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Cape York Report August 2012

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  • Cape York Report August 2012

    Mark from Brisbane's recent excellent Cape York trip report reminded me that I had to post mine as well. I'll post the trip report over the period of the next few days so you'll have to bare with me.









    This is the McLeod River on route to Laura. We stopped at the Mt Carbine road house 15km south of this and asked if they could recommend anywhere nearby to collect water for drinking. The lady at the road house recommended the McLeod River as being a beautiful spot with spring fed water and that it was fine for drinking. So off we went and I filled my 3 @ 20L BCF water bladders. And being spring fed meant the water was pretty cold. It'd be a nice spot to camp too.
    Brett1979
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    Last edited by Brett1979; 24-09-2012, 09:42 PM.
    2005 120 series V6 Grande, 2 inch susp lift (King/EFS combo), 32 inch MT’s, Safari Snorkel, rear diff lock, breathers, Light Force spotlights, UHF, dual batteries.

  • #2
    Here is the first glimpse of "the weapons" at the rocky bank of the picturesque McLeod River. We stopped there for approx 20 minutes after a couple of days of long driving.









    We met our friends with the GU Patrol in Rocky after leaving Toowoomba early that morning. Our friends left from Brisbane. The first day's leg was 650km. The 2nd day's leg from Rocky to Innisfail was 1000km approx We were originally aiming for Cairns at the end of the 2nd leg but didn't make it that far after driving well into the night. So this meant a longer 3rd leg from Innisfail to the Archer River. Our aim was to get to the Tele track asap and then take it slowly for the rest of the trip up on and on the way back since we only had 23 days for our trip. Fortunately, my wife and I avoided the long string of roadworks around Gladstone as we bypassed all that. Our friends weren't so fortunate and had some lengthy delays. We were lucky when driving from Rocky to Innisfail too as it was Sunday and almost all of the roadworks sites were unatended which meant no stops!
    Brett1979
    Avid PP Poster!
    Last edited by Brett1979; 24-09-2012, 08:24 PM.
    2005 120 series V6 Grande, 2 inch susp lift (King/EFS combo), 32 inch MT’s, Safari Snorkel, rear diff lock, breathers, Light Force spotlights, UHF, dual batteries.

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    • #3
      This is the Laura RH (RH=Roadhouse). We arrived here at 4:30pm after leaving Innisfail at 8am that morning. We had an early morning stop over in Cairns which took a fair bit longer than expected and left Cairns at approx 10:30am. The few hundred meters of track leading up to the Laura RH were the start of the corrugated dirt roads for us. Since we hadn't been up this way before & didn't know how much further the RH was so we pulled over a few hundred meters before the RH (roadhouse) in a gully to air the tyres down. We dropped the pressures down from 38 to 24psi and then made the surprisingly short drive to the RH.

      The 2nd picture is the road at the RH. It was one of the many short sections of bitumen that stretch on & off in patches for the next few dozen km's until it's all dirt.





      While we were pulled over for a 20 min break at the Laura RH, we had some people pull in and chat to us as soon as they got out of their 4wd's. We were asked where we were headed and talked about the area and so forth. It was awesome! Something a bigger town/city doesn't offer in way of conversation when you're parked on the side of the road relaxing. We enjoyed the chat and this was where it sunk in this is it. We're in the Cape and making our way to the Tele track. Our 2 years of planning & researching was finally being put into practice. It was surreal. Our destination was Archer River that night. We had many more hours behind the wheel yet for this particular leg of 750km.

      This was the start of the corrugations. We drove north for a little bit at 70km/h with the sun getting low in the sky before airing down further to 18psi to smooth the corrugations our more. They were mostly not too bad at this stage but some sections were getting rough and I wasn't going to put up with it for another 6.5 hrs on the road that night. 18 psi and 100km/h was much better for us and we enjoyed the difference it made to the ride. It really softened it out.

      We then had a close call with a big grey kangaroo another half an hour down the PDR (Peninsula Developmental Road) and remembered we had our "Shoo Roos" to put on the cars. I fitted mine to the roof and my friend fitted his to his bullbar. They whistled all night and kept us safe from wild life that might have otherwise hopped out in front of the cars. I kept 2km distance behind my friend as he led this part of the trip up to Archer River and got to really test out his new HID spotties for the 1st time on the long straight dark roads. I preferred to drive with my windows down to feel the lovely heat, smell the northern cape air and hear the ambience. So the 2km distance was necessary to keep the car dust free. We both had our cruise control set at 100km/h on the dot so that I didn't gain on him and he didn't pull away from me significantly over time. Another good thing about driving at this time up here was there were hardly any cars coming the other way for hours unlike during the day. I think we passed maybe half a dozen cars from when the sun went down until we reached Archer River at 11:30pm.

