Dingo
Founding Club Member Member is offline If it's got an engine , wheels or tits it's gunna cost money
Posts: 1,731
|
Posted: Nov 1st, 2009 at 03:09 pm
|
|
|
Day One:5th October
Left Sydney made it to Brisbane no problems.
Re-packed the vehicles to get on the train, amazing just how much stuff you can pack into a Surf and an 80 series. 
Day Two:
Boarded the train at approx 8am
The vehicles were loaded before we got on and we sort of forgot to take a few more pics of this but as you can see the cars are fully covered inside the train
At about 10am the train supervisiour came up and asked for me and said,
Mr Underwood we have a problem with your vehicle. 
Me: whats the problem
Him: your keys have been left in Brisbane
Me: WTF? , Lucky for you I have a spare set on me.
Him: we thought you did say that when you left the vehicle to be loaded. So all is OK.
Me: yep but what about the keys.
Him: well Air Express them to Cairns so they will be waiting for you up there.
Me: OK
Later that day Jamie locked all of us out of our cabin 
Later that night Graham and myself went clubbing on the train  and they cut us off at 9pm 
Grahams vehicle loaded into the train
Day 3: was much the same, eat relax, sleep and watch the scenery go by.
Arrived Cairns at approx 4:15pm and didn’t have to wait too long for the vehicles to be unloaded.
Graham led the way to the Caravan park
Caravilla Caravan & Leisure Park
where we checked in for 2 days and a night.
PICS HERE LATER
Day 4:
Used as a rest day to get supplies last minuet items, spares and permits and give the vehicles a once over and repack the vehicles to the travelling and camping setups.
Kylie and Jessica arrived via plane and Graham picked the up from the airport.
We had a feed of fish and chips for tea and I went to find Sebastian who was my passenger for the trip.
Day5:
Woke up early and picked Seb up, got back to the Cabin where Graham and myself finished packing and orginising the vehicles.
Left Cairns to start the actual trip, approx 10:20am Headed for the Daintree
Made a couple of stops along the way to pick up last minuet supplies and fuel.
Arrived at Daintree approx 1:20pm looked around the souvenir shop and got some lunch to eat on the way and some directions to the C.R.E.B (Cairns Region Electricity Board) Track
So it begins.
The sign we wanted to see
The Drivers
The Vehicles
Directions
The Start Of the CREB Track
A group of bike riders came the other way so we waited for them to cross first.
Through the gate and across the river the through another gate.
The C.R.E.B. Track is just that a track
[yt]aC_rfXFg8ds[/yt]
You can imagine how much harder it was in the past when they were establishing the route for the power/phone lines once you drive along here but as it goes it wasn’t that bad to do in the dry but can see why it is closed for a few days when it rains and is closed for the wet season. Some of the hills are fairly steep and would be extremely slippery in wet conditions.
Along the way you can see the old poles that they are now removing.
I would say that it would be harder doing the track from North to South rather than the way we did it from South to North.
We acquired permits in Cairns to be able to camp at Roaring Meg Falls
After making the required phone call
(via Sat Phone)
to the local people to advise them that we were nearly there we were advised to be a bit careful of the roads as they were a bit dusty up that way.
Directions
The Gate
Arrived at the camp grounds. approx ….. set up our first camp of the trip
While Graham & myself set up camp Kylie ,Jamie, Jessica and Seb took a walk down to the beach area for a swim.
On there return we had tea a few drinks and went to sleep.
PICS HERE LATER
« Last Edited by
Dingo
Today at 07:13 pm »
|
|
 Logged |
|
Heaven won't take me 'cause I've been bad
Hell won't have me 'cause they reckon I'll take over.
|
|
|
Dingo
Founding Club Member Member is offlineIf it's got an engine , wheels or tits it's gunna cost money
Posts: 1,731
|
|
Posted: Nov 1st, 2009 at 03:12 pm
|
|
|
Day 6:
Got up had breakfast decided to pack up camp before going to the falls.
