bloomfield track

Greggo
I did the Bloomfield track 2 weeks ago in a Rodeo. You will have no problems at all. I would suggest that you upgrade the suspension rather than the snorkel, or both if the budget allows, but the creek crossings were very shallow and unless they have had some rain since then (dont think they have) you will have no problem at all.
Take the time to take in all the sites and some of the secret swiiming holes. There is a great swimming hole about 4 klms Nth of Cape tribulation township. (I forget its name) that no one knows about. Park at the crossing and look for the white gate. Follow the walking track for about 10 mins. Absolutely stunning. we stumbled upon some backpackers who had very few inhibitions, if you know what I mean :-))))) Was definatly worth the short walk. :-)))))

We just got back last week
We saw a falcon station wagon driven by a couple of locals and they got through although the creek crossings ( 2 off ) had their exhaust in the water.
You can easily get through with any sort of 4 be if you have low ratio
a couple of steep rises will slow you down but that is what you need to do - slow down. enjoy
suggest camp at caravan park at Mossman and then travel through to Lions Den and camp down the back beside the creek
stop at the Bloomfield river falls by turning left just over the bridge which is in slight need of repair but not a problem.
There is a nice camp ground on the right hand side just before bitumen ends but you have to phone a book a site and you dont get mobile coverage

Greggo,

Unless it's changed in the last ten years, and it doesn't sound like it has, it's an easy drive.

My only advice is when you get to the Bloomfield River stop and wait and watch someone else go through. The depth can vary according to how much rain there has been inland. It's not a crossing you would want to walk; crocs.

Cheers,

Jim.

The Bloomfield river has a causeway across it for the last few years, and the entire road can be done in 2 w.d. drive between June and Sep.I wouldn't be suprised if it were bitumised in the next year or two and in my opinion the more development in this area is only degrading the beauty of the region.Enjoy it while it lasts.

Thanks for the advice peoples :>

greggo

Also you can drive to the mouth of the Bloomfield river just north of Wujal Wujal. Nice spot to have lunch or even camp the night. Saw a few snakes there though and did NOT swim due to the local snapdragons.

We did it after 3 days heavy rain about 5 weeks ago in a swb patrol with 2" body lift and 50mm suspension lift and the bottom of the doors just dipped into the water on one creek.
The track could almost all be done in 2wd except the last hill to the lions den where it was a mudslide after a combination of grading and rain. (It was still easy but we painted the whole truck chocolate brown)
I'm sure it'll have dried up now.
A Cape trib local told me there is a plan to seal it all the way over the next few years as the silt and erosion from the track is washing out in the creeks and damaging the reef offshore.
I think even if they do that it'll still be closed at times over the wet season due to the sheer volume of rainfall up there.
The inland track was our route back down from the Cape and it was fine. There are a lot of roadworks on it though between Cooktown and Lakefield as they are straightening the road and putting in plenty of big drains to make it a bit more durable in the wet season.

Did an easy drive up and back last year in the GU. Easy stuff, crossings are not deep. Kept getting passed by hired 2wd vehicles, going like the clappers. I thought they weren't even allowed north of the Daintree ferry!!!
Gerry

We did the bloomfield track in 2002. We were going to go straight up the track after a week at Noah's Beach in the Daintree but because we got flooded in for a few days we thought going back out and taking the inland road when the weather improved would be wise as we were not sure what to expect of the track.

We ended up driving from the north to the south after a month in cooktown and surrounds. From what I remember there were only two or three very steep climbs. One was not far from wujal wujal and a couple of steep sections about half way, (near cedar creek NP?) but they were bitumen.

All and all, it was definately one of the highlights of our trip. We did it in sept/oct and we only had two creeks to cross, both would have been no more than 20-30cms deep.

Have a great time!

Did it in the june/july school holidays last year. I was driving a 100 series and another group who drove with us were in a Rav 4. The Rav had no problems. There had been a bit of rain in the weeks prior so a couple of the creeks had a decent amount of water in them. It was raining quite heavily on the way back and the road was very slippery in places. If you look closely into the forest on some of the sharper bends you'll see some good collections of totalled cars, so take it easy, especially if it's wet.

Dont forget about the alcohol bans in the Aboriginal communities in that area. Big fines if you get caught.

matt

Well I did it five years ago in a Daihatsu Terios, after days of continuous (light) rain, so it's not hard at all. The Bloomfield River crossing is wide but easy because of the causeway. The other creeks tend to be rocky but firm, and no bother at all as long as there hasn't been a deluge. Exceptional conditions apart, almost anything with four wheels (except a Kluger perhaps :-) will breeze through.