Cairns to Cape York

[moggy Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close moggy]

Two vehicles, Prado towing T-van, and Holden Monterey, going to Cape York in June/July 08. Have not driven serious 4WD roads before. Question: If I use the by-pass for the Old Telegraph Track's water crossings, what significant water is there to cross on the by-pass roads? I will have an engine blind, but will I be likely to need it?

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

Yes. A few of the water crossings are bonnet deep.

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

On the bypass there should be no bad creek crossings but the corrugations will drive you bonkers. Remember this is the main road used by trucks and everything else that doesn't need adventure, so is heavily used that time of year thus the corrugations.
I have preferred the telegraph track to avoid the corrugations and manage the nasty creek crossings personally, but sounds like this is not an option for you.

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

AFAIK you can detour the Gunshot which is a short detour and most of the other creek crossings should be OK. Cockatoo creek will be up to the bonnet that time of the year but is solid rock bottom just walk it first to find the shallow bits. Depends on how deep you want to go. If nothing else you find that one of the crossings is too scary, you can backtrack and go onto the bypass track it just might take a while longer.
North of the Jardine on the OTL is Nolans Brook which will not be good for you. It has deteriorated over the years and is now quite a challenge for most. You can also detour that, though once again might take a while.
Just take your time and think smart, you should have no worries, as there is heaps of people around that time of year that are all willing to help out.

[Guest Close Guest]

The main roads on the cape are no longer that bad. Using the penis devel road from cairns thru mt carbine and on to Moreton TS and all the bypass tracks south of the Jardine, I drove a 4wd hilux in 2wd (I did not lock the front hubs at any point) all the way to Seisia and back. It was packed full of work tools and other crap and had no problems.

If you happen to get a bit of rain, there are a couple of wet spots on the sthn bypass near the turn off to Captain Billy's Landing and on the Nthern Bypass around the Jardine Swamp that often have a temporary 'bush track' around the really boggy bits. At that time of year though, the tracks will definitely be 'caravan turning circle' worn in.

Unless there is a massive downpour (>200mm) all the water crossings on the bypass routes would be lucky to be axle deep. The wenlock has had a concrete monstrosity over it since early 2001.

The thing that gets to you is the BLOODY CORRUGATIONS, those bloody dip signs and the bloody 20 seater commercial OKA things that don't give way to anyone !!

Most of the major link roads are in pretty good shape these days, its pretty much a hwy for fishing, mining and tourist. Last stats show about 200-400 vehicle movements/day in peak season, which needs to be divided by 2 (up-n-back).

However, if you leave the main road the tracks DO REQUIRE a decent 4WD and recovery kit.

It is still best to check road conditions with the local roadhouses. There are that many people up there that time of year word of mouth is better than a radio so you no longer need to carry a HF radio if you get stuck.

If you are feeling more confident on the way home try the lakefield, cooktown cape trib route. The roads don't get to bad but there are a couple of decent hills nth of cape trib they may get exciting with a heavy caravan, but they are all concreted anyway.

Probably best advice is do a "4wd & trailer" course and get some experience using them off road. i.e. get stuck some where in a controlled environment and get yourself out. Experience is everything in recovering a stuck vehicle.

The cape is a great piece of Australia and you'll love the experience when you're well prepared !!

I edited this post because it read as if it was a two drive only not a 4wd in 2wd - sorry for any confusion - Neil