Comment: Bloomfield Track

Submitted: Sunday, Oct 02, 2011 at 19:06

ThreadID: 89348 Views:3416 Replies:4 FollowUps:6

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Bloomfield Track

The Bloomfield Track offers a delightful Trek though the World Heritage listed Rainforest area of Far North Queensland on an unsealed track and provides a link between Cape Tribulation and Cooktown.

Bloomfield Track

Section: Treks

The Bloomfield Track offers a delightful Trek though the World Heritage listed Rainforest area of Far North Queensland on an unsealed track and provides a link between Cape Tribulation and Cooktown.

Annekjaer

Drove from Cape Tribulation to Cooktown via Wujal Wujal in mid August 2011. The track...is not a track any more but an unsealed road. It is graded and descends to rivers are concreted ...and the crossing to Wujal Wujal is now a proper bridge. There are 2 wet crossings with a few rocks, but nothing I would not have crossed with my 2x4 Suzuki Swift. Possibly more difficult crossings when it rains. Still a beautiful drive, but not a 4x4 adventure it was when we did it in 1997.

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Reply By: Geoff H (Q - Sunday, Oct 02, 2011 at 21:03

Sunday, Oct 02, 2011 at 21:03

I know what you are saying, we went to the cape last year and after spending a fortune getting the 80 series ready for the expected treacherous terrain I was disappointed to see 2 Wheel drives happily making the trip.

Anyway it was a great adventure and we will certainly do the Bloomfield track again.

Regards

AnswerID: 466608

Follow Up By: Member - OnYaBike - Tuesday, Oct 04, 2011 at 00:46

Tuesday, Oct 04, 2011 at 00:46

Still, it pays to be prepared. The section through Heathlands Bypass hasn't been graded from around Capt Billy turnoff for a couple of years and the corrugations are noticeably worse between July and last week when I went through again. We camped on the Wenlock for a couple of nights and saw the Weipa RACQ recovery vehicle return with a Jayco Freedom with very sick suspension. I saw one broken spring as it passed. Are these meant for punishing conditions such as corrugations?

FollowupID: 740839

Follow Up By: Annekjaer - Monday, Oct 31, 2011 at 07:23

Monday, Oct 31, 2011 at 07:23

I will happily do the Bloomfield again. It was a beautiful drive. We had spend a fortune hiring a 4x4 to show some Danish friends a bit of Aussie off road driving, and that part was disappointing. If it had not been a hire car we would have done the CREB...Next time! We were very pleasantly surprised with the tar road from Cooktown to Atherton. It was beautiful and lots of wildlife. If the Bloomfield had been really good we would have missed that :-)

FollowupID: 743237

Reply By: landed eagle - Sunday, Oct 02, 2011 at 22:52

Sunday, Oct 02, 2011 at 22:52

I did a 4WD bus tour along the Bloomfield with the family and friends 2 weeks ago. Port D to Cooktown. The thing that struck me and my 14yr old son was the amount of discarded,empty alcohol cans and stubbies lying beside the track. Because it's called a track does this mean that people consider the rules of the road no longer apply? Made me wonder about the capacity of some of the drivers using the track.We stopped at a lookout and were passed by two 4WDs and everyone in the vehicles had cans of grog going.I'm no wowser and enjoy a beer as much as anyone....but not in the car.

AnswerID: 466622

Reply By: Patrol22 - Monday, Oct 03, 2011 at 08:49

Monday, Oct 03, 2011 at 08:49

The Bloomfield Track hasn't really been a "track" now for over 10 years. In the wet there are a couple of crossing that become impassable but you can usually get through. I don't remember when the concrete runners on those steep sections went in but they were there in 2001 when I went up to check out the then "new" Wenlock River Bridge near the Old Moreton Telegraph Station.
The Wujal Wujal bridge is only very new....couple of months at the best....the old causeway was washed away in the 2011 floods and the road was actually closed for quite some time to through traffic.

AnswerID: 466638

Follow Up By: Member - OnYaBike - Tuesday, Oct 04, 2011 at 00:38

Tuesday, Oct 04, 2011 at 00:38

I think the concrete runners went in in the mid 70's. It used to take us two hours from Lion's Den to Ayton - about 20 miles, mostly due to crawling over rocks in low range on those steep sections. The tracks took an hour off the trip, no doubt it is even faster now. There was no Cape Trib road then, of course.
The last time I went that way we went on the Cape Trib road to Wujal Wujal then on to China Camp. Must do the trip through to Cooktown again.

FollowupID: 740838

Reply By: vk1dx - Tuesday, Oct 04, 2011 at 08:59

Tuesday, Oct 04, 2011 at 08:59

We went up to the Cape last year and seeing the CREB was closed we thought the Bloomfield may be a bit of fun. Nothing further from the truth. It was just a dirt road with a few steep parts on it and a couple of creeks to cross. I would have happily taken my Kingswood up there. Please note that the Kingswood was a favourite to the point that it was NEVER touched or washed by anyone else but myself and our mechanics workshop owned by Doug Chivas place of Holden Dealer Team history.

That's how simple we thought the Bloomfield.

Phil

AnswerID: 466749

Follow Up By: vk1dx - Tuesday, Oct 04, 2011 at 09:01

Tuesday, Oct 04, 2011 at 09:01

PS: We did have a bit of 4WD fun on the OTL and Frenchmans. Especially Frenchmans just before it was closed.

Phil

FollowupID: 740851

Follow Up By: Member - blackbird1937 - Wednesday, Oct 05, 2011 at 11:38

Wednesday, Oct 05, 2011 at 11:38

When we went up the Bloomfield in 03 it would have been too greasy for the Kingswood . It is many of the so called tracks , they are not tracks anymore unless it rains . Most people are using 4x4 these days where they used 2 wheel drive in the past before WW 2 jeeps , blitzs etc . The old drivers just did it much harder , no mod cons .

FollowupID: 740952