Anyone been up to Cape York?

TheInterceptor

TheInterceptor

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Joined
Mar 10, 2011
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369
Location
North Perth, WA
Car Year
2002
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Outback Limited
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5sp Manual dual range
Hello everyone!

This thread is aimed at the Aussies on ORS. Next year in April, i shall be making the trek up to Queensland, the tip of Cape york. It is part of a (roughly) 19,000km trip..will be meeting up with my family in Sydney who is towing a caravan. Itll be a 4 car convoy so far. The caravan is a twin axel 21ft long lifted Windsor.

So here i am, after lots of googling without much result and being asked by parents to ask the good people of the interwebs. . .
Does anybody know where the caravan parks are along the Peninsula Develepment Road? We will be going up the PDR then the Bamaga bypass road to the tip.
Do the roadhouses have a small "built in" caravan park beside them like those on the Nullabor?
And are there many opportunities for free camping at random locations as we go along?
Are there any creek crossings along the PDR or bypass road?
Can this size caravan be towed down side roads off the PDR without being totalled?
We understand we may need to go very slowly in some sections where it may be muddy or extremely corrugated...thats okay as we wont be rushing. Rushing seems to be a sure fire way of rattling the caravan and cars to peices.
Any other advice or even tips on what to see in particular are welcomed!

Cheers!
Mike
 
Been there twice; last was 2013. I'll give a brief reply now as short of time atm.

You may find April is too early depending on the wet season and what damage has been caused. The van would be OK but "interesting" if it does get wet (I wouldn't tow anything up there but many do). I wouldn't be taking it down any "side roads" up there!

If you want to stay in National Parks you must book and pay in advance and you can only book 6 months beforehand. Yes, most roadhouses have a caravan park and you can camp for free behind the Coen pub. At the top I prefer Loyalty Beach over Seisia. The Weipa caravan park is pretty good - especially if you can get a spot near the beach front.
 
I lived up there at Lockhart River way back in 1973 when it was really isolated. From what I read and hear 40+ years have seen a lot of changes. I'm determined to go back one day but can't get myself to put my Forester through the conditions. Maybe when it is close to expiring it could be an appropriate way of seeing it off. Such a remote unique part of Australia.
 
Hey Kevin! Thanks for your reply. We will be there at the very end of April or at the start of May, depending how long it takes to drive up from Sydney and if the cape is still closed.
So itd be a bad idea to go visit any of the areas off the PDR? Caravan wont fit or?

My family have a dog and two cats that are coming along so the aim is to keep the caravan out of national parks. Besides, there is no way we can know where we end up each day so booking ahead wouldn't be ideal.

Thanks for advising caravan camp areas!

guzzla said:
I lived up there at Lockhart River way back in 1973 when it was really isolated. From what I read and hear 40+ years have seen a lot of changes. I'm determined to go back one day but can't get myself to put my Forester through the conditions. Maybe when it is close to expiring it could be an appropriate way of seeing it off. Such a remote unique part of Australia.
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Haha it cant be that bad if you crawl over the corrugations? We are all determined to get up there, ive read a lot of stories on the web and it seems like a lucky dip. What everyone does say though is thats its worth the trip!
 
Drove there in 2008. A good trip, roads ok if corrugated. Didn`t attempt Gunshot. Very steep and muddy. Watched a couple of cars attempt and then spend a hour or so cleaning the mud from their vehicles.
Very keen to tow anything except perhaps an off road trailer.
Some great camping spots along creeks and water pools. Good swimming.
A few Dingoes who will attempt to steal your food out of your tents.
Don`t forget to burn the toilet paper and enjoy the corrugations.
 
ateday said:
Drove there in 2008. A good trip, roads ok if corrugated. Didn`t attempt Gunshot. Very steep and muddy. Watched a couple of cars attempt and then spend a hour or so cleaning the mud from their vehicles.
Very keen to tow anything except perhaps an off road trailer.
Some great camping spots along creeks and water pools. Good swimming.
A few Dingoes who will attempt to steal your food out of your tents.
Don`t forget to burn the toilet paper and enjoy the corrugations.
Click to expand...

Did you really mean to say that, mate ... :iconwink: :lol:.

Perhaps you meant to include a 'not' in that sentence?

