Cape York Trip December-Early Jan (Wet Season) ?

Post by **BUNDERA** » Wed Oct 06, 2004 8:17 pm

Just wondering if many people head up to the cape around this time of year. If so, are the fuel stops open, or do they close down for the wet season? (I think I read somewhere that the whole cape pretty well closes down during the wet season, but am unsure if this correct).

Is it still possible to get the top with a well equipped vehicle or do the crossings become too flooded? (I know every season is different regarding the ammount of rainfall which will affect the river crossings but a rough guide would be great)

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Nick

Ps: move this to the chit chat section or trips if u could please.... arms up!

Post by **grimbo** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 8:40 am

I don't think it would be a good idea. the wet season can change the road conditions in an instance, rivers will be flooded making crossings dangerous. Also you will find that you wont have the safety of having other travellers around. If you really have to go then flying to the tip is probably the best bet as most roads will be closed

Post by **chimpboy** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 8:42 am

grimbo wrote:I don't think it would be a good idea. the wet season can change the road conditions in an instance, rivers will be flooded making crossings dangerous. Also you will find that you wont have the safety of having other travellers around. If you really have to go then flying to the tip is probably the best bet as most roads will be closed

Wait until July/August next year then you can tow me out of trouble

Jason

Post by **Roctoy** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 9:23 am

alot of tracks are closed during that time, it would not be worth trying to drive it.

Chris

Thu Oct 07, 2004 12:36 pm

Sorry Mate, i hate to jump on the negetive band wagon but i was up there a couple of years ago and the markers left up some of the trees were 25meters in the air. That's a really big snorkel!! There were some guys that went through in the 70's using floating pontoons that they carried on the roof.

Post by **GeneralFubashi** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 3:58 pm

local councils can and will charge you several thousand dollars per axle depending on how far you venture up a closed dirt road during a wet, and how much damage you do to the track.

maybe you could get some of those big floating balloon tyres used on water-sports equipment.

Post by **BUNDERA** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 4:31 pm

so getting to the very tip by around the 20th of December would be too late in the wet?

I do not have a time limit for the trip up to the tip as you will always be held up by crossings or breakages. So I do have some time to wait out "slightly" swollen rivers.

This is the only time i can go, as uni holidays are then!!!!

A Lifted lux, 33"MTR's, Warn 8000 winch, locked diffs, snorkel, long range tank and heaps of recovery gear.... along with the mighty 2.8L Diesel :cool:

Powerhouse is a pretty capeble truck... but of course it is the drivers skill that is the key to it all.... Forgetting about the skill of my driving, the vehicle should be able to do it easy in the dry aslong as it is driven well.

So with a bit of skill, a lot of fuel,water and food, is it possible in the wet?

Boost on!

Cheers,

Nick

Post by **up2nogood** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 4:36 pm

Jeezus, you're game.

Man, river banks break in the wet and rivers go from metres across to miles across.......

Forget crossing the river, it'll be impossible just to get over the flood plains.

Lot of those nasty big lizards around too.

I hear they bite...... :shock:

Post by **christover1** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 4:48 pm

It is not just the 20 metre deep rivers you have to be concerned over. (I too have seen the tide marks on trees well above my head) ... During the "wet" insects, mostly germ ridden mossies can be a problem, along with ticks, the crocs and the stinging jelly fishes.
You should contact the local Authorities for the safest, non emotional information.
I can understand the Adventure spirit, but I don't think they will let you anywhere near the cape, unless its unusually dry.
I went in July 1986, in a Moke with 4 other Mokes, so as long as your truck is reliable and well serviced, and plenty of spares, and self sufficient, that should be no problem... suspension and tyre damage was our main trouble, but both these things are built better nowadays, and if you go slow and keep them serviced, they wont be a problem (I hope) christover

Post by **grimbo** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 4:59 pm

BUNDERA wrote:so getting to the very tip by around the 20th of December would be too late in the wet?

