Rd. It was fairly dry and dusty on the Bloomfield track and we didn't encounter any problems. There were some pretty steep hills where we later found out some turbo diesel patrols needed low range but our vehicles had no problems in 2WD high. There was some water; small creek crossings and puddles which were good to get a bit wet in! We continued along and came to sealed road and camped at a decent caravan park.
7 July
We had a fairly early start (9am) from the caravan park considering it was our first night of camping in tents and repacking the cars. We continued up north along the Bloomfield track where we encountered some drivers coming the other way very fast. We also had a number of road workers and stoppages due to them but we were running at a pretty decent pace. When we came to Shiptons Flat Rd we headed right towards Cooktown. We then came to the Cooktown Developmental Rd where we turned right and came into Cooktown. In Cooktown we visited the main park in town where there are monuments and statues. After spending some time there we went up to the top of Mt Cook. I would highly recommend going up there, its a spectacular view!
We filled up with fuel (141.9/L for petrol and 99.9/L for gas) and left Cooktown heading back along the Cooktown Developmental Rd and stopped at the Black Mountain viewing area. Going in this direction it is on the left as you come up a hill.
From Black Mountain we had our first little problem. The FSJ seemed to be not pumping enough fuel up into engine. We swapped the inline fuel filter to a new one with no success to fixing the problem. It seemed that the fuel was vaporising due to the heat. As long as we had good airflow the problem seemed to dissappear. We then went onto the Peninsula Develomental Rd and our next main stop was Split Rock where we went for a walk and checked out the Aboriginal paintings. We had lunch after our walk.
In the afternoon we pushed on with the driving and got to Musgrave Roadhouse a bit before 5pm. The Suburban had a flat tire on arrival. It eventually went fully flat so we changed that and repaired the puncture. We refueled and stayed the night here.
8 July
The next morning we left Musgrave Roadhouse and kept heading up north. We turned off the Peninsula Develomental Rd and headed up Telegraph Rd. We stopped at the Wenlock River for lunch where we went to the nearby roadhouse and grabbed pies. After lunch we kept going up north and got to Bramwell Junction at around 3pm.
We filled up with petrol at Bramwell junction and started the Old Telegraph Line. The start of the track is fairly well sign posted and is at Bramwell junction. Its easy going to start with. The first major obstacle is Palm Creek where there was a steep descent followed by a small amount of mud and a small creek crossing. This is not hard but vehicles with large amounts of overhang or towing trailers might scrape. The only vehicle in our convoy to touch was the suburban and that was mostly the haymen reece hitch.
The next crossing we came to was Ducie Creek. This crossing was very shallow on the entry and gets deeper towards the exit. You can avoid the depth by either heading hard right or left around the deeper section. We decided to take the FSJ straight through the middle. As the front dipped in a big wave came up the bonnet but it pulled through the crossing. We spent the night at a small camp area next to Ducie Creek.
9 July
We had a mid morning start from Ducie Creek and we continued up north. There's some 4wd'ing you will encounter including a small creek crossing and sand as you come towards the Dulhunty River. We decided to stop and have lunch here. You can park on the south side of the river and there is ample room. We went swimming in the river. The crossing over the river is quite shallow and easy going. The next crossing from here is the Bertie Creek crossing. This crossing is pretty cool as when you drive out to it you go over rock and then head up stream parallel to the creek. You then vere over the creek and there are some potholes to avoid. The crossing is not deep however. After this crossing you will come across some more 4wd action including some tight areas, eroded/rutted areas and lots of easy sections. You travel over some nice plateu's. During this section the Suburban got plenty of front wheel off action including the one we caught on camera below:
The next major section is Gunshot Creek. There is a bypass track which takes you back to the main road if you're not keen, but in my opinion it's not that bad. Most vehicles could do it providing the driver is confident and has done at least some technical driving before. There's more or less 3 ways down: a fairly steep and muddy descent on the right (as picture below with a person in it), the middle run which is VERY steep and could cause panel damage and front end damage as you would most likely scrape the front or the left option which has a ditch on the right and is a bit muddy (probably the most technical option but if you're careful and take a good line the easier option). We took the left option and made it down with no hassles. The creek crossing itself is not heaps deep either.
After Gunshot there is an ascent which is a bit steep but not too taxing. You then continue around a corner where theres a bit of a step up. It was fairly soft dirt and the Suburban belly slid on its way up but didn't struggle to climb it. From then on its not too bad. You'll come to a small creek crossing (unknown name) which isn't that deep and after it there is a bog hole which you can bypass it. Tim in his Jeep XJ decided to go through it and got bogged. The mighty FSJ pulled him out. Very soon after you come to Cockatoo Creek. It has a small descent down to the creek which is gentle and not hard but i believe can have a bit of mud if its been wet. The crossing is not that deep but does have a number of potholes. You can head up to the right (upstream) and it is very shallow with small potholes or if you go straight through there is a large pothole towards the exit side. Unfortunately we have no pictures or video from this crossing as one of our camera's corrupted most of its footage! We camped on the north side of Cockatoo Creek.