      As for the shoo roos... After putting them on the cars the roos and wallabies either crossed the road well in advance of us, stayed at the side of the road and didn't move, or took off back into the bush without crossing the road at all. This happened so many dozens of times for it to be coincidence. We felt perfectly safe belting along at 100km/h on a dirt road in the dark with these little gems on the cars. Before that a couple of smaller roos narrowly avoided being hit and then we nearly cleaned up a bigger one in quick succession of each other.
      Brett1979
      Avid PP Poster!
      Last edited by Brett1979; 25-10-2012, 04:31 PM.
      2005 120 series V6 Grande, 2 inch susp lift (King/EFS combo), 32 inch MT’s, Safari Snorkel, rear diff lock, breathers, Light Force spotlights, UHF, dual batteries.

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      • #4
        We stopped for a 20 minute break at the Musgrave RH at 7:50pm and we still had 171km to go. The PDR started to worsen as we drove further on with two shocking dips that caught me out as the rest were smoother & I got complacent because I stopped slowing right down for them after a bit when realizsng they weren't that bad at all. We never went inside the RH but it sure was rowdy inside. The remainder of the olympics were on a TV that I could see from the carpark outside. It was track & field and that was my favourite. Parked next to us was a beat up ED Falcon wagon with a local sitting behind the wheel and his daughter/younger girlfriend sitting at the end of the bonnet keeping to herself but constantly paying attention to us. We went for a bit of a walk to check out the fuel bowsers & took the below picture. We stayed a night at the Musgrave RH on the way back south and it was a great place. All of the RH's we stayed at up in the Cape charge $10 per person per night and have got showers and full amenities. It's a great way to end a long hot dusty dirty day in the car.

        We hung around relaxing for a little longer and then hopped back in the cars to drive on into the night for a couple of hours more.

        Brett1979
        Avid PP Poster!
        Last edited by Brett1979; 08-10-2012, 07:36 PM.
        2005 120 series V6 Grande, 2 inch susp lift (King/EFS combo), 32 inch MT’s, Safari Snorkel, rear diff lock, breathers, Light Force spotlights, UHF, dual batteries.

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        • #5
          We made it to the Archer River RH later that night after driving over another million corrugations, set up camp quickly and showered. We then had a typsy bloke in his early to mid 20's stumble into our camp site as we were about to go to bed. He told us he thought it was his camp site but while he was there he'd stay for a chat anyway. The next day the girls told us they saw him come over directly from his own campsite... We later nicknamed him "100 series boy." He pointed out his 100 series Landcruiser to us which was less than 10m away and wouldn't shut up about how awesome it was. He was waffling on about the steepest of hills that it eats up and continuously mentioned his car "eating" something up that he made out was extroardinarily difficult for the rest of the 4wd's out there in the world. He then said the 100 series LC's have some of the strongest diffs in the world and me and my friend laughed because we knew that was BS haha. He then started on the corrugations. He was bragging how he drove them at 130km/h all the way up because it was the only way haha. In his words, "You just put your foot flat to the floor and sit on 130. It's the only way. They're smooth as glass at that speed. You don't stop for nothin either. If anything hops out in front of you at 130 you just run it down and keep going at 130. It's the only way. Stop for nothin! If a bloke wanders out in front of you at that speed... Mow him down and just keep going. It's the only way." We had a bit of a laugh as it was funny and this guy was a serious d'head. The girls were already in the tents and listening to all the sh*t dribble from this guy's mouth for 10-15 minutes.

          While telling this story, 100 series boy added that he hit the brakes for an animal tonight on the way to Archer River and his car spun around 180 degrees at high speed and he ended up in a ditch on the side of the road. He got out of the car and saw he rolled the tyre bead off the rim. They had to pull his car onto a flatter part of the road to change the tyre and prey they didn’t get cleaned up by someone else in the dark. He then said, "that's why you don't slow down for nothin out here."