With all the info from different books etc we were under the impression that males were not allowed at the top of the falls (Aboriginal custom) however all the walking trails only led to the top of the falls. Although it was a nice view it would have been better from the bottom as well.
After a walk of about 1.2km we arrived at the falls Swimming at the falls is a bit hard as it is fast flowing water and most of the rocks were fairly slippery but everyone got wet.
A short walk 1.2km back to the vehicles seen us back on the road again.
More of the same sort of dusty dirt track driving was encountered.
The end of the C.R.E.B. comes out on Dawnvale Station
MMMM Dingo Baits I better beware
And upon crossing Granite Creek crossing and stopping for a bit of a break I noticed a small oil leak from one of my transmission hoses but it wasn’t that bad and decided to carry on to the Lions Den before repairing but as fate would have it, it got worse and had to do a repair job on the side of the road, approx time 2:10pm.
More PICS later
After the repair we continued on to the Lions Den
We arrived at our next destination approx 4:15pm, The Lions Den
The place isn't this Green. (might be eairler in the season but I doubt it.)
Set up the tents again and as there was a shortage of wood around (it could be purchased from a young bloke for $10) we decided to eat at the pub and have a few drinks
PICS FROM LIONS DEN.
Mrs Cool at Lions Den
You are encouraged to leave your mark.
Day 7:
Lions Den to Hann River
Left Lions Den and proceeded to Cook Town to obtain a few more supplies and hopefully a spare bit of hose for me.
Cook Town:
We found the local supermarket and bottle shop and stocked up.
Found the Shell servo for fuel and hopefully a spare bit of hose.
We now have the one and only bad report about the trip.
I will not go into this in great detail but it must be mentioned.
Upon asking the attendant in the servo about a spare bit of hose I was told to ask the boys in the mechanical shop that was adjoined to the servo (Coles Express to be precise).
Now it was a Sunday and the mechanical shop is suppose to to be closed but the guys that work there were there working on their own vehicles.
Upon being sent to them to ask for a bit of hose they refused to even look for a bit because it was there day off and I would have to come back tomorrow (Monday).
Upon requesting a second time, politely I was basically accused of making trouble and asked if I wanted to take it any further with them.
Really bad form from this place and these people.
We later found out from different people all the way to “The Tip” that the guys running this place really have a bad rep for shit like this and are known as “The Golden Spanner Boys”
I must say that yes it was a Sunday and there day off but I did not need them to spend time and fix anything just a 2 minuets of there time to find a bit of hose and they were there and the doors were open.
Emails were sent later to different places and apologies were sent back and also stating that this place would basically be looked at. (Graham may put more here about it if he wants to about the replies)
I will leave this bit of the report there as I don’t want to go on about it other than to say if you can avoid the Shell servo in Cook Town whilst it is under the Golden Spanner Boys control do so and use one of the other servos on the outskirts of town.
Enough Said
« Last Edited by
Dingo
Today at 07:44 pm »
|
|
Logged |
|
Heaven won't take me 'cause I've been bad
Hell won't have me 'cause they reckon I'll take over.
|
|
|
Dingo
Founding Club Member Member is offlineIf it's got an engine , wheels or tits it's gunna cost money
Posts: 1,731
|
|
Posted: Nov 1st, 2009 at 03:15 pm
|
|
|
So back on the road to what was going to be a bush camp along one of the back tracks but ended up finishing at Hann River Rd House.
The reason for the change of plans was after travelling along Battlecamp Rd which I consider to be the worst road we encountered throughout the whole trip that slowed us down quiet a bit and another leaking hose from the Surf (low pressure power steering hose). We first headed for Laura to see about some hose to fix the Surf again.
Laura is a small but welcome place after Battleamp Rd and this is where I reckon I had the best bit of real outback help on the trip.
