Cape York - June 2012

[triumph john Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close triumph john]

Cape York

This is my first time on here.
We are also planning a trip to the cape, but not untill july for six weeks. Has anyone checked the national parks web site for camping and noticed that every camp site has to be pre-booked. No more rocking up and self registering.
triumph john.

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

Did not know about the Nat Park booking. Will look into it thanks John.

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

Well that sux. Up that way I think it'll just encourage more people not to pay when they rock up to an unplanned camp destination. I can see the excuses now should a ranger poke his nose around your camp site:
We stopped here due to bad light instead of going to the next campground and had no phone reception to book.
We're not camping here the night. We've only stopped for a couple of hours before moving on.
We had vehicle trouble and had to stop here for the night unexpected.
Since when has it been pre-booked.
They'll make less revenue out of it and then will employee heaps of aboriginals to become rangers to enforce the minimum penalties.

I'm 3/4 of the way through working on my itinerary and once I've completed it I'll check it out online. It better be a smooth process where we can just book a total of "X" amount of nights on such and such dates because we'll be doing mostly bush camping broken up with private campground camping. If we have to book the exact campground for an exact date x 20, then excuse my language but that's f*$cked when you're nomad camping day by day and don't really know where you'll end up all the time. There may be a couple of places that we won't pay for because quite simply the whole trip won't go to plan with making it to certain campgrounds by a certain time and I can't guarantee phone reception all the time.... Especially since I'm with Vodafone who to put it simply, don't offer the best reception in the world.

[toddy Member Find all posts View Profile Close toddy]

Fully agree with you Brett, I'm also planning for July/August but don't know if I will make the date of the bookings!!! Kinda sucks big time if you have to keep a schedule, which from experience up there hardly ever happens...


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

I can't find anything online through the DERM site for having to pre-book sites. I reckon if there is any pre-booking required it's just national park related such as Iron Range or Lakefield which isn't so bad. But they don't even mention anything for those. By the way, Iron Range is now known as "Kutini-Payamu" National Park according to the government on their DERM site. Uluru will always be Ayers Rock to me. A page on the DERM site only lists 7 national parks with the pre-booking link available. The other 20+ national parks don't even have a link. Iron Range and Lakefield don't even appear in the drop down list of sites to pre-book at when you select to pre-book at one of the available 7 nat parks. So I think it's just a rumour.

Someone can call the Department of Environment and Resource Management directly to find out if this is true. I'm not going to bother personally.

[triumph john Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close triumph john]

Anyone going to the cape will have to pre-book, go to any national park or reserve web page for the cape and click on camping and see what you get. It's no rumour. This disscussion was only about camping in the cape, don't know about other parks in Qld.

[adamr7 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close adamr7]

Ive been told you cant book anything until the end of February??

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

I went on two DERM sites that weren't updated yet so I missed it. I've since looked again on an updated site and will have to pre-book a few sites for the Jardine river Nat Park and the Heathlands Reserve as well. It's not so bad, but if I was also staying in 2 or 3 more nat parks then that would become painful. Especially when it's potentially difficult to adhere to dates up that way since camping is done from 14 to 21 days in that region on average.

[derek11 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close derek11]

Going to the Cape at the end of May/early June, didnt know about this pre booking camp sites, we were just going to camp where and when we felt like it, like it was 10 years ago. Just got to work out a good itinery, hope to see some of you's up there.

[gregnleanne Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close gregnleanne]

yep its no rumours you have to pre book camping in the national parks at the cape, for those going in the end of june look out for the my swag crew with 20 odd camper trailers in tow and 6-7 support vehicles.

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

rangers are talking about policing the parks and moving on those without bookings....we shall see I guess

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

just a question guy's ,did this change this year ? i did it last year when all the guides said you need to prebook . the only nat park campsite i stayed in was at chilli beach and it was self rego . the jardine area you get your permit with your ferry pass and its usually cash only . i really don't know how pre booking would work especially when you get to what is reportedly one of the best campsites on the cape and its a .... (sorry ) you decide to move on to somewhere else .

[derek11 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close derek11]

getting abit worried the roads be still closed in 3 - 4 weeks time, my mate who is going up there with me in his Hilux said the Action 4WD magazine will be going up there 1 week before us. Hopefully that means it will be open.

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

I've been glued to the Cape weather and they're still getting storms every day. It's beginning to push into into being a late wet season now. I dare say there will be more water than usual in June at least. I wanted to go as late in the dry as I could but had to bring it forward to August to suit some others in our group. I'd much rather go when it's really hot (34 degrees plus during the day).

I did know a bloke who a few years ago went in January alone with his girlfriend (the only time he could get off work) and he did make it to the tip and back. 7 inch lifted GU Patrol ute with twin lockers, winch and 37 inch tyres. He said half of the deeper crossings had water going over his bonnet and a few he had to wait hours for the water to subside.

[derek11 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close derek11]

Still closed, next update 3rd May, counting down now only 13 days to go before I'm there to attempt the cape.