We have just bought a coromal 4x4 van (yes i know it is not real 4x4) and a gooD 4 wheel drive vehicle with the intent of travelling north mainly. If we need to drop the van then we are well equiped to take the 4 wheel and camp as we are both ex Army with 55 years experience with us. I have heard several stories thAT i WOULD LIKE ANSWERED. cAN YOU GET UP TO THE TOP OF THE CAPE IN THE DRY SEASON WITH A SUPPOSEDD 4 WD DRIVE VAN

Toni I have seen Photos of Vans at Bamaga and Siesia that went up buy road. If you go to http://www.capeyorker.com/forums you will see a "Page not found " notice. Ignore it, and scroll down to the box at the bottom of the page, which has Forum at the bottom. Click on Forum, and you will get the right page. You will have to register to be able to ask questions, but then you will get any info. you need. They're a good bunch of guys. Cheers, xina.

Welcome to the forum Toni! We chickened out on the Cape, even though we probably could have made it. The returnees that we met at Cooktown all had dire stories about the road, and their camper-trailers were deep with dust....we were in holiday mode by then, and it sounded too much like hard work. So we camped at Cape Tribulation for 10 lovely days of rest instead!

Yes ! it can be done , Kedron have a video of one of thier vans doing the trip, , when I did it there was a lot of talk on the CB of broken bits , mainly shockers and the corrugations are pretty bad, but they send the graders in after the school holidays so time it right and its easy, If you choose the surveyors track prepare for hardship, And the ferry over the Jardine is cash money, $88 on the way back in 01

Toni wrote:

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We have just bought a coromal 4x4 van (yes i know it is not real 4x4) and a gooD 4 wheel drive vehicle with the intent of travelling north mainly. If we need to drop the van then we are well equiped to take the 4 wheel and camp as we are both ex Army with 55 years experience with us. I have heard several stories thAT i WOULD LIKE ANSWERED. cAN YOU GET UP TO THE TOP OF THE CAPE IN THE DRY SEASON WITH A SUPPOSEDD 4 WD DRIVE VAN

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As I mentioned somewhere else on this forum I recently came across a couple in Cairns who had just returned from taking a Jayco Sterling (standard "on-road" model) up the Cape. They had no problems apart from some dust that got in but no more than one would expect.

 

-- Edited by jimricho on Wednesday 30th of September 2009 06:48:18 AM

Toni,we have been up there twice years ago,if you value your van i would not even consider it.

short answer yes, long answer expect damage and bogging as well as a lot of winching, we did the telegraph track with a blitzwagon motorhome in the 70/80's before it was the "in thing" very rough and very big holes that even in the dry season will be full of water, steep entrys and exits very deep ruts in short expect to do running repairs and be very well prepared!!

The standard of the roads will vary depending on the wet season in the early tourist time, and then it will depend on the impact of the thousands of happy campers who head to the Cape. I haven't done the trip, but judging by the volume of vehicles which take to the track in the past 2 seasons, they'll be installing traffic lights in Weipa soon. The graders must be flat out, but I don't know how often they grade the roads. Not too often is my guess. The Jayco bloke was lucky despite his foolishness. I really don't think there's a caravan built which should be subjected to those conditions. The camper trailers which do it also suffer damage. Most van owners leave them here in this park for storage. They have a paddock just for the job and they were charging $8 per day for the space. Some also leave their vehicle here and take a safari and wreck someone else's vehicle while they enjoy the experience in comfort, without the worry and repairs. There are many options for doing the Cape. Even a flying day trip with a stop at the top.

Welcome Toni We drove to the "Tip" early this year, just after they opened the By-Pass roads to over 5T. You could easily have driven ANY vehicle there at that time, The roads were all 80kph plus all the way. The locals say the road had NEVER been better and it seems that it gets more attention each year. We came back via most of the OTT, which is a different matter, of course, but if you plan your trip to start early (after it is dry and grading is complete) and finish BEFORE the school holiday rush, it should be pretty good. Cheers, Peter

Its the same over the entire country, the days of a rough road are almost over, the only advantage a big 4x4 has now is the wieght , a heavy tow vehicle is better than a light one, Off course it still a problem with bogging and ground clearance but all of us senior citizens would have noticed that the real bad tracks and roads are a lot better than yesterday, That is why they are making money teaching 4x4 driving on special areas laid out for them in the bush,