Going to the general store I asked the old bloke there if he could help me with a bit of hose to fix the Surf , steering is a bit heavy without power steering. (doh)
He didn’t stock and “parts” for any vehicle but I didn’t expect that , and he said wait here I’ll go look for something. He came back with a bit of high pressure air hose off his compressor and 2 stainless clamps to hold it and then didn’t want and money for it. How’s that compared to Cook Town.
I forced him to take a redback and go get a few beers for himself after he closed the store that night, Hugh thanks to him.(I think his mane was Les)
Whilst the others enjoyed a feed and a cold drink I fixed the Surf AGAIN, Bloody Surfs.
LAURA PICS
All fixed and cleaned up and on our way again up the PDR (Peninsular Development Road) we pulled into Hann River Road House at approx 7pm that night.
Set up a quick camp,(no cooking stuff) and walked backup to the Café to get something to eat but found the Café closed at 8pm , something we neglected to look at when we arrived otherwise we would have eaten first then set up camp so it was microwave pies and sausage rolls for tea along with a few drinks, then bed at approx 11pm
Day 8:
Hann River to Archer River
Seen me up at 5am, and went for a walk down by the river (approx 1km) and decided it looked good enough for a fish so walked back got my fishing gear and woke Seb up to come fishing
.Walked back down and flicked the lures around for about an hour but nothing so went back to camp and waited for everyone else to rise.
By the way
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAHAM
After breakfast we packed up had a shower and on the road again to Archer River Road house Via Musgrave Road house and Coen where I discovered that somewhere between Musgrave and Coen all the front bolts in the fuel tank bash plate had fallen out and the bash plate was bouncing on the exhaust, bloody Surfs.
Now you would think that somewhere in Coen you would be able to get some spare bolts, no such luck as the RACQ depot has moved to Wepia 250km a way and no one keeps anything at all to do with vehicles although you can get tyre repairs done there still so out with the cable ties to try to hold it up, it sort of lasted till Archer River Road House.
We got there early enough to set up a good camp and cook a decent meal on the Hillbilly’s.
Now all the reference books tell you that at Archer River you can get mechanical repairs done, wrong, but there groundsman was able to help with some new bolts the correct size and a spare bit of hose at last just in case I needed it. At least also there was some sort of grass on the ground to camp on.
Also we had a party for Grahams Birthday, he’s 41 now.
|
|
Logged |
|
Heaven won't take me 'cause I've been bad
Hell won't have me 'cause they reckon I'll take over.
|
|
|
Dingo
Founding Club Member Member is offlineIf it's got an engine , wheels or tits it's gunna cost money
Posts: 1,731
|
|
Posted: Nov 1st, 2009 at 03:16 pm
|
|
|
Day 9::
Archer River to Cockatoo Creek
Left Archer River at approx 10:30, the roads up till now have been fairly good except for Battlecamp Road.
So off we go towards Bramwell Junction, the kick off point for the OTL (Old Telegraph Line).
First stop we named Jesica’s Sign
PIC
Then onto Morton Telegraph Station where we talk to Ranger Kathy who gave us some good info on the tracks ahead. To this point this year an average of 174 vehicles per day have used the PDR which is a lot according to her. She was also very happy that the road crews were working right outside the Station as it
From Morton Telegraph to Bramwell Junction all roads were pretty good.
A bit of a bite to eat at Bramwell Junction and it off onto the OTL with our aim to get to Elliot falls by nightfall.
The track itself isn’t too bad for the traffic it’s had so good progress was made crossing (insert creeks here)
Upon advice from Ranger Kathy we bypassed Gunshot and went around to the Northern side to have a look at the Southern entries to Gunshot.
Played around a little and that’s where I did the CV.
We ere not going to make the falls this night so we thought about camping at Gunshot but the place is like a tip and very disappointing plus full of ants nest probably because of the rubbish left around.
So off we go to Cockatoo Creek instead to find a campsite, busted CV and all..After getting to Cockatoo Creek and having a quick look at the crossing as it was getting dark and we couldn’t really find a good campsite on the southern side we decided to cross over to the northern side in very dark twilight.
