Cape York and so much more

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Cape York and so much more

Next place to visit was the Iron Range NP and Chilli beach, Information on whether the road was open or not was hard to come by, It had been closed for a while after heavy rain had made the Pascoe impassable, so with out knowing what to expect we headed off. after turning onto the portlands road the road closed sign was no longer up so we headed in to see what the Pascoe looked like. We had heard on the grapevine it could be difficult and was fast flowing. After the Coen river incident our female friend was very worried about what were going to find. After arriving at the Pascoe we found a guy who had just put his motorbike back together after flooding it trying to cross, he was with a large group of riders and was apparently the top rider in this group and the only one that didnt make it, and werent his mates giving it to him. After watching him make it across the river (but only Just) we walked the crossing, a bit over knee deep and about 70 metres wide, sandy bottom and with a swift flow. By the time i got back to our car there was 4 other cars and a 4WD tour bus lined up behind me. The bus driver who had apparently crossed the river many times assured me it was easy enough and after lowering tyre pressures just to be sure i took the plunge, the crossing turned out to be relativly easy and everyone followed making to the other bank without a problem, our female friend was just about beside herself with excitement as they came out of the river on the other side.




Chilli Beach is an interesting place, very windy and the beach is littered with debris/rubbish that washes up from the hundreds of ships that pass along the edge of the cape. Despite the wind that blew nonstop for the two days we were there, a couple of scraggly palm trees between us and the beach was all that was needed for it to be still at camp, if we could have camped a bit further away from the shore on the other side of the track you couldnt even hear the wind.






The wind was useful with car positioned correctly to dry out the carpets in our friends car.

Cheers Andrew

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Cape York and so much more

After a couple of days relaxing and bushwalking we left Chilli beach, the shortest route back to the telegraph road is via Frenchmans track, this track is said to be very rough and the Pascoe river crossing very difficult, as with every obstacle we encountered on our trip our intention was to go and have a look and then make a decision. The 9 kilometre drive from the Portlands road into the Pascoe crossing was a bit rough and rutted and fairly slow but nothing to be concerned about. when we arrived at the river though it was a very different story. The entry into the river was steep and rough with a decent drop off near the top, this would have been no problem with gravity on your side, and we were to drive through worse later on the OTL, although we didnt know that at the time. I walked into the river and you can see how deep it was in the photo below, i wasnt yet at the deepest point, (i am 6' 2") and couldnt go any further as the current was very strong and there was no way i would have made it to the other bank, the water was very clear and i could see it was deeper further out, i reckon a minimun of 4 feet deep or 1/3 the way up the windscreen without allowing for the bow wave, The exit on the otherside was steep and looked pretty difficult, with just the car and my lockers i reckon i would have made it up the bank but with the trailer it would have been very iffy. Regardless the river was impassable so we returned the way we came.







My wife understood that it was impossible because of the river, but even with a lower river and no winch it was probably to hard towing the trailer, It was at this point that she told me "we have unfinished business with this crossing so we had better make sure we get a winch and come back"
She later clarified that if i dont finish building her new kitchen before i install a winch parts of me that are very tender will be forcibly removed :evil:
there is another road that is less well known and not marked on a lot of maps a bit south of frenchmans, the locals call this Backtrack, we also drove into this to check it out, while it was shallower because it was wider, and the entry fairly easy, i was only just able to walk the river and again the exit was risky without a winch. once again we returned the way we came.
Thinking that the Pascoe crossing the way we came in should be easy as the river should have continued to drop (which it had). When we arrived though we found a Mack truck bogged in the middle of the river and no driver anywhere to be seen. fortunately there was just enough room to squeeze through, the wife drove this and i took the photos.






