Some advice for those considering doing Cape York...

For those of you who don’t know, conquering ‘The Cape’ is something of an epic journey due to its remote ruggedness and challenging tracks and creek crossings – 4WD country only! This was our first trip to the Cape but hopefully not our last and given that we already live in North Queensland we really have no excuse now.  We thoroughly enjoyed this trip and recommend it to anyone.  You don’t have to be an experienced 4WD’er, although you will certainly reduce the risk of running into trouble if you do your research before you go and are well prepared.

I am by no means an expert but there are a few things which I feel necessary to pass on therefore this next bit is directed toward anyone considering doing the Cape.

• Don’t go through Cape York unless you a/ are well prepared, b/ have a capable vehicle, and c/ can accept bush pin-striping being added indiscriminately to your vehicle.
• A GPS is an absolute must as signage is rare. Unless you are only sticking to the main road (and you would be a fool to do so) you will get lost without a GPS or at least a very very good map. We used Oziexplorer for Android with Hema maps.
• Get used to the one-finger wave (both giving and receiving) and I’m not talking about the rude finger – the one-finger wave is the one you give when you keep gripping the steering wheel and just raise one finger to wave at passing vehicles. It’s considered a friendly gesture toward your fellow adventurers.
• Shops are few and far between – Cooktown, Weipa and Bamaga is the only places where you’ll find a half decent supermarket. Don’t go expecting to be able to buy everything you need along the way.
• Driving times are very difficult to calculate ahead of time. Expect the unexpected.  80kms could take an hour or it could take 5 hours depending on conditions. Try to be as flexible as possible.

Whilst it would be possible to do the Cape in a standard 4wd vehicle, if you want to get off the main road and out to one of the many more interesting places on the Cape, you will need some extra equipment. Our vehicle is a 2005 Holden Rodeo dual cab ute with a slide-on camper which sits on the tray. The rodeo has front and rear diff locks, 2inch lift, winch, etc, and we took a high lift jack, various items of recovery gear (snatch strap etc), wire, some basic tools, spare fluids, 2 x 20ltr jerry cans (one diesel and one water). We used all these things at one point or another (fortunately the recovery gear was used to pull someone else out) and returned vehicle intact (apart from a couple of smalls repairs - wire now holds the winch control box on the bullbar, and wire is holding one corner of the camper to the tray – don’t forget wire!)

We went at the end of the dry season and although the creek crossings were pretty easy, we found the roads extremely corrugated, rutted, dry, dusty, and beware the sand/bulldust holes that sneak up on you as you are driving along. Check every nut and bolt on your vehicle, or at least the important ones, regularly as they will come loose. If you want to drive the Cape immediately after the wet season (or even months after) there will be roads (even the main road at times) that are impassable regardless of what vehicle you have.

Forget technology – after all, that is one of the best things about being away in this part of the country. We had Optus reception in Cooktown but then not again until we reached Punsand Bay near the tip (and only when standing on the beach). We’ve heard Telstra may be a bit better. We had a Satellite Personal Tracker (SPOT) so our family and friends back home could see where we were. We also had a personal EPIRB for emergencies which fortunately did not eventuate.

Two quick gripes –

To those people who were incorrectly informed or just plain ignorant, the Cape York garbage service does NOT operate along the Old Tele Track or many other parts of this otherwise beautiful region – STOP messing it up and take your rubbish with you!

Also, I know toilet paper is biodegradable but it looks terribly unsightly seeing paper trails around every bush camp. How hard is it to bury your paper along with your business – use a stick if you don’t have a shovel.