Itinerary Ideas. Cape York tip, from Melbourne, with a COVID twist (via SA) - I have 3 weeks

[John U]

G'Day Earthers,

Hope you are all doing well.

There are many Cape York Threads but I'm after a bit of time constrained detail, and given the current COVID situation, if I am able to travel in September, my route will likely be via South Australia (if that snowball in hell doesn't melt and the SA border is open to Vic at that point in time.

So, here's what I've got,
- starting from Melbourne
- permission from home for 3 weeks travel starting 11/9 to 4/10, with my 14 year old son
- would like to get to the tip of Cape York via the Old Tele Track (to tick it off, plus get a bit of warmth for the skinny young fella)
- would also like to get to the Gulf and maybe have a fish
- CREB track would be great experience if dry
- Reckoning I will need to avoid NSW altogether due to current situation (news is reporting likely lockdowns until xmas)
- Reckoning it would be cool to go via Birdsville Tk, through Birdsville

A drive by of the Ernst Henry mine near Cloncurry would be a bonus (but not a deal breaker if missed)

Super high level plan at the moment. It could all fall in a heap due to COVID.

Questions for all of you experts is a trip to the tip reasonable to do in 3 weeks?
What should we check out on the way?
Where to stay?
Are the roads in QLD likely to be OK at this time (not wet)?
Don't bother until after COVID?

I did about 1,000 k's a day when getting there and back for our trip to Qld in the July school holidays if stayed in accommodation. A few hundred k's less if camping.

Any ideas, or directions to relevant threads, much appreciated.

 

[CTL]

September/October is possible, if there is not an early wet season.
You can drive from Laura to the Tip in two days on the bypass tracks. Allow another 2-3 days if travelling the OTT.
BUT you will miss a heap of great camps and places to see.
Two weeks minimum, three better.
I did the Tip from SE Qld and clocked up 7500km return journey, it is a long way.
Just some thoughts to help you decide if it is worth the effort with only three weeks leave. If you decide it is goer, I will throw up a few suggestions.

 

[Albynsw]

3 weeks is a bit shy IMO, particularly if you are going the back way via Birdsville but it depends if you are happy moving every day or more a sit and chill type traveller
You are only going to get a brief overview which is fine, you might be better to give the Tele track a miss until you have more time and concentrate on getting seeing more by using the PDR, you still get to go to places like Fruit Bat falls, Punsant bay etc and do the tip, Weipa and maybe a fishing charter

It really depends on if you are up for the big days travel and just getting a taste of the area

 

[rob_macca67]

Be prepared to be shocked in the state of the popular camping spots along the Old Telly Track... A mate from work just came back from there and said the place was an absolute pig-sty with human feces and dunny paper everywhere. Obviously, people still don't know how to dig a hole and burn their dunny paper...

We were up there back in 2016 and we saw the same thing so I'm not surprised by his comments...

 

[discomatt]

Be prepared to be shocked in the state of the popular camping spots along the Old Telly Track... A mate from work just came back from there and said the place was an absolute pig-sty with human feces and dunny paper everywhere. Obviously, people still don't know how to dig a hole and burn their dunny paper...

We were up there back in 2016 and we saw the same thing so I'm not surprised by his comments...

Even more reason to go now, all the best bits will all but totally locked off in a year or 2

 

[Triton14]

Sorry to say I don't see it happening.
Always good to have a plan though but at some point reality bites.

Not totally up on all border restrictions but why would you risk it?
What happens if hard border closures are enforced on route or before return??

The chances are high!

 

[John U]

Sorry to say I don't see it happening.
Always good to have a plan though but at some point reality bites.

Not totally up on all border restrictions but why would you risk it?
What happens if hard border closures are enforced on route or before return??

The chances are high!

Quarantining at home doesn't bother me much. My son and the impact on his 'schooling', well that's another story.

We completely winged in the June/July school holidays and it worked out. Only made it to Longreach though. Saw a fair bit of the South West corner of Queensland.

We were discussing this trip while out on that trip. This trip was actually his idea. When I told him we didn't have time to go any further North than Longreach (commitments in the 2nd week of the holidays) he said 'Why don't we come back and go further next holidays.'

He may not be that interested in 4wd trips with the old man forever.

I want to have a plan and make a few bookings. I'll continually assess the trips viability as we get closer.

Last trip we couldn't get into the Stockman's Hall of Fame, or do ANY of the extra things at the QANTAS museum, because we hadn't booked ahead. One of the problems with winging it. Didn't kill the trip though. We went and got an iced coffee and got the windscreen patched in Longreach.