Cheers Andrew

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Cape York and so much more

Finally we arrived at Bramwell junction and the start of the OTL, it takes nearly 5 seconds to drive from the roadhouse to the start of the track and about the same time down the track before the fun begins


imag



All the talk on the grapevine had been that the entry into the first creek, Palm Creek was a doozy and only five minutes in we arrived. And it certainly was. after walking the crossing, the creek its self was a non issue and the exit straight forward, i decided to have a crack and my mate and his wife decided that there was no way they were going to do it. After i had towed the trailer through and my wife had taken a heap of photos, she told me she was a bit upset that she didnt get to be in the car for the crossing, anyway what is a guy to do, i unhooked the trailer and drove back across to pick her up. there is no way i could have made it up the bank without the lockers and a group of 4 vehicles that we were to see a fair bit of along the way had arrived and were most impressed with prados effort in scaling the bank. You will notice in one of the photos below the left hand slider i made was getting a good workout, bent LH side steps were a dime a dozen after heading into palm creek, the RH slider also got use driving back to get the Missus



















After making arrangements to meet our friends down the track we continued, now on our own.

Cheers Andrew

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Cape York and so much more

The next creek along is the Ducie, reasonably deep but with a fairly solid bottom. It was at this point that our 11 year old son who had left his camera in Mareeba was promoted to chief photographer so both me and the missus could be in the car for the crossings. This worked well as i carried the camera to the opposite bank while walking the crossing, and DJ was happy as he finally got to use the "good camera". And on the very first crossing he got the money shot below.



not long after this we came across another group of 4 vehicles with one towing a trailer, the trailer was sideways across the track and jacked up with the owner lying underneath. It was lunchtime and we couldnt pass so we had lunch and i went to see what the problem was. They seemed like a decent enough bunch, just a bit to gung-ho for my taste, the guy towing the trailer told me "I said to the missus about a kilomketre ago, there is somthing not right, anyway i was FLYING along this straight section and BANG" his U bolts had come undone, he blew a tyre, bent the gaurd, put a hole in the water tank.
i will post a photo in a bit of one of his mates taking the suicide option at Gunshot, it looked to me like he bent his bullbar and he told us he stuffed his winch operating it "under mud". We crossed the Dulhunty which was shallow and easy and then camped on the northern bank of Bertie creek, our favourite campsite of the entire trip. it was at this point that our friends rejoined us.

Cheers Andrew

[samo Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close samo]

Re: Cape York and so much more

cracker report aj, hope you r having a ball. cheers samo :mrgreen:

[Hutch Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hutch]

Re: Cape York and so much more

TOP STUFF AJ!!!

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Cape York and so much more

Thanks Samo, i am home now and writing the report between cleaning the prado, it is her first birthday on Monday and i want her to look her best.

The next challenge on the track is Gunshot creek, anyone who has ever read anything about the OTL will know about this one. There must be at least a half dozen entries into the creek. once again the creek itself is shallow, narrow and an easy crossing with a gentle exit on the north side. Getting down to the creek on the south side is the issue. We watched the group of 4 infront of us cross with one Hilux taking the suicide route, the others including the trailer taking the route we eventually chose. again the guy with trailer was pushing the limits nearly rolling his trailer as the left hand wheel rode up a steep bank.










After getting down the bank i ran into the expected trouble of not being able to articulate the trailer around the tight bend where the guy in front of me nearly rolled his trailer. My stone gaurd was first to touch, i stopped and was directed by my mate and a few other onlookers to reverse up and try again. here i had a few minor problems, no one let me know about the stump behind the trailer and i slightly bent one of the stabilisers, this worked fine for the rest of the trip and will be an easy repair now i am home, the wires pulled out of the 7 pin plug, easily fixed that afternoon, and while reversing i pulled of the LH rear mudflap which i bolted back on that evening with the intention of doing a more thourough repair when back home. I still couldnt get round the bend but had a few options, remove the stone gaurd and try again, shovel the bank, or my mate could have brought his car down minus the trailer to the top of the bank and we could have used a snatch strap to pull the trailer side ways. by this point the group of 4 traveling behind us were waiting at the top of our entry point, they were a top bunch and much less gung-ho than those in front of us. the guy behind me had a highlift and was experienced with it and they were all keen as mustard to help, so after three lifts and pushing the trailer sideways of the jack i was able to drive through with no further problems.








