Best time to travel to Cape York

[pradogang Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pradogang]

I am planning to do the Cape York trip next year with fellow PP member Bidla and some other friends. We have allowed 5-6 weeks and were planning to leave in late July. Talking to a chap at the Brisbane pre-Christmas Caravan and Camping Show yesterday who said that time of the year is very busy and we would be best to wait until the end of August. I would appreciate the thoughts of those who have done this trip.

cheers

Jim

[blkd4d Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close blkd4d]

I went in September last year and didn't find it busy .

[JoshF Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JoshF]

we were up there over the june /july school holidays and no great issues about being busy. Seisha and Chilli Beach were busy by comparison to all the other palces along the OTT etc

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

I went for most of August and it wasn't busy at all. We had entire camp grounds to ourselves at times and the PDR wasn't busy in the slightest. The Tele track was quiet. For hours at a time it seemed like we were the only ones on it. All of the roadhouses we stayed at had ample space left too. As JoshF mentioned, Seisha was a bit busy for us as well when compared to other places along the way.

I think this is a simple case of your first dose of unreliable Cape York advice haha.

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

I was there same time as Brett NO DRAMAS at all....if you can, stay away from the School Holidays and you'll be fine....Loyalty Beach where we stayed had a few in but plenty of room in thier new camping area, otherwise no trouble at all

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

Ha should have added about Bretts "unreliable source".....jeez didn't we cop some of that before and during the trip....I am not sure if some people are just trying to take the piss out of you or that we are all just different!!

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Ha should have added about Bretts "unreliable source".....jeez didn't we cop some of that before and during the trip....I am not sure if some people are just trying to take the piss out of you or that we are all just different!!

Getting info from others about what to expect is always difficult, we got told about horendous nightmarish sections from people coming the other way and couldn't see what all the fuss was about. One mans hard core is another mans easy, same goes for corrugations, city boys who are on their first outback trip think any slight corrugation is horendous, those that have been al over think differently.

We went in August a few years ago, there was plenty of people about but it was fine. We stayed at the caravan park at Siesa, I would steer clear of that if I had my time again, Loyalty beach sounds like a much better bet, or even Punsand bay looked pretty nice.

Cheers Andrew

[pradogang Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close pradogang]

There sure is a lot of interesting and conflicting information out there. I rang one of the major roadhouses up there yesterday and was advised not to consider June or July as it was so busy and to consider going in September as blkd4d did. Our group is considering leaving in late August.

[wastegate Member Find all posts View Profile Close wastegate]

Up the Tip from late May to mid June in 2011 and it was very quite and ample camping at the falls, roadhouses and Loyality Beach. There were a couple of APT tour groups running around in the main attraction areas but apart from them it seems there only individuals or small groups. We were in a group of 10 trucks so it was quite until we arrived at camp!!

[JoshF Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JoshF]

A consideration for planning and OTT is water levels. Early in the season they will be higher ie May versus say August.

This mat also influence your vehicle prep and if you are considering diversions around potential hazards.

Two of our group didn't have snorkels but none of us own submarines.

[kav Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close kav]

there are 50 shades of busy , avoid school holidays , apparently there are heaps of other peoples kids .

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

Agree with the 50 shades of busy comment, stay clear of school holidays (unless you have no choice) and you'll be fine. And I'd concur with the comments of "others".....this is a few we had on the way up and how I found it.

Guy driving a reasonably well set up Discovery at Cape Tribulation...me "how was the Bloomfield Track"....him "terrible, the recent rain has created washouts and the river crossings are pretty high".....the actual conditions were "I'd take my wife's run around over it, concrete road for all the steep bits, no washouts and water crossings no deeper than Tyre height"

Guy coming south I met in Cooktown, driving a 200 series Cruiser...reasonably stock (a give away)...me "how was the trip up through the Lakefield National Park"...him "bloody horrendous corrugations, worst we have ever seen and than includes the Tanamai"...the actual conditions were almost as smooth as apart from the 1.5Km from the main road into Kalpowar Crossing (which was pretty bad).

Guy in a well set up Jeep coming south I met at Musgrave Roadhouse...me "how's the PDR as we have only just joined it"...him " bloody awful, the worst corrugations I have ever seen especially 60 kms either side of Coen...the actual conditions were nothing like that, the road was in very good condiiton all the way, lots of dust (you expect that) but nothing much worse than I have seen in lots of places.

After that I never bothered asking.....and don't even start me on what some people said about the OTT (even though we didn't ask)

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Reminds me of the time in the Kimberly I was talking to some other travellers at King Edward River about how bad the road to Mitchell falls was. It is as bad a corrugations as I have seen, and plenty of other nasties to boot. After about 15 minutes of talking it dawned on me they were talking about the Kalumbaru Rd to get to King Edward River and were yet to go to the falls............... They were in for a big surprise the next day when they found out what bad roads were really like.

Had similar conversations plenty of other places as well. Apart from that, conditions can change dramaticaly in a matter of hours in the outback, especially where water is involved.

Cheers Andrew

[Mark from Brisbane Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark from Brisbane]

I haven't been that way yet Andrew (CSR next year, the Kimberley's we'll do in 2014 or 15) but I have a mate who came with me on the Simmo trip last year, he said that road to Mitchell falls was bad, and he went up to Kalumbaru as well and said that was ordinary. mind you his 100 series Turbo Cruiser would bloody go anywhere, it's set up like an army tank!!

It's all good fun (long distance touring is my go) and you sure can get some experiences...we went up the Oodnadatta Track last year, right after a heap of rain (that came down on us in the Flinders).....now that WAS fun!! Yet I know that even a week later it would be no big deal...you are right, rain can change everything.