Cape York trivia; arm chair explorer

[simmo]

I have dream to go to cape york. its' about 2200 kms Brisbane to cooktown.

How far it it from cooktown to cape york peninsula. I'm guessing quite a few have been there. It looks like to cooktown is just road driving, say four days easy driving taking in a few sights. those that went to CY , it looks like about another 700 kms. would you say about 5 days drive to CY from cook town? I don't want to trouble you too much just the general idea & distances. I'll buy a book when i get back to town, My search on google didn't reveal the distance, thanks simmo.

[TwoUp]

Get the book, Maps and talk to people. Also search this site as you will get links like Old Telegraph Track - Cape York - Northern Section - YouTube etc. Mr Youtube can help but personal training/ advise is better.

Cheers,
PeterW

[steveG]

We did a trip from Melb to CY a couple of years ago.
1 week Melb to Cairns (easy driving and sightseeing on the way)
2 weeks to the tip via Cooktown, Chilli beach, OTT etc
1 week back to Cairns.
No really big days, and a couple of 2 night stays along the way. Could be done quicker but you could also take a lot longer and soak it up.

Steve

[simmo]

We did a trip from Melb to CY a couple of years ago.
1 week Melb to Cairns (easy driving and sightseeing on the way)
2 weeks to the tip via Cooktown, Chilli beach, OTT etc
1 week back to Cairns.
No really big days, and a couple of 2 night stays along the way. Could be done quicker but you could also take a lot longer and soak it up.

Steve

Thanks Steve, for the advice, I'm currently at a remote location until mid june our internet doesn't support u tube, google is Ok Looks like june July august is the best time to go looking at the weather records. cheers simmo.

[Keithy P38]

Cooktown to the tip and back was 2,100km for me. That was via the tele track and frenchmans track once each. Did not go to Weipa, did not go to chilli beach.

Cheers
Keithy

[Keithy P38]

We travelled up via Battlecamp Rd just out of Cooktown, a pleasant drive and a good warm up for the corrugations we were about to see.

If you plan to do Cooktown to Cape York in 5 days you are going to miss a lot of good stuff. We did it in a week and wish we took longer! Three weeks all up to/from Townsville was not long enough.

[DiscoMick]

We allowed two nights-three days Brisbane to Cairns as I did not fancy travelling too much at night and didn't want to kill ourselves.
On the Cape its not the distances that are the problem, its the state of the roads. The Development Road has endless corrugations, while the OTT is just really slow progress.
For another example, from the main road to Chilli Beach and back required a day each way and an overnight stay there.
We allowed two weeks from Cairns to the Tip and back. We didn't go everywhere but we did get around. I suggest you allow at least one rest day each way at Elliott Falls.
Weipa is the best place for shopping up there, as further north at Bamaga the supplies only come in by boat and are much more expensive than the Woolies at Weipa.
Recommend you camp at Loyalty Beach at the top and do day trips around that area.
Don't just charge around flatout or you will get tired and grumpy. Allow enough time to relax and a safety margin if you have a mechanical problem.
Its a great area, but take time to enjoy it.
Incidentally, we went in August, at the end of the dry season. While the landscape was dry and there were fires, the good side was the creeks were well down and easier to cross.

[simmo]

Thanks guys, good advice, the best way to spoil a holiday is turn it into a car rally.

That's the point of the journey to take in some sights and enjoy being in the wilderness & take a break from being in a hurry.

So leaving from Brisbane at least month is required, 5 weeks is better.

cheers
simmo

[bob10]

Just a tip, if you take the time to get to know the locals, instead of the gold medal race to the cape of followers of 4WD erection, it will take the rest of your life, if you get my drift. And be more enjoyable. Bob

[Ancient Mariner]

We allowed two nights-three days Brisbane to Cairns as I did not fancy travelling too much at night and didn't want to kill ourselves.
On the Cape its not the distances that are the problem, its the state of the roads. The Development Road has endless corrugations, while the OTT is just really slow progress.
For another example, from the main road to Chilli Beach and back required a day each way and an overnight stay there.
We allowed two weeks from Cairns to the Tip and back. We didn't go everywhere but we did get around. I suggest you allow at least one rest day each way at Elliott Falls.
Weipa is the best place for shopping up there, as further north at Bamaga the supplies only come in by boat and are much more expensive than the Woolies at Weipa.
Recommend you camp at Loyalty Beach at the top and do day trips around that area.
Don't just charge around flatout or you will get tired and grumpy. Allow enough time to relax and a safety margin if you have a mechanical problem.
Its a great area, but take time to enjoy it.
Incidentally, we went in August, at the end of the dry season. While the landscape was dry and there were fires, the good side was the creeks were well down and easier to cross.

A little early with the end of the dry .You might get a early storm october but more likely November .An easy two day drive tablelands to Bamaga in the truck with 8 ton onboard using the bypass roads.A bit different when the gravel started at Mount Molloy tho

AM