peter replied:

ben i did the cape last year in 3 weeks from byron bay. 2 days drive eachway to cairns then 16 days up and back. we loved it had a ball stopped where we liked and didnt feel too rushed even though i would have liked more time.travelled over 7000 km. besides the hard slog to cairns the driving is part of the trip. id strongly recommend ron moons book on cape york, his travel tips are a great help planning. try to drive the creb track at least one way and the telegraph track both ways. we were disappointed with thursday island, besides the 1hour informative tour on the island its $90 for a 3 hour boat trip and a couple of hours at the pub. sept should be hot and dry and two tips travel light and relax.

mudlux replied:

You'd be pushing it! we did 4 weeks from brisbane and it wasn't
long enough. I spose you could do it, get to carins as quick as
possible don't bother about thursday island do the OLTT as the
development road is very rough. Make sure you visit Wiepa (good
fishing), Chilli beach and The LIONS DEN pub just outside of cooktown
then head through the daintree towards cairns.

Excellent trip want to get back up there soon.

Cashy replied:

Ben,

It is possible to make it from Sydney to Carins in two long days, if you have 2 drivers per car. We did it last year but had 4 weeks Sydney to Sydney. I would recommend the Lions Den pub as a good spot to camp and have a feed. The OTL is the way to go as it is less crrugated then the by-pass roads, and it is the real reason to go there. The minimum time to see the basics and get a taste of the cape i would say is 3 weeks but that will involve traveling most days, and not much of a relaxing holiday. You will have to miss most of the side trips to fit it in the 3 weeks you have. But given 3 days each way travel you still have 15 days in the cape which will get you to the top and to Weipa and back to Cairns. The burgers at the Archer river road house are worth stopping for even if you are in a rush.

Cashy

Nigel replied:

Send me your fuel money and I'll do the trip for you :)

Might even video it so you can see how much fun you missed...

A mate of mine went to the tip and back (we are just south of cairns) in 6 days and still managed to do quiet a bit of fishing. Of course you can't see everything in that time, but you can still have a good trip.