          I then brought up the topic of alcohol limits and how we were carrying the legal limit per vehicle due to risk of getting caught but would've loved to have carried more. That's when he admitted he was carrying 4 cartons of beer... And so were his mates. He said it wasn't illegal. Only illegal if you stop. He said, "You just don't stop. If you keep driving you can carry as much as you want. Just don't stop. It's perfectly legal!" Me and my friend were laughing on the inside while he was telling us that so we didn't offend him.

          We then spoke of where he'd been on the way up and he took Battle Camp Rd north up through Lakefield NP. I asked him the condition of this road and he said it was rough.... We later found it quite smooth and in much better condition than any part of the PDR. We were really impressed with the condition of Battle Camp Rd. He mentioned he and his mates camped at Horse Shoe Lagoon in Lakefield NP the night before and were camped 20m from the water's edge. He said they just shun lights out on the water and there were eyes everywhere. He then added they made a kind of a barrier around their tents with eskies, bags and so forth because they were crapping themselves sleeping there. He said there were baby crocodiles communicating loudly all night and knowing there were babies with protective mothers nearby made them even more concerned. After knowing 100 series boy for 10-15 mins already, I reckon he was camped more like 150m away with no real risk whatsoever. But then again they could've camped that close to make it interesting trying to lure crocs out of the water. Either way, he was living on borrowed time haha. He was the first of a few people we met that we kept running into again and again on the trip. He was the butt of many of our jokes for another 3 weeks. We ended the conversation shortly after and went to bed because it was late and we were bushed.

          This is a picture of my Wheelie Bin Bag the next morning at the Archer River RH at 10:30am when we were paying for our night's stay and checking out to begin our drive to Bramwell Junction. As you can see it's getting dusty. We took many pictures of this to show the dust because the dust on the car wasn't really showing in pictures.



          The weapon!



          The weapons! (Out the front of the Archer River RH).



          The Weapons! (The bullbars haven't dropped from the vibrations yet).



          Later during the trip our bullbars start to drop lower from the corrugated roads, the GU Patrol's rear numberplate cracks half way through at the mount where one of the screws hold it in place. The GU Patrol's spotlights end up pointing up at the sky constantly from the endless corrugations. The GU suffers rear shock absorber damage. The Prado has a front driver's side shock absorber spill most of it's oil down the tube from up underneath the shaft from a failed seal. The Prado has a little silver decorative plastic strip above the plastic wheel arch guard of the front driver's side wheel work it's way loose along the front half from the corrugated roads.
          Brett1979
          Avid PP Poster!
          Last edited by Brett1979; 30-09-2012, 10:30 PM.
          2005 120 series V6 Grande, 2 inch susp lift (King/EFS combo), 32 inch MT’s, Safari Snorkel, rear diff lock, breathers, Light Force spotlights, UHF, dual batteries.

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          • #6
            The 2 lines on that building at the Archer River RH are where flood waters had reached in previous cyclones. This building is 200m from the river and the river is a long way below these lines. It amazes you to see the dry river bed in the dry season and know the water had been that high on two occasions.



            The weapons!

            Brett1979
            Avid PP Poster!
            Last edited by Brett1979; 22-07-2020, 10:37 PM.
            2005 120 series V6 Grande, 2 inch susp lift (King/EFS combo), 32 inch MT’s, Safari Snorkel, rear diff lock, breathers, Light Force spotlights, UHF, dual batteries.

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            • #7
              The Archer River bed when driving over the causeway 200m north of the Archer River RH.







              2005 120 series V6 Grande, 2 inch susp lift (King/EFS combo), 32 inch MT’s, Safari Snorkel, rear diff lock, breathers, Light Force spotlights, UHF, dual batteries.

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              • #8
                The PDR heading north of Archer River at 11:49am.





                The grass & trees on the left side of the PDR heading north are absolutely covered in red dust up to 20-30 meters in. The right side is either untouched or not so bad, but the trees on the left side look like they struggle to stay alive during the dry season because they can't continue their photosynthesis process until they get a wash from the west season. The leaves are so thickly covered in the dust from the usually strong breeze that blows from the east. Always in the same direction and usually strong.

                The PDR 70km north of Archer River. One of our routine roadside breaks in the constant 32 degree heat. Soaking up the scenery... It's so much different than home. Once again, it's surreal being here.



                Brett1979
                Avid PP Poster!
                Last edited by Brett1979; 24-09-2012, 11:21 PM.
                2005 120 series V6 Grande, 2 inch susp lift (King/EFS combo), 32 inch MT’s, Safari Snorkel, rear diff lock, breathers, Light Force spotlights, UHF, dual batteries.

