The Ultimate 7000mi Australian Pilgrimage: Cape York!

ben.dicoot

Local Expert, Victoria Australia
Launch Member
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Contributor III

931
Wodonga, Victoria, Australia
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2552

Hey overlanders!
On the first of July my girlfriend and I are embarking on the trip of a lifetime. We will be spending six weeks on the road and covering approximately 11000km (7000miles)
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We are taking my trusty Nissan (https://www.overlandbound.com/forum...ntier-build-australia.3382/page-2#post-113362) and detouring to see some bucket list items on our way. So here goes...
Part 1: Wodonga VIC to Maleny QLD
IMG_3894.JPG The first week takes us out to the east coast and up past Sydney and Brisbane to our friends Wedding in Maleny. Here we're staying in a hotel... apparently the better half would like a bathroom to get ready for the wedding!
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From Maleny we take the short drive out to inskip point. Here we catch the ferry to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. We spend a couple of days driving the beaches and inland fresh water lakes before catching another ferry across to Hervey Bay and continue north up the coast. We have a Great Barrier Reef tour in Cairns and tackle the infamous CREB track in the Daintree rainforest and double back to cape tribulation.
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From Cape Trib we stock up in Cooktown and make our way to Maytown and Laura on the Old Coach Road. This is a technical trail with many gold rush relics. Onwards to bramwell junction and the start of the old telegraph track. This track was made to service a telegraph line and is now a famous "bucket list" track with many vertical drop offs into deep rivers. We will camp on the beach at Punsand Bay for a couple of nights.IMG_3897.JPG
From the Tip we make our way down to the gulf of carpenteria at Karumba. Zig zagging our way down through the central Australian outback. There's not much out here! A majority of this section will be dirt roads.
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Back on the tar at broken hill and following the Murray river (Australia's longest river) home.

I will endeavour to meet up with other Australian OB members along the way too!

Will update with photos once we're on our way.
Cheers, Ben.
 
Sorry for the lack of updates on this thread. As soon as we returned I started a new job and moved house... life hey!

The first week went by without incident. Beach hopping our way up the east coast. Our friends wedding overlooked the incredible Glasshouse Mountains... WOW. Will definitely be back here for some low range exploring.
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We then caught the ferry to Fraser Island. The freedom of driving along the beach was like no other. We spent three days and two nights camping on the beach, as well as exploring some of the inland island sights.
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One of the great ways that small towns attract tourists is by having a "big" thing...IMG_4032.jpgThis is the big mango at Bowen, believed to be the first place mangoes were grown in Australia.

As we continued into far North Queensland the weather was just beautiful. We were in shorts and shirts while our familys were freezing at home down south. After a couple of weeks on the road we were setting up like a well oiled machine. With awning and tent up in less than 10 minutes
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Tucked into the Daintree Rainforest at Cape Tribulation
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We toured inland to drive the famous old coach road between the now ruins of Maytown and Laura. Gold was discovered in the mid 1800's and two years later 30,000 called Maytown home. All that's left is the gutter in the Main Street.
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The track itself was insane. Rough and rocky it took 9 hours to cover 75km. A few 1 metre high rock ledges took some paint off the steel barwork but that's why they were fitted.
By now we were in Cape York country. Dry, isolated, unforgiving. Incredibly tough on man and machine. We carried 4 days of food and water at any time, and I carried out daily vehicle checks to keep everything in top condition.
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^Aboriginal cave art

We criss-crossed our way up the peninsula to take on as many sights as we could. We had a couple of nervous moments mostly confined to river crossings. My girlfriend becomes nervous when the water is deeper than the bonnet for some reason... that's what 12 month old/$50k 4x4's are made for!
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One of the few "bridges" up north. Generally shallow rivers are driven through and deep rivers had a ferry to catch... at a price of course!
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Eliots falls, one of the few swimming holes that are crocodile free.
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We had driven north for a month but we made it! The two tiny islands 100m away do take away from the feeling that you are at the northern most point however.

We pretty drove due south home. There really is nothing in the middle of Australia, with 400-500km between towns. Highlights on the trip home were the QANTAS founders museum and Australian Stockmans (cowboys) Hall of Fame, both in Longreach QLD. And visiting the Mt Panorama race track and Blue Mountains, in NSW.

I had a great time living on the road for six weeks with my girlfriend, both having full time jobs and sporting commitments it was really nice to spend so much time together exploring the great country we live in.
The little Datsun didn't skip a beat and ended up delivering excellent fuel economy of 11.5l/100k fully loaded.

We tend to swap yearly between overseas and overland travel but I'm already keen to head into central Australia to see Uluru and cross the Simpson desert!

Sorry for such a long post but it was a long trip!
Happy travels, Ben
 

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Snow at Cabramurra
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The Big Trout-Adaminaby
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First night camp at Narooma
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Typical lunch stop on the road
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Big prawn-Ballina
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Inskip ferry
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Strolling out to champagne pools, Fraser Island
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Camping on the beach at Fraser
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Making tracks towards Maytown
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Old Laura Homestead. The only local source of food (in this case beef) on the cape during the gold rush
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Lily lagoon, Lakefield National Park
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Entry to Palm creek, Old Tele Track. This was a sheer 2m drop
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It doesn't matter what you drive!
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Qantas founders museum, Longreach. Highly recommended-a great Aussie story of success against all odds
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Brolgas at Longreach caravan park
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Dubbo western plains zoo
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Pole position, Mt Panorama Bathurst
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Jenolan caves township
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The aftermath


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