10 July
We continued up north. The road seems to have a few corregations but its not too far to the main road. From there we continued up the main road until the turn off to Fruitbat Falls. We spent a while there swimming. This is a must see, the water is clear and the place is very nice! It was easily warm enough for us to swim and the water was a pretty good temperature.
After Fruitbat Falls we continued up the Old Telegraph Line. Not far is the Scrubby Creek crossing. It had very brown water but was not a difficult crossing. As we continued on we went past Sheldon Lagoon - we should have stopped here!! Apparently there are turtles in this lagoon so take a look, unfortunately we did not take the time to check it out. Not heaps far from there is Eliot Falls and Twin Falls (same location). We spent a long time there swimming in the afternoon and camped the night in the camping ground.
11 July
We left Eliot and Twin Falls in the morning. The Suburban travelled back to the main road while the XJ and FSJ continued up the Old Telegraph Line. Not very far along we came to Canal Creek. This is a really spectacular crossing where you drive up stream in a crystal clear creek which is narrow and deepish. After Canal Creek there is some mud you can play in. We had a bit of fun in it and got the FSJ bogged. The XJ helped tow the FSJ out.
Canal Creek is the first water crossing of a number of crossings on this leg. After Canal Creek the next you come to is Sam Creek. Apparently just down stream from this crossing is a really nice swimming spot and small waterfall thing. Unfortunately we didn't know this at the time but its worth a look from photos i've seen! This crossing wasn't very deep and was no troubles at all.
Following Sam Creek is Mistake Creek. It was small and not deep at all. Continueing along north you come to Cannibal Creek which had a descent down to it with a bit of mud but nothing hard. The creek was not very deep (31 inches at a guess from the video) and you turn a sharp corner in it. The exit out is a bit steep but our vehicles didn't have an issue climbing out.
Not far from there we come to Cypress Creek log bridge crossing. We were a little concerned about this crossing, however, on arrival it became apparent that it was infact sturdy and safe to cross over. After Cypress Creek we travelled further north and in a little while we came to Logan Creek. It is fairly long but wasn't too deep.
Nolans Brook (or Bridge Creek) is further up the track. It seemed like it was fairly far but i think it was just the anticipation. We'd talked to one of the guys who ran a roadhouse next to the Wenlock River who had stated that Nolans Brook was the crossing that people got stuck in most. He said that it has a soft base and is often quite deep. On arrival we watched the crew in front of us go through first. They all had new diesel vehicles with snorkels - 200 series cruiser, a late model prado and a late model patrol. They headed right and used momentum as a technique (ie. speed
). This seemed to push a bit of a bow wave up the bonnet. We decided to also head right but go a bit slower. We made it through without a glitch and then stopped there for quick refreshments and a swim. Nolans brook is an awesome swimming spot. If you head just downstream of the road crossing there is a nice deep and shady swimming spot if you're not keep on going where the vehicles cross.
We got on our way and headed north. Just past Nolans Brook is a swamp area. It was very dry on our way through with barely any mud or water present. As we continued along the road became very unlevel. The vehicles were on quite a large lean but not so much that we were concerned. When we got to the turn off to the main road, we headed left and did not proceed up to the Jardine River crossing. The FSJ was making a clunking noise. We stopped to check it out and discovered that one of the bushes on the chassis which holds the sway-bar on had been lost. We disconnected the swaybar (disconnects are installed) and cable-tied in so it wouldn't rattle. We crossed on the ferry over the Jardine River (~$92) and headed to Seisia. We camped in a caravan park on Loyalty Beach for the night and got to witness a really cool sunset!
12 July
We started out as early as we could and headed north to visit the tip of Cape York. On the way up we visited the crocodile tent. We made it to the run down Pajinka Resort in good time. From there we walked around the old buildings for a bit (quite interesting) and then out to the very tip. There were quite a lot of people up there and we struggled to take a shot of us without someone getting in the way!! After doing a nice walk we headed back to our cars and had lunch.
We headed off and travelled down south to Somerset Rd. We went north on this road. It went through some very thick rainforest type areas. We then got to a track/road (possibly Narau Beach Rd) which was off to our right and took us to the coast. Once we got to the end we headed up north on some small dirt/sand tracks. This was an amazing drive. You get onto beaches, then up over the headland and back down on to the beach. I would highly recommend taking this route to get to Somerset. Just be warned, some of the tracks are extremely sandy and some are quite narrow. At Somerset itself, its worth checking out the ruins/canons, the fresh water well and water source.