Cheers Andrew

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Cape York and so much more

there is no way i could have made it up the bank without the lockers

So you've got front and rear lockers then. How much effort do you think the front was giving and could you have got up just using the rear?

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Cape York and so much more

Thanks Hutch, i am pleased that people are enjoying the report, the trip was an absolute ripper.

Once again we were on our own as my mate (mainly because of his handbrake) had decided not to follow and we arranged to meet at Fruit Bat falls for lunch.
a few minor crossings and then the last crossing on the southern half is Cockatoo creek. this has a solid rock base but with some drop off's you couldnt drive a straight line and i used the wife as a marker pole next to one of the drops to make sure i didnt drive into it.







We then headed for the northern half and Fruit Bat falls where we again met our friends, after lunch we headed onto Elliot Falls and Twin Falls after crossing Scrubby creek which was reasonably deep.














The camp ground at elliot falls was full when we arrived so we continued on and camped near the linesmans hut next to canal creek. I reckon this was a better spot and free as well.

Cheers Andrew

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Cape York and so much more

Schaffer wrote
So you've got front and rear lockers then. How much effort do you think the front was giving and could you have got up just using the rear?

yep front and rear Good question, in one of the photos you notice the left front way up so the front locker was obviously helping then. the climb had to be done very slowly as it was so rough so momentum wouldnt help you through any traction loss. the really steep jump up, when i nosed up to that and gave it a bit of gas all i got was 4 wheels spining, i has to take a short run up (less the half a metre) and then she just popped up and drove through. To be honest i reckon the front probably did more than the rear, but that is only a gut feeling.

Normally with action shots we find that the photos look tame compared to the feel when driving, this was the opposite though. when i saw the photos i was quite shocked :shock: as it didnt feel that bad behind the wheel. Anyway tell your missus i said you gotta get both

Cheers Andrew

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Cape York and so much more

Normally with action shots we find that the photos look tame compared to the feel when driving, this was the opposite though. when i saw the photos i was quite shocked :shock: as it didnt feel that bad behind the wheel. Anyway tell your missus i said you gotta get both

If only life was that simple.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Cape York and so much more

Well continuing on, while the northern half of th OTL doesnt have the extremes of Palm Creek and Gunshot, in general the track and the creek entries and exits are more rugged, and the water often deeper. Sam creek was next, not difficult but a guiding hand for wheel placement was useful in order to straddle a large hole, oh and a bit of 3 wheeling after exiting on the northern side.










I think they are just trying to scare you because the next 2 creek are "mistake creek" and "Canibal Creek". My mate was a bit shocked when i pointed out how close he had come to driving of a ledge after one of the crossings, check the trailer tyre below.










Cypress creek log bridge was a lot less of a worry than it looks, and Logans creek, which barely even gets a mention in the trip notes we had been following, was by far the deepest and longest crossing on the whole trip. We had heard a lot about this from those coming from the north. After walking the crossing as per usual i took the plunge, no problems except that i didnt get a shot of the prado at the deepest point, the photo of my mate in his 100 series gives a good idea.









