Cape York September 2016 was our first real adventure in our 4x4. We flew the 2 younger kids to Cairns with Dayel whilst Aspen and Andrew drove to Cairns. In Cairns we met some of our travelling companions (Andrew’s parents) and headed north to Cross the Daintree Ferry where we met up with our other travelling companions. Our plans evolved as we travelled and we did not have many campsites pre booked (during peak times you need to book in advance). We travelled up the Bloomfield track and stayed the night at the Lions Den Hotel. From here we ventured into Cooktown. We then headed to Old Laura and then north to Kalpowar Crossing to camp for the night. There were great campsites with toilets and showers which were in the process of being renovated.

Next, we headed to Archer River Roadhouse (with a stop for lunch at the Exchange Hotel in Coen on the way), we camped at Archer River Roadhouse for the night and enjoyed the Archer burgers. There are plenty of grassy sites, with showers, toilets and the kiosk/shop/bar. We then continued on to Weipa and stayed several nights at the Weipa Caravan Park. The pool was great, there was a Woolworths close by and there was the main industrial area which was for any car repairs and parts. The location of the park is amazing however you need to remind yourselves you are in crocodile territory.

When we left Weipa we headed for Bramwell Station with a stop at the Moreton Telegraph Station for lunch. There were nice looking campsites and facilities at the station and we enjoyed a lunch there. We pulled into Bramwell Roadhouse, they had a buffet dinner they served as well as a full bar with a happy hour. There was a huge amount of space for camping with toilets and shower facilities. Many people were using this as a space to base themselves and then drive the Old Telegraph Track without their trailer and or all their gear. We stayed one night, got up early and hit the southern end of the Old Telegraph Track. Being September it was late in the season following a wet season with minimal rain. As a result many of the river crossings were on the lower side with most of the entries and exits being less intimidating than photos from wetter seasons.

We stayed the night at Eliot Falls campground which is a great option for breaking up the southern and northern sections of the Old Telegraph Track. When we were there you could swim around the falls. There were a range of campsites and a drop toilet. In hindsight we would’ve enjoyed staying a second night. We continued to the Northern section and the change in vegetation is quite amazing. Toward the end there were some deeper crossings. No, we didn’t do the harder options at Gunshot and yes we made it through Nolans Brook, it definitely was not as deep as I have seen in photos prior and since so we were lucky. We camped the night near the end of the Old Telegraph Track and then headed for the Jardine River, we crossed the river and spent 4 nights at Loyalty Beach which we loved. The facilities were great, the on-sight restaurant was very handy and staff were very friendly. We did a day trip to “the tip” and ticked off a bucket list item for many in the group, we checked out Punsand Bay, went into Bamaga and Seisa. At the time if you came to the Bamaga supermarket just after a delivery there was a significant range of groceries. We also explored some of the surrounding plane wrecks and some of the group went over to Thursday Island.

We started our trip back south, crossed the Jardine River and then stopped for a swim a Fruit Bat Falls. Shortly after leaving Fruitbat Falls we started having some car issues, we had picked up some dirty fuel. We limped the car into Hann River Roadhouse and we were lucky that they had a compatible fuel filter which solved our problem. We then headed for Mareeba and Atherton before slowly making our way back to Brisbane. We learnt a lot on this trip but really enjoyed our first adventure and sparked our desire to see more of Australia.