I sure as heck wouldn't even dream of trying to drag a 21 foot caravan on those sorts of "roads" ...
What is the caravan owner using for a towing vehicle, I wonder?
 
I was inferring that you would have to be very keen to tow a van.
But I agree it is easy to misread given that not everybody is a mind reader, especially my mind........
 
^ that's pretty much what I thought you meant :).

I'd feel trepidatious towing a trailer of any description on those extreme tracks.

Not so much the towing as the manoeuvring ... :(.

From my Batphone
 
The tow car will be a brand new Ford Ranger turbo diesel 4x4 auto, dad's investment and upgrade from the Falcon wagon he has now.
Wont be seeing gunshot as thats on the OTL or OTT, we will be sticking to the PDR and Bamaga bypass. Wouldnt get very far down the OT tracks as they are for the more hardcore adventurer with a camp trailer at the maximum.
Trouble is that i read some posts on the web and the experienced caravanners say itll be fine if you drive to conditions.
However everyone else says its borderline insanity haha.

The caravan that will be towed has already endured 90kms of really terrible corrugations in the NT and nothing major went wrong so i cant help but think if we take it easy, itll be good provided it doesnt start raining and then everybody is in trouble! So thats why im here, to ask people who have likley been around the country directly for advice :)
 
I guess if it is an off road caravan and well prepared with good suspension, not overloaded, and all internals well and truly tied down it could be ok.
BUT there are, from my vague memory, about 1000 kms of corrugations and generally you can`t avoid them.
I accept I am biased because I HATE corrugations. I haven`t found a pleasant way to travel over them yet in 50 years of driving...not all on corrugations mind you.
 
G'day again TI

Cooktown to Cape York is around 800+ kms of not very fancy "roads", no matter how you slice it ... . I really would not want to tow a 21 foot caravan over those roads, unless I was doing it with a military vehicle, and the caravan was a full off-road design. Even then, height may be just as much a problem as clearance (and approach/departure angles), width and length.

Reversing out of a difficult situation would be all but impossible, and then one would have to resort to separating caravan and tow and winching the van into a better position ...

IMNSHO, one would want to be very, very experienced at towing a van under these conditions to contemplate such a trip.
 
It's luck of the draw really on road conditions so you have to be prepared for anything; you are going early in the season and if the tracks have just been graded you might get a great run. If you head up to Weipa then out through Batavia Downs back to the PDR you'll be OK. Batavia Downs was a goat track the first time I did it (blew a tyre and a strut) but it was like a dirt motorway last year.

Do the mine tour while in Weipa also see if you can find the local council office and swimming pool as the cyclone proof refuge is nearby that's worth a look. Visit Thursday and Horn Islands while at the top. Familiarise yourself with the alcohol restrictions on the Cape as well.

While I think of it - better make sure the car and van fits on the Jardine River ferry! (And be prepared to pay through the nose to use it - the fee supposedly covers the return crossing and your camping on the Cape; but then you pay to camp anyway!)
 
Ratbag said:
G'day again TI

Cooktown to Cape York is around 800+ kms of not very fancy "roads", no matter how you slice it ... . I really would not want to tow a 21 foot caravan over those roads, unless I was doing it with a military vehicle, and the caravan was a full off-road design. Even then, height may be just as much a problem as clearance (and approach/departure angles), width and length.

Reversing out of a difficult situation would be all but impossible, and then one would have to resort to separating caravan and tow and winching the van into a better position ...

IMNSHO, one would want to be very, very experienced at towing a van under these conditions to contemplate such a trip.
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Fair enough. The van is pretty tall being a full hardbody design not a pop top. The ranger will be well equipped and i have no doubt the vehicle will handle whatever situation it drives into. Its only up to the driver skill after that. Having said that, points taken, will pass this thread on and my parents can decide for themselves. Thanks RB, info appreciated.

Kevin said:
It's luck of the draw really on road conditions so you have to be prepared for anything; you are going early in the season and if the tracks have just been graded you might get a great run. If you head up to Weipa then out through Batavia Downs back to the PDR you'll be OK. Batavia Downs was a goat track the first time I did it (blew a tyre and a strut) but it was like a dirt motorway last year.