We got through with no problems eventually found a decent spot to camp and set up.
Once I set up my tent I then got to work replacing the CV.
Had it pulled out by 10pm and thought it best to call it a night and put the spare in in the morning.
It had been a long day.
Day 10:
Cockatoo to Siesia.
Somewhere along here the 80 busted an exhaust mount, bloody 80’s. I think it was somewhere after Cockatoo.
Got up early and started to put the spare CV in finished it at approx 10am got cleaned up from bloody dirty CV grease then packed up the camp and off we went to Fruitbat Falls..
Fruitbat Falls a great place for a swim. NO CROCS. Really nice place
After the swim off we went to Elliot and Twin Falls.
Twin Falls another good place to take a relaxing dip
Elliot falls is really just for looking at.
So off to get to the ferry before 5:00pm which meant a bit of faster driving to be done or we would have to camp on the Southern side till morning. Graham got a little to close to a tree at speed and done this..
Finally hit the PDR again and was doing close to 130kph to make the Ferry, nice piece of road.
Made it with about 2 minuets to spare and I think we were the last to cross for the day.
On to see the Northern side of the Old Jardine vehicle crossing and found something missing.
On the way again and got into Siesia just as the sun was going down and still hadn’t decided where we were going to stay as I couldn’t remember which Caravan Park my mates were staying at and I couldn’t get in touch with them. So we went to see Loyalty beach Caravan Park but it seemed to be all dirt and dust.
Off to Siesia Holiday Park, it wasn’t much better but it was getting late so we stayed there.
Checked out what time the restaurant closed and had tea before setting up camp.
The Park office was closed and the restaurant cook told us to just take any spot and fix things with the office in the morning.
Must say it was a good feed.
Days 11, 12, 13,14 and 15.
We somehow got lost in time and figured out we got to Siesia a day early but figured it out that because we bypassed the backtracks near Battlecamp Rd because of the roads and the bloody Surf’s hose problems we actually picked up a day because we had planned that area to take 2 days. So we had an extra rest and repair day. Which was needed anyway.
After a few phone calls and talking to the park office I was able to obtain an A Frame villa to stay in.
Graham was going to move to Punsand Bay as it is better set up for the kids to go swimming etc and also has a bar from which Kylie and Graham could watch the kids in the pool.
However, Graham went to see Top End Mechanics to see if he could get the exhaust mount fixed but it couldn’t be done till the next day so he and the tribe stayed over in the villa and got the vehicle fixed the next day then made the move to PunsandBay.
We had a few days to ourselves to do whatever we wanted and meet up again on day 13 to go to the Tip and surrounding places.
Fairly easy drive a few corrugated bits but not to bad
PICS
|
|
Logged |
|
Heaven won't take me 'cause I've been bad
Hell won't have me 'cause they reckon I'll take over.
|
|
|
Dingo
Founding Club Member Member is offlineIf it's got an engine , wheels or tits it's gunna cost money
Posts: 1,731
|
|
Posted: Nov 1st, 2009 at 03:18 pm
|
|
|
Day 16:
Seen us on our way again heading for Weipa. Fairly uneventful drive, missing the shortcut across from the PDR to the Wepia rd so we had to go an extra 80k. approx might have been more.
Got into Weipa approx 1:00pm only to find that there was no mine tour on the next day, the only thing we went to Weipa for.
Stayed in a cabin in Weipa as tents had taken there toll on those who put them up.
Day17: Wepia to Musgrave
Fairly uneventful drive nothing to actually report.
Stoped and camped at Musgrave Road House and must say it is a nice place to camp.
Even set up early enough to relax a bit.
TO BE CONTINUED LATER AND ADD PICS>
I'VE LOCKED THIS AT PRESENT SO I CAN FINISH IT BEFORE ANY COMMENTS.
|
|
Logged |
|
Heaven won't take me 'cause I've been bad
Hell won't have me 'cause they reckon I'll take over.
|
|
|
CApe York Report - (Read 66 Times)