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                • #9
                  Roadside break 70km north of Archer River on the PDR.



                  Spot lights are and kept pointing to the sky due to the corrugated roads.





                  I octopus strapped the fridge to the back seat to keep it from vibrating off or vibrating too close to the door and having the fridge handle rub on the door for prolonged periods. It worked a treat and even kept the fridge in place on the more less horizontal tracks such as the entry into Palm Ck.

                  Brett1979
                  Avid PP Poster!
                  Last edited by Brett1979; 24-09-2012, 11:38 PM.
                  2005 120 series V6 Grande, 2 inch susp lift (King/EFS combo), 32 inch MT’s, Safari Snorkel, rear diff lock, breathers, Light Force spotlights, UHF, dual batteries.

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                  • #10
                    The Wheelie Bin Bag is so dusty at this point it's become totally red/brown. I had a rubbish bag in there permanently to keep any rubbish in along the way so it wasn't in the car or on the roof. The only problem was when you touched it your fingers became red. Keep light coloured clothing away from it too.



                    Large termite mounds are a common sight in the Cape.



                    The long awaited Bramwell Junction. After reading the sign about dogs having to remain in the car at all times, we wondered about people's dogs coping with 32 degree heat being stuck in the car. And what if they need to be let out to go to the toilet? I'm sure people have been caught out. I know it's to keep dogs from wandering around and bothering others and also for their own safety because while we camped here for the night a dingo was hanging around at early hrs of the morning... But surely it's not enforceable.



                    The number plate tree at Bramwell Junction. Number plates that are lost and found are handed in by travelers and nailed to the tree. The tree is covered on both sides from top to bottom.



                    Bramwell Junction was our favourite roadhouse to stay at on the whole trip. It gives you a real feeling of remoteness at that place. It's baron but that's what makes it so appealing. The staff there are really friendly too. When we were there it was so quiet. Must've only been 20 campers in the whole place that day/night. This was our first real chance to get stuck into a bit of the alcohol we brought for the trip. At 2:30pm and punching 33 degrees outside, the booze couldn't have been cold enough. It was a welcome relief to wind down with cold drinks on such a beautiful day in such a beautiful place knowing the next morning we'd embark on the OTT.

                    Me and my mate were a little nervous knowing we'd be crossing Palm Ck in the morning. We'd seen plenty of Youtube videos on it and seen it in many trip reports, but still didn't really know what to expect ourselves.
                    Brett1979
                    Avid PP Poster!
                    Last edited by Brett1979; 25-09-2012, 11:51 AM.
                    2005 120 series V6 Grande, 2 inch susp lift (King/EFS combo), 32 inch MT’s, Safari Snorkel, rear diff lock, breathers, Light Force spotlights, UHF, dual batteries.

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                    • #11
                      Excellent write up so far, can't wait for the next instalment.
                      Blue Storm 150 GXL 4D4 PRADO and 2014 Cub Brumby Camper My rig build [url]http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread.php?25698-Derek11-s-2012-Blue-Storm-150-GXL-build-up[/url]

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                      • #12
                        Nice one Brett !! Keep those pictures coming our way...
                        [COLOR=#3E3E3E][URL="http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread.php?31747-Shan-s-Silver-TD-Altitude-with-Attitude"]2012 Altitude TD Auto - Silver[/URL] [/COLOR]

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                        • #13
                          Good stuff Brett and pleased I inspired you!!

                          I must now after two fairly big trips, Simmo last year the Cape this year that I rarely listen to travellers on the road.

                          This is after any number of BS stories told to me about road conditions, creek crossings and corrugations during the course of those two trips.

                          We had one guy (older guy like us so plenty of reasons to beleive him) on the recent Cape trip that told us on Battlecamp Road that the corrugations ahead were really bad BUT when we hit the PDR just wait for the 60 Kms' either side of Coen. He said they are far worse than the worst he'd ever travelled on, which was the Tanamai.

                          So you can imagine we were crapping ourseleves....HOWEVER...when we arrived at Musgrave and joined the PDR we all said "don't know what he is talking about that was as smooth as!!

                          And when at the 60 Kms mark to Coen I said to my mates on the radio "well this is it guys, we might have to air down a bit further"...well we then had a lunch stop at Coen and all said "that wasn't so bad, maybe it the next part".

                          Well that proved the same, yes plenty of corrugations but really no huge difference to the rest of the PDR.

