Our Cape York and Gulf Country Adventure

[matt150 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close matt150]

How did ya coopers handle the trip ?

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

Really good. The 200 diesel also had the AT3's and neither of us had any problems.

[matt150 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close matt150]

Really good. The 200 diesel also had the AT3's and neither of us had any problems.

Excellent news...

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

Oops a double post. Not sure how to delete it?

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

This is the ford before Nolan's Brook. A firm base but I wasn't going to take any chances so I put the water blind on.

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

Next stop was Nolan's

Yep it's a little deep.


Brett went through first.


It's a good feeling when the bonnet heads up out of the water.



The front number plate didn't make the crossing but the time we took to search for it gave the sandy base time to settle.
Found it!


Russell went next in the 200, with the big V8 humming he ploughed right through the middle with no worries.
Alan went next in the D4D and unfortunately suffered the "third car" fate and got stuck. Brett and Russell were quick to connect the snatch strap he had attached to the front and had him out quickly. The engine didn't stop but a fair bit of water came in.

I must admit I thought about giving it a miss but with three of our group on the northern side I didn't fancy driving back alone to the bypass track near Mistake Creek.

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

This was the time to think clearly and be methodical. I went back to the Prado, checked the water blind, attached my tow rope to the equalizer strap, taped the doors, lowed the tyres to 16psi and moved up to the entrance. A little nervous, with the memory of my good mate getting stuck still in my mind, you bet.



There was a big hole where Alan got stuck so there was only one way I was going to do this.

I connected another strap to mine and asked Brett to attach it to the GU, so if I did get stuck it would be a quick recovery. One of the others in the group was there to pull the strap as I moved through so it would not catch under the Prado.

By going a little to the right I missed the hole in the middle and didn't need the tow straps but it was nice to have them just in case. The feeling of relief came first then a feeling of achievement as I realized that my old Prado had completed the OTT.
The Cape still had plenty in store for us and by the time we reached the Jardine River ferry everything had changed.

[REV Find all posts View Profile Close REV]

Hi Jim,

Great report and pics thank you for the time and effort.


Cheers
Lawrie

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

We headed off from Nolan's looking forward to reaching Loyalty Beach where we planned to base ourselves for a few days and explore the area. We were heading across to the Bamaga Bypass Road when Alan calls up on the UHF that his ABS warning light and engine fault light have come on. We are all hoping that he would make it through. I looked down and the ABS warning light was also showing on my dash. Oh sh#*. We turned on to the Bamaga Road and all those corrugations we had been expecting throughout the trip turned up! It was a bumpy ride but we found in a lot of places there was a sandy track on the edge which offered a better ride. 70 to 75 kph seemed to be the best speed. Next thing the speedo stopped working, followed shortly by the UHF also going on the blink. I switched to the hand held and found Alan was having similar problems. The wet carpet we had experienced earlier had now become sodden. The car was still driving and braking well but the electronics were a mess.
The Jardine River ferry was a welcome sight.


On through Umagico, then Bamaga and then to Loyalty Beach.



It was only when we stopped and started putting the tent up that we realized how exhausted we were.
Next morning I got under the Prado and found that the rubber bung which is located under the passenger side front seat was missing and this was allowing a lot of water to get in. The radio is positioned under the seat so my first task was to get it dry. We then started the laborious task of cleaning out the Prado to allow the carpets to dry. Alan was doing a similar job.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Anybody else having issues trying to open the youtube link or is it just me ??.......Cheers Steve

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

Not just you having issues with the video Steve.....

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

Anybody else having issues trying to open the youtube link or is it just me ??.......Cheers Steve

The link should work okay now. It is now an embedded video.

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Works fine now, well done, nice and easy and got through unscathed that's the main thing. Loving this trip report keep it coming.....Cheers Steve

[Steve M Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Steve M]

Did you find out what the issue was with the lights on the dash etc ?? was it the water that just got into electricals but all dried out now and ok ??.......Cheers Steve

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

I went onto Pradopoint seeking help with the ARB light issue. I followed the advice given and gave the sensors on each wheel a spray of WD40. Bingo, a quick drive and the ABS light went out and the speedo started working again. After a few hours of drying the carpets I accompanied Alan down to the RACQ at Bamaga where he sought some assistance. The fault codes were cleared and Alan decided to keep on going with the trip.
That afternoon we headed for the tip to catch the sunset. I had given the radio time to dry out and it came back to life. The Prado was back in shape.
The Croc Tent was our first stop.

Then onto Punsand Bay where we once again caught up with Damian and Jess.
We drove the back track from Punsand Bay up to the tip, going through some nice rain forest.

We pulled up in the car park and were preparing to walk across the rocks out to the tip.

I went to lock the Prado and the central locking wouldn't work. I could sit inside the car and it would work using the switch on the driver's door but not with the remote or the key in the door. This problem persisted for the rest of the trip, but once back home, Downtown Toyota at Morningside replaced a faulty fuse, reset the error code and all was well.
The sunset was terrific, our group was back together safe and well, we all enjoyed a special time.