Bloomfield track

Bloody good advice. Under ideal conditions, probably OK, but things change quickly after a downpour in the tropics. Leave Cooktown early in the morning drive down to the Bloomfield, then haed back for a beer at the Lion's Den and a Burger at Wilma's Country Kitchen (assume it's still there, it's been a few years).

Jim.

Thanks to sunseeker et al. advise and info taken on board. I will make final decision in Port Douglas. cheers

Steve and Sunseeker why bother having a 4wd if you don't make use of its capabilities. Any 4wd will handle, steer and brake much better and be more efficient when in 4wd on any loose surface. We drive the Bloomfield track virtually every day and put the vehicle in 4wd or lock the centre diff as soon as we leave the bitumen. Safety should always be your priority. Cheers Rob

The time we did the Bloomfield track it was very dry, not at all slippery in the slightest and as I have said, I would have had no problem getting a road car over it at that time. However if there was the slightest problem negotiating the track in 2wd, I would have been in 4wd, no problem and no second thoughts at all.

I know the charactoristics of the track change from day to day and also Rob is taking people on tours through the track who may not have much 4wd experience and getting them into 4wd sooner rather than later is a good idea.

We do use our 4wd (Troopy) to the max at times and do put it into 4wd as and when neccessary but if a track is smooth, dry and there are no traction problems, I usually leave it in 2wd.

We belong to several 4wd clubs and do trips that they run including hard trips (don't want to bend the Troopy so we steer clear of the extreme trips - and it is not setup for these trips anyway)

I may have had only a few years 4wd experience but have done a lot of tracks in that time. I also have spent 27 years driving a rally car in all conditions from bituimum to deep mud so know how to read a road pretty well.

Steve