                          I have not worked out yet, if it's "just peoples different opinions" or is it more sinister in that they are just "taking the piss out of you", and especially in my case being an older, novice type driver.

                          I think it's the latter.

                          About the only person to "tell us what it was really like" was Jamie at Bramwell Junction, his guidance was 110% spot on....the rest of the roadhouses (operated mainly by back packers) were a complete waste of time as far as accurate information.

                          My mates and I are off to the CSR next year, we are doing lots and lots of research but will probably only take the advice of the copper at Wiluna, everyone else we'll probably just ignore!!

                          In saying that, the thread I started on here in 2010 for my Simpson trip WAS a big help, lots of great suggestions....so when I say I don't listen....I mean to the dickheads on the roads!!
                          150 Silver Diesel GXL Auto with ECB Bullbar, Toyota Factory towbar, Black Widow Drawer system with Fridge slide and cargo barrier, GME UHF 3340 Radio, Waeco 50 Litre Fridge, Rhino Racks and Rhino Basket, ARB Awning, IPF XS Spotties, ABR Sidewinder Dual Battery system,Airtec Snorkel, Bilstien Shockies, King Springs, Poly Airbags and BFG A/T''s. Now towing a semi offroad Lotus Freelander 18.6 Van, with all the bells and whistles.

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                          • #14
                            The fuel bowsers at Bramwell Junction. There was no LPG available in the Cape that I was aware of. Most of the bowsers had one unleaded pump and the rest were diesel.



                            We decided to camp next to this termite mound.



                            My friend's Black Window bag kept slipping off his tyre from the corrugations and every time we pulled over he had to re-secure it. At times the sleeve was only hanging on the top of the tyre for grim life.





                            All of the roadhouses had ATM's, but you never need to use them because they all take EFTPOS now.

                            Brett1979
                            Avid PP Poster!
                            Last edited by Brett1979; 29-09-2012, 07:45 PM.
                            2005 120 series V6 Grande, 2 inch susp lift (King/EFS combo), 32 inch MT’s, Safari Snorkel, rear diff lock, breathers, Light Force spotlights, UHF, dual batteries.

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                            • #15
                              There was a football sized field at the front of Bramwell Junction that was full of these termite mounds. There's a few 5 meter high ones to pull your cars up next to for a good photo. We decided to do this on the way back home. Everywhere you look in the Cape you'll see termite mounds in your line of sight. They're just everywhere. Most are 2 to 4 ft high, but there's also a fair few 5 meter high ones around.





                              This is the PDR heading north of Bramwell Junction. You're generally guaranteed well groomed roads on the northern side of the road houses as far as a 20 min drive away we noticed.



                              My tyres served me well up in the Cape. No punctures and no chipping. The tread was half worn when we embarked on the trip but I wasn't worried about punctures at all. Leaving the pressures down helped with further protection against that. Plus I avoided the bigger baseball sized rocks on the PDR because I didn't want my fuel tank ruptured.



                              While kicking back at the camp and drinking we noticed a middle aged couple parked out the front 50m away in a dark green 90 series Prado RV. He jacked up the back R/H corner and was examining his tyre for ages while it was still on the car. We were having a good look without trying to be too obvious. We were waiting for him to figure it all out before going to offer help. Then he took the tyre off and was still examining it closely with his wife. We grabbed the puncture repair kit and waltzed on over.

                              His tyre had a huge bulge in it and quite frankly looked stuffed. We had a bit of a chat and asked what tyre pressures he was running. He said he was running 34psi but only just lowered them from 38psi and they were on their way back from the tip. He had very worn all-terrains. and only the one spare. I bet he had a rough ride the whole way down from the top. He was going to head back to Coen that night to get it repaired the next day and at this stage it was already 4pm. He would've been pushing it.

                              We recommended he drop his tyres to around 20psi to help guard against another puncture because the last thing he'd want to do is sit on the side of the road late at night with another flat & no spare. Help probably wouldn't come until morning either if he shredded a tyre. He had his own puncture repair kit and thanked us for offering to help. We left him to it and within another 30 minutes him and his wife were gone on the long drive south to Coen.
                              Brett1979
                              Avid PP Poster!
                              Last edited by Brett1979; 25-09-2012, 06:24 PM.
                              2005 120 series V6 Grande, 2 inch susp lift (King/EFS combo), 32 inch MT’s, Safari Snorkel, rear diff lock, breathers, Light Force spotlights, UHF, dual batteries.

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