I do not have a time limit for the trip up to the tip as you will always be held up by crossings or breakages. So I do have some time to wait out "slightly" swollen rivers.

This is the only time i can go, as uni holidays are then!!!!

A Lifted lux, 33"MTR's, Warn 8000 winch, locked diffs, snorkel, long range tank and heaps of recovery gear.... along with the mighty 2.8L Diesel Powerhouse is a pretty capeble truck... but of course it is the drivers skill that is the key to it all.... Forgetting about the skill of my driving, the vehicle should be able to do it easy in the dry aslong as it is driven well.

So with a bit of skill, a lot of fuel,water and food, is it possible in the wet?

Boost on!

Cheers,

Nick

as you're not really listening to our advice that it is not a good idea etc. Contact the authorities up that way and get their response but generally after mid november it is not really possible to travel safely to the tip without damage to the tracks and potentially to your self

Post by **Daisy** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 5:40 pm

why not sign up with a tag along tour.. learn something about the cape b4 you go venturing on your own???

Post by **STIKA** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 10:01 pm

if you lucky you might get a bill to repair the roads you damage :armsup:

Post by **Hoonz** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 11:10 pm

from an NQ person ..... GOOD LUCK IF U GO! :cool:

Post by **ISUZUROVER** » Thu Oct 07, 2004 11:21 pm

I can see the headline now:

"Idiot in Toyota Dies Trying to Cross River on Ill-Planned Wet Season Cape York Trip".

What part don't you get???

The rivers much deeper than your truck?
The closed roads?
The huge fines for driving on said closed roads?

The idiots they let into uni these days... you aren't doing arts are you???

Post by **Mr X** » Fri Oct 08, 2004 12:48 am

Dude,
Heed the advice of these guys. It's seriously heavy going once the storms start. Don't even think about the rivers yet - check out the main road - you can drive the family wagon to Weipa in the dry but you'll be working hard & slow in 4wd after a couple of storms & the rangers & council dudes don't take kindly to 4wd's making 6 inch wheel ruts in roads they spend $$$ grading all year!!!!

You say time is no problem. We've received negative comments in Cairns for previous trips early & late in the season (wet = fish). You just have to get 1st hand info from the roadhouses, cops & rangers on if it's ok to travel, not some guy who heard of a guy that caught a barra in the middle of the road last week!!!! Get ready to go, but be flexible if the conditions suck.

I'm not sure about this past wet, but the last couple of wet's have been pretty poor & there were people still driving up in mid Jan a couple of years back..... You could get lucky.

Post by **toaddog** » Sat Oct 09, 2004 9:56 pm

You do not seem to grasp the concept of the wet up that way. I lived in weipa previously and now live in Cairns. Think inland seas vast areas of water which you have no chance of driving over. It is not possible, do not try cause you wont make it past laura anyway.

Post by **Tojo** » Sat Oct 09, 2004 10:00 pm

i think you should ignore everyones advice and head up towards the end of november or december

.........and get stuck up there after the storms!!! your car will be struck there for 6 mths and you will have to pay a charter operator to fly you out. Then when you eventually get back there next dry you will find your car trashed / stripped etc!!!

Post by **Begbie** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 1:26 am

Even in pristine conditions, would it be advisable to go to the tip by yourself?

Surely this is a minimum 2 truck convoy, preferably 3?

I have seena bit of WA and NT in the wet, and river crossing arent even possible in boats most of the time - me wonders if this chapo has even seen what the wet is? Its not5 for extreme drivers, its for extreme boat pilots...

Post by **80lsy gq** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 5:51 am

[quote="BUNDERA"]so getting to the very tip by around the 20th of December would be too late in the wet?

I do not have a time limit for the trip up to the tip as you will always be held up by crossings or breakages. So I do have some time to wait out "slightly" swollen rivers.

This is the only time i can go, as uni holidays are then!!!!

