Our big adventure to Cape York

Hi, Think Carmilla may be a bit far from the Gold Coast for the first day. I would aim for the Calliope R on day 1 then Carmilla Beach the second day. Maybe Bushie Parker north of Townsville day 3. Mpunt Molloy after that then on to the Cape. Can't help you with the cape as it is still on my to do list, How long are you travelling for? Gold Coast to the Tip & return should take about 3 months the we travel Bill

Pick up a copy of Ron Moons Cape York Guide book. Very useful for planning & includes alot of detail so you wont miss anything.
Cheers Craig............

G'day Jules,

As has been suggested a month is a short time and I appreciate the need for speed to get there and maximize your time on the Cape. We have done the trip four times and usually travel with adults which works OK but last year we did a trip which included 7 cars and two young families. It was a whole different experience travelling with new travellers and young kids that needed to be fed and sleep on a regular basis outside of our normal habits. This slowed us down a lot but meant we had to speed between the stops. It was the most rushed trip we have ever done.

No trip to the Cape is ever a bad trip and we had a ball because we never lost our sense of humour. We have done the trip in two days from Brisvegas but that is pretty quick and we need some relaxation time once in Cairns. Our Modus operendi is to meet in Cairns to allow everyone to travel at their own speed. We normally meet at the Cairns Coconut Caravan Park because it is conveniently located on the road into Cairns.

Get the Ron Moon as suggested it will help you plan what to see and do. Just remember it is about 1000 k to the tip from Cairns.

Kind regards

Theo

I thought that I red somewhere that parts of the peninsula development road are closed for 7 months due to rain damage. May be advisable to check it out and be prepared for alternatives in your agenda.

Regards

M

Follow up to PDR

Check this site out http://www.cooktownandcapeyork.com/cook/roads

It is the cook shire council web site and is quite informative

Regards

M

I have been to The Cape 5 times in the last 9 years and with that amount of experience we can manage a great campsite every night.
On your first trip it is hard to manage the time you have every day to see the things you want to see and also find wonderful campspots.
Like our first trip we managed a great camp spot now and then but mostly just scraped through and battled with other campers for prime position.
Use your first trip to bounce along and then your next trip will be the best trip you have ever had.
We are also going in July this year, the creeks will be low and the corrugations will be large.
Just remember, anyone that tells you to ride the corrugations like a wave is kidding themselves, slow is the go,........................

I too have been a few times - you are welcome to see our latest trip blog which was last year at Grant & Linda - it may help you with some of the places that we went and give you some ideas.

I agree with others comments about Ron & Viv Moon's book, however I would suggest that if you can try to get an older version of their Cape York book (maybe ebay) would be beneficial as the new version has been cut down by almost half of what they produced years ago.

The trip to the Cape is a real enjoyable experience...it may not be the last frontier due it's accessibility these days, but it's a lot of fun. I think you'll have a great time, just don't rush it.

Jules,
with 5 families travelling you are going to need some certainty. It will be very busy in the school holidays and I recommend that where possible you pre-book whatever camp sites you need. A number of places that you probably want to vist will be full, with no room for 5 families.
have fun
ian

Hi guys,
We did a quick trip from Brisbane to the Cape in three weeks with 2 days to Cairns.

We didn't see everything but we did see these places, Daintree, Cooktown, The Falls, The Tip, Fishing the Jacky Jacky, Thursday Island, Chillagoe Caves and Paronella Park at Innisfail. Didn't bother with Weipa.

You may not want to visit all these, so substitute your own favourites, however we did love the trip through the Daintree to Cooktown, it's like an oasis after the dust of the Cape.

The road is like a highway if you sit on 80ks, just slow down for the dips, and don't swear about the dust in front of the childen.

We camped at the various Roadhouses along the way for $10 a nigh and don't miss out on a burger at Archer River.

Good Luck

from the 12 of feb this year a lot of camp sites have to be booked in advance except when u cross the jardine camping fees r included with the ferry price

No worries guys,

Send us a message at geoff.hardiker@hotmail.com and I will send you a list of the food and camping gear we took and our itinerary. We didn't stick to the itinerary strictly, sometimes we stayed longer sometimes we moved on quicker, but at least you know where you have to be at certain times to get home on time.
Regards
Geoff