We decided to head out to Punsand Bay Resort for the night. So we went down the main road, turned right onto Pajinka Rd (as if we were going back to the tip) and then just after this scrub walk we hung a left. This is a track which takes you across to Punsand Bay - there is a main road you can take too! This track was quite fun. We encountered rutted out areas, 3 very murky creek/puddles including one where the Suburban got bogged in! After the XJ snatched it out we soon got to Punsand Bay Resort where we camped and had another nice sunset.
13 July
Today we left Punsand Bay Resort and started heading back down South. We got to Bamaga and visited a couple of the plane wrecks nearby. There were a lot of old fuel drums out in this area. After leaving we also filled up with petrol.
We continued down south and decided to check out the old radar tower and the mouth of the Jardine River. I believe you take the Mutee Heads Rd to get out there. The road out to the radar is quite good. When we were on the camping ground beach we came across a shade structure with a nice toilet under it. I don't know if people use it, but it had a pretty awesome view! From there the road out to the Jardine river is a bit more taxing as it is very sandy! We didn't have many issues heading out, we just had a large increase in fuel consumption. There are also crocodiles in this area so beware when you are out walking around on the Jardine River banks.
We headed back along the track we came on towards the main road. Once we were back onto the main road we headed down south. Not far from where we joined the main road we turned left (east) down a track to head out to Jackey Jackey Creek. This is a really nice creek/waterhole. The camp ground was a bit messy with litter so we gave it a bit of a clean up. We went swimming here and camped the night. Again there was a very nice sunset!
14 July
We got away from our campsite at a reasonable time and continued down south. We crossed the Jardine River via the ferry again and headed down the main Development Rd. We went through a number of road works and good sections of road. We check out the lookout which looks over Captain Billy's landing but didn't actually go all the way out there. Our pace was quite good and we reached the Roadhouse next to the Wenlock river in the afternoon. It was at this point that I removed the roof rack from the FSJ due to some or most of the grommits pulling through their holes! We camped here the night.
15 July
Today we travelled further down south. We crossed back over the Archer River and just before reaching Laura we headed off on a dirt road to find a camping spot for the night. We ended staying in an old Quarry area due to the campsites being full of road workers watching the state of origin!
16 July
We left our nice quarry and filled up with petrol in Laura. We kept heading south and followed the Peninsula Developmental Rd taking the inland way back to Cairns. We visited the James Earl Lookout then kept powering on to Cairns. Just north of Cairns we stopped at another nice lookout before getting back to Cairns for a late, but well deserved burger king lunch. We collected our caravans and set up camp in the same caravan park in Cairns.
17 July
Today we seperated our group. Some of us headed out in the Suburban to the waterfalls near Cairns while the others had to organise some stuff back at home. We headed out into the mountains, i believe we went down to Gordonvale then inland towards the Atherton area. On the way we stopped at a pretty nice lookout and then further along at Lake Barrine but we didn't really check this out much. We headed to Lake Eacham and had a walk there. If you're in the area its worth a look. We saw heaps of turtles and in general its a nice place. From there we headed out to Tinaroo. We had a look at the Tinaroo Dam and had lunch there.
After lunch we headed south through Ravenshoe and out to Millstream Falls. These are famous for being Australia's widest single-drop waterfalls. Here we also got to see a platypus in action, diving down and surfacing to breathe. I had my 300mm lens to make him out but due to the distance wasn't able to get a very close shot. From Millstream falls we continued west out to Innot Hot Springs. Although slightly unimpressed by the swimming ability here - more like a watery sand bath - the temperature was very impressive!
We backtracked our way east towards the coast to check out the "Waterfall Circuit". We headed out to Millaa Millaa Falls the first in the circuit. After a look there we went to Zillie Falls. Both these are not far from the carpark - you barely get a walk out of them! The third waterfalls in this circuit we visited was Ellinjaa Falls. This involved a bit more of a walk down the hill which was nice! From there we headed to the coast and then back up to Cairns for the night.
18 - 25 July
On the 18th we said goodbye to two of our party as they caught a plane back to Sydney. We had a good look around the main Esplanade in Cairns and stayed another night here. We left Cairns on the 19th and headed south. By the 22nd of July we reached Rainbow Beach and stayed a night here. We had a breif visit to the beach but were dissappointed to find that since our last visit (many years ago) that the beach had been reduced in size and much of it washed away due to storms. We were planning on going across to Fraser Island but didn't end up doing so - in hope to visit it again on another trip. From there we continued down south and got back to the Blue Mountains on the 25th - exactly 4 weeks since the first of our crew left.
Thanks guys, hope you get what you're looking for in taking a look at this long report! If you have any questions, comments or anything let me know!
Cape York July 2009: Info, pictures and videos!