Do the mine tour while in Weipa also see if you can find the local council office and swimming pool as the cyclone proof refuge is nearby that's worth a look. Visit Thursday and Horn Islands while at the top. Familiarise yourself with the alcohol restrictions on the Cape as well.

While I think of it - better make sure the car and van fits on the Jardine River ferry! (And be prepared to pay through the nose to use it - the fee supposedly covers the return crossing and your camping on the Cape; but then you pay to camp anyway!)
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Thats the thing, either they have just been graded or they are yet to be graded and they are properly munted by traffic during the wet season.
I shall look up this route through Bativa Downs.

Haha havent thought of the vehicles not fitting on the ferry...good thinking! Will have to find out how long the ferry is. Last i heard it was $120 to cross the jardine in 2013. By next year i expect it to be circa $150. Rather painful but there is no choice in the matter.
Would there be any small crossings on the PDR or bypasses?

Thanks again! Info appreciated.

Do either of you have any pictures of the PDR and the likes, it would give us an idea on what to expect?

And have either of you been to Fraser island...? Thats another stop we are planning on the way back down..another location where a 21ft caravan would probably be a bad idea? haha
 
^ Do bear in mind that Kevin has been there a couple of times, and I haven't ever been within 1,000 kms of it .... i.e. my advice is general, while Kevin's is both general and highly specific.

As he has said, when you get to the beginning of the tricky bit, you will have to assess the immediately available information and situation on the ground at that specific time.

The nearest I have been to this area is watching a video of a convoy doing the Old Telegraph Track :iconwink: :lol:.

Taking caravans onto beaches does not strike me as being very sensible. I would have (lots of) second thoughts about trying sand driving with even my CT in tow, and it only weighs in around 450-650 kgs.
 
Oh yeah? In that case Kevins posts are most relevent! And theyre very informative.

Most of the videos on youtube are of the OTT so when peope say cape york they think of the people going down Gunshot creek and into and across 3ft deep rivers all the way to the tip haha.

Yep, i would imagine they would go down as soon as they drive off the ferry. As funny as it would be to see that, i do not imagine it would be fun to try unbog and recover a combined mass of 4000 odd kilos!
However i have seen youtube videos of people with CT's doing very well, and one video of somebody failing badly but that was due to the driver not thinking out what he was doing.
 
^ Exactly.

The Internet is chock full of "experts", most of whom have never even thought about what they are professing to be "expert" at ...

I have done most things in my life, and made almost any mistake you can think of. I have survived some exceptionally stupid things because I do think carefully about things in advance ... Asking the advice of someone who's actually been there and done it is a good way of avoiding the mistakes they have survived ... :poke: :iconwink: :biggrin:.
 
TheInterceptor said:
And have either of you been to Fraser island...? Thats another stop we are planning on the way back down..another location where a 21ft caravan would probably be a bad idea? haha
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Yes, and absolutely, yes, a really bad idea!
 
Don`t even think of taking a van to Fraser.....
Crazy and you probably won`t bring it back.
That is if you are fortunate enough to even get it as far as the ferry to get there.
When I work out how to post photos I shall post one of an official Toyota Recovery Vehicle.
My Forester pulling a Prado off the beach.
Also don`t be a hero and try and ford the Jardine.
Many engines have been destroyed along with a drowned vehicle that way.
 
More Fraser Island thoughts.
People do tow boats onto Fraser but they are much lighter and smaller than a van.
IF you could get a van onto the ferry it MAY be possible top tow it along the hard sand of the beach. The inland tracks would grind you to a halt very rapidly.
You would need to be very lucky or very skillful with a strong van and a powerful tow vehicle to get it along the beach if you left the low tide sand.
Access from the beach onto the inland tracks is generally through soft powdery sand so in a word
DON`T!!!!
 
ateday said:
When I work out how to post photos I shall post one of an official Toyota Recovery Vehicle.
Click to expand...

Try these threads here for help with posting photos:

From Flickr:
https://www.offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=4726

Generally:
https://www.offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=1400

Also don`t be a hero and try and ford the Jardine.
Many engines have been destroyed along with a drowned vehicle that way.
Click to expand...

My point too. Most people survive doing silly things (self included). Some don't. Seems to be an excessive price to pay for enjoying one's self, IMHO.
 
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