 

[RBJET]

I think it's doable. I did it in 4 weeks in 2019 spending bit of time coming back down the east coast.
I just hope you know that there will be know sitting still in 3 weeks. Be prepared for plenty of long days.
Townsville was 3 days from Melbourne and the Tip was 1.5 weeks from Cairns including the Tele Track with a bit of sight seeing and relaxing.

If you budgeted 1.5 weeks return to Cairns via Birdsville and the same from Cairns to the Tip you could make it but it would mean a lot of 10 hour plus days on the road.

 

[boobook]

3 weeks even if you go straight from Melbourne and back will be hell and you won't see anything. You and your fellow travellers will be bored and on the verge of suicide. The route you are contemplating has a lot of long dirt roads that will be tiresome and relatively slow. I can't recall anyone saying that 3 weeks end to end from Melbourne was enough time to appreciate the cape. I did it in about 5 which IMHO was way too rushed.

I strongly advise that you reconsider the trip and find an alternative if you only have 3 weeks end to end. I know it's a must do but it is so disappointing when you get there anyway. The return trip is hard work. The highlight of the trip will be seeing the West Gate bridge on the way home.

You can hire a 4wd and camper in Cairns. I would do it that way if I went back. It is not much more expensive when you factor everything in ( tyre, a service, wear and tear, accommodation, fuel, stress). You get 3 full weeks in the cape area, spend some time a Kubungra etc, have lunch in Cairns, fly over NSW, and home for dinner on Sunday night with no day-long clean up and repairs.

The other alternative is fly into the tip or Thursday Island, spend a week there seeing the wrecks and relaxing, and fly home. I know that sounds strange but unless you take at least 2 1/2 to 3 weeks to do 'cairns to cairns' and visit the side places, you will miss most things anyway. To put it in perspective, the Cape north of Cairns is bigger than Victoria. Imagine driving from Bordertown to Mallacoota and return mostly on dirt roads, in a week trying to see everything. Then you have over 3000kms either with lots of dirt roads at either end.

 

[coolumbla]

if all you have is 3 weeks ,its all you have

im focussed on the "young fella wont want to come camping with me for much longer!" bit

Been there done that , he now wants to come again but that is because i tag along on his trips and i have a credit card !

Yes it will be long and miserable to get there .
Seeing as you've been to SW queensland id suggest , punt all the way up flat out , will take 5 days of misery to get there but each free camp will be fun assuming you stay away from the popular ones with the shit everywhere

Do the tele track , get a pic at the sign and try and come back as slower as you can ( "sorry dear its taking longer than we thought")

And on the way back detour via lawn hill and do the canoe trip .Highlight of my recent trip
go across from laura to karumba and go fishing with Gerry at Karumba fishing adventures

Go and do it

btw Longreach was way less packed 2 weeks ago , seems some numb nut on local radio said it was about to be locked down and whoosh , every nomad left .I could book what i wanted ( except the wing walk that id booked 2 weeks before)

 

[Colly18]

As others have suggested I think it is doable if you can manage a few long days initially. (But I wouldn't recommend it.) And as others have also suggested there is the possibility of being stranded due to a Covid lockdown - it could well be the case you get up there and can't get out of Qld. This happened to us a couple months ago on a 'no choice but go' trip to SA when things were looking relatively safe. We ended up being stranded in SA and had to spend an extra week there before we could get back into either NSW or Qld, due to having passed through Mildura.
I like the idea of another destination - what may be a closer and safer (Covid wise) destination of interest? Central Australia/Alice Springs region may be a good option if you haven't done it with your son already (or maybe it's time for a revisit?)

 

[mikehzz]

It's doable but depends on the type of person you are. Some people like to smell every daisy and others don't. Personally I just like being on the road and moving because that's when I "meditate". Sitting around a campfire for hours bores me to death. Your biggest concerns are being locked out when you return, and the fact that you have to go the long slow way via SA in each direction which I think would be a bit tedious, and I love a good drive. I've been most places but not Cape York yet, as it's never held much fascination for me, so not worth the effort of such a long drive on its own. I'll slot it into a longer time frame trip. However, if it was a place I really wanted to see, 3 weeks would be a doddle covid or not.

 

[KXJ]

Another option to consider is possibly shipping your car to Cairns and flying up when it arrives. That way you could spend the majority of your 3 weeks just heading to the tip.

I would think a round trip from Melb to Cairns via Birdsville would be 10 days in itself.