A Lifted lux, 33"MTR's, Warn 8000 winch, locked diffs, snorkel, long range tank and heaps of recovery gear.... along with the mighty 2.8L Diesel :cool:

Powerhouse is a pretty capeble truck... but of course it is the drivers skill that is the key to it all.... Forgetting about the skill of my driving, the vehicle should be able to do it easy in the dry aslong as it is driven well.

So with a bit of skill, a lot of fuel,water and food, is it possible in the wet?

Boost on!

Cheers,

:shock:

DUDE.. all i can say is i hope that your snatch strap is about 100 kms long andyour 33mtrs are able to inflate like balloons... you really need to listen to whats been said.....D O N T G O !!!!!!!!

catch a plane and fly up... will probably cost heaps less in the long run....... and you will get back alive

Post by **BundyRumandCoke** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 5:58 am

Going to the tip by yourself isnt really a problem. September 1992, The missus, out 2 young (3 & 1 1/2) girls, and myself headed up in a 1L Sierra, towing a trailer. A recipe for disaster, you might think, but we took our time. We did the return trip from Rocky in 4 weeks. We made no definate plans like trying to get to a particular spot by a certain time. We just took our time, and enjoyed the trip. We did the telegraph track both ways, plus the main routes to Chilli beach and Weipa. We even forded the Jardine both ways. Some we saw, obviously had tight time frames, as they were travelling at stupid speeds. The speeds, along with the corregations, and creek crossings are what do the damage, in my opinion. Surely it is the adventure of getting there that is the trip itself. Sure, we had some problems, but nothing too dramatic. And you will find that on the main roads, there are plenty of other people willing to assist.
As for travelling up during the wet, I agree with the comments previous. Dont bother, for all the reasons mentioned.

Post by **supanovarover** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 8:49 am

wait til june and i will show you some good spots im from cairns and are keen to get a posse to do the cape anyone else keen

Post by **Mick_n_Sal** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 4:02 pm

Thread Hijack Alert !!!!!
Cape Trip Next June - Sounds Great !!!

Mick_n_Sal

Post by **v8zuki** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 9:23 am

i went fun but scary in the wet call me 0732834773 mick

Post by **aloa9061** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 11:29 am

stupid and irresponsible!

Post by **munga** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:29 am

reminds me of one of those tacky plastic signs you see on workshop service desks

" you want to go to the cape when? "

ahahahahahaha
(pig flys past)

crikey, youre friggin mad.

even malcolm bloody douglas says its a bad idea to go up the cape in the wet, unless its in a charter boat.

Post by **brighty** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:38 am

nahhh, I reckon let the bloke go(I know, not good advice... BUT) atleast he might make it into the 'Darwin Awards' for removing himself from the gene pool in the stupidest of ways when any sensible man just wouldn't even try it!!!

For those who don't know the Darwin Awards..... go get a laugh www.darwinawards.com

Post by **Kev80** » Sun Oct 17, 2004 8:47 pm

Forget the flooded creeks etc.......how hot would that time of year be ?

Stick to the cooler months i recon.

Post by **shortgq** » Sun Oct 17, 2004 9:21 pm

if u go now......... TAKE YA FLOATIES DUDE :lol:

Post by **Nev62** » Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:57 pm

You said time was not a problem! Cool! drive to Carins, find a nice campsite and then head off to the tip.... 4 to 6 months later :roll:

Like someone else above pointed out, it is not just the impassable conditions and things with teeth to be concerned about. Even the smallest narsties are just that, Nasty. Ross River Fever just to name one is a real b1tch!

Post by **DamTriton** » Mon Oct 18, 2004 3:12 am

FNQ and beyond at that time of year on an "unnecessary" traveling 4WD holiday = Darwin Award wannabe.

4WD is for getting yourself out of trouble, not into it.

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Cape York Trip December-Early Jan (Wet Season) ?

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