Cheers Andrew

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Cape York and so much more

The last obstacle on the OTL is Nolans brook, normally this is the deepest crossing but when we went through it was probably 3rd or 4th on the list. Still after watching our 4 new friends that helped at Gunshot cross without a worry (no trailers), once again i took the plunge, everything seemed to be going well but just short of the exit i ran out of momentum, the bottom was soft and down she went down, bogged ops: . I was out of the car in a flash and had the maxtrax of the roof and under the front wheels as quickly as i could, the last guy to cross before me had also backed up and had a snatch ready so i hooked that on as well. I dont think the snatch did that much because as soon as i was back in the drivers seat i took off, the maxtrax probably did most of the work and about 2 minutes after getting stuck we were out. Photographic evidence shows that had i stopped when i lost momentum the car was clear of the water line, but i pushed it and it bogged down, its amazing how much water can get through those drain holes in the bottom of your doors in 2 minutes! ops:
with nobody else to blame but myself, driver error, not enough momentum i was very disappointed with myself.
My mate who was still on the other side and by now was growing in confidence decided to give it a go, this time we had a snatch all set up and ready to go, with the knowlege of seeing me bogged he gunned it and with wheels spinning he made it through but only just. on the other side we realised that a guy who had been swimming in the creek, was waiting for his cruiser to dry out, he had got bogged the day before (in the deepest part) and sat in the creek for over an hour with water over the front seat before someone winched him out.
We travelled onto the end, The Jardine river (no way we were ever going to attempt that crossing) and then returned the few kilometers to gat back to the road to the ferry








by the time we arrived in Seisa i was getting over the dissapointment and just wanted to fix the problems, that afternoon i pulled all the seats, the consol, and the carpet out of the car to dry them. My UHF which was mounted under the passenger seat also got drowned and wasnt working. i pulled this apart and dried it out as well. 24 hrs later the car was back together, everything dry and everything working so despite a few hiccups along the way i did manage to tow the trailer that i built all the way through the OTL and onto the top of Cape York. with the only thing needed to repair any damage being a bit of my time and a couple of bolts to reattach the mudflap.




Next we travel to the "tip" and then onto Thursday Island and Horne Island

Cheers Andrew

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Cape York and so much more

its amazing how much water can get through those drain holes in the bottom of your doors in 2 minutes! ops:
with nobody else to blame but myself, driver error, not enough momentum i was very disappointed with myself.

Well the fact that you have that many deep water crossings, some water damage should be expected. That you minimised this to one crossing and had it sorted within 24 hours you should be resonably happy with.

We travelled onto the end, The Jardine river (no way we were ever going to attempt that crossing) and then returned the few kilometers to gat back to the road to the ferry

Last Sunday I watched the Galls Boys Far NQ Adventure. Dave stupidly lined up the Jardine in the v8 70 with they monsterous van. He didn't get through as it was way to heavy but they did with a two winches back to back + a winch extension + a couple of snatches to cover the distance.

so despite a few hiccups along the way i did manage to tow the trailer that i built all the way through the OTL and onto the top of Cape York. with the only thing needed to repair any damage being a bit of my time and a couple of bolts to reattach the mudflap.

And feeling somewhat like a champion I bet . Congratulations on getting there with minimal damage and with the home made camper. I'm guessing you saw Roothy and co head up there recently. Bring back some memories?

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Re: Cape York and so much more

Yeah Nick, after i got the car back together i felt a lot better, and now i look back at getting stuck as just another learning experience. I never really expected to be able to go the whole way with the camper, i thought Gunshot would have sent me round the bypass.

I watched the Galls boys trip a few weeks before we left and watching the prado empty the water out of the doors after getting stuck in the Jardine pretty much made my mind up on that one. Also the Jardine looked like it was a lot deeper when we were there than when the Gall Boys did it. It is around 140metres wide, probably 2-3 feet deep most of the way across with a soft sandy bottom and Crocs!

Havent seen Roothys trip yet.

We travelled the last little bit up to the tip and the road there was absolutely stuffed, corrugations were shocking. they did however grade the road the day after we went :evil: Lunch at Punsand Bay after taking the shorter 4wd track across which was rough but still better than corrugations. A general look around the area and a visit to the plane wreck near Bamaga.







While on the subject of road conditions, it is usually pointless to give to much of a description as they can change so rapidly depending on conditions. Suffice to say that all the roads we travelled on seemed to reflect what we have found on all of our outback trips, everything from beautiful smooth roads through to absolutely stuffed, rutted, corrugated and even washed away roads.

Cheers Andrew