Answer to Cape York’s 15 most frequent questions, and proof anyone can have the adventure of a lifetime!

There really is no place on earth that’s as ultimate a 4WD destination as Cape York. The place is a deadset stunner! You’ve got remoteness without being so remote that you need a fuel drop, you’ve got challenging 4WDing, absolutely breath-taking scenery, the type of fishing that would make a legend out of a beginner and the best part? The fact that tourist season, the cooler months of the Dry, are filled with 30°C days and 20°C nights while the rest of the country’s shivering through winter.

If you’re anything like us, the weeks and months before heading to a new destination are filled with making lists, packing, checking, re-packing, re-making lists and a million questions. It’s natural – you want to be covered for anything that could arise, but at the same time you don’t want to over-pack. Over-loading is the number one cause of problems out in the scrub, with lack of vehicle preparation being a close second.

Every year, tens of thousands of 4WDers flock to the Cape, many for the first time and a big chunk having their first big real 4WD adventure. Aside from Fraser, it’s the perfect way to cut your ‘Big Destination’ teeth, because it offers everything you want out of a 4WD trip but there’s a whole support network of towns, shops and mechanical services should old mate Murphy and his bugger of a law drop around and say g’day.

And every year, we see the same questions pop up time and time again. Where can you get fuel? Can you get groceries north of Cairns? Do you need 1000km of fuel range? Will my 4WD make it? Will I drown it?

We’ve all seen the pics and heard the horror stories of 4WDers who headed north but came back on a tow-truck. Truth is while that does happen, it’s only an unfortunate few that truly come to grief. The vast, vast majority have the time of their lives, and the difference between a dream trip and nightmare is going in prepared. Here’s 15 of the Cape’s biggest myths busted, and the info you need to have the adventure of a lifetime!

MYTH 1: YOU NEED 3 MONTHS TO SEE IT ALL

Okay, so Cairns is the jump-off point for almost all Cape adventures and it’s not exactly close to many other major cities or regional centres, unless you happen to live in Townsville. There’s not much that can be done about the time it takes to get to-and-from Cairns from your driveway, but once you’re up in FNQ then we can start talking turkey. We’ve done multiple two-week trips from Cairns to the Tip and return, and haven’t missed out on much at all. Two weeks up via the CREB or the Bloomfield, into Lakefield, the Frenchman’s, Weipa, the Tele Track, the Tip and then home again lets you see most of the Cape, although it will be a bit of a whirlwind and you will be travelling every day. From Bamaga to Cairns is roughly 1000km, and on the way home can be done in two days/one night to maximise your time up the top.

MYTH 2: YOU NEED A MASSIVE FUEL RANGE

Not at all. In fact, unless you start really venturing remote and camping for weeks at a time, 400km is a comfortable fuel range. You’ll be looking for every roadhouse or servo to fuel up to be sure, and yes it does get expensive at some spots (to a max of about $2.00/L when it’s $1.50/L back home), but hey, the point is you can get the fuel! Keep in mind that 400km needs to be a realistic range. It’s no good saying you have 400km when you’re empty on the highway at 90km/h when realistically it’s 250km towing a trailer, loaded, at 26psi on the dirt.

MYTH 3: YOU NEED A WILDLY MODIFIED 4WD

Every year thousands of 4WDers do the Cape in mildly modified 4WDs. In fact, lifts bigger than 4inchs (at the absolute max!) and tyres bigger than 35inch (again at the max!) will only make the long touring stretches more of a pain to drive. Here’s what we’d recommend as a list of modifications:
– Good 2inch lift with proper heavy duty shock absorbers
– A set of slightly larger than standard Light Truck tyres – All Terrains are perfect, muddies work as well but don’t think you need ‘em. Make sure you have a Kwiky Tyre Deflator too, to air them down for the dirt sections of the PDR, or the tougher tracks in the Cape.
– Bullbar and a winch plus a Hercules complete Recovery Kit and the knowledge of how to use it
– Snorkel and diff/gearbox/transfer case breathers
– A good quality tool kit like the Adventure Kings Bush Mechanic Tool Kit that will help you get out of a pinch
The rest comes down to how you set your 4WD up to live out of, but if you tick those boxes at a minimum, then your vehicle’s capability won’t limit you one bit.

MYTH 4: YOU NEED A DIESEL 4WD

The Cape really isn’t that remote, and anywhere you can get diesel up there, you can get petrol. It’s only 91 unleaded, mind you, so owners of modern high-performance engines that need 95 or 98 will need to carry octane booster. And as for petrol 4WDs and water crossings, carry a bit tin of WD40 and douse all electrical connections before a crossing, and consider using a water bra for the deeper bits. If it’s an older petrol 4WD with a dizzy, seal it up with silicon and run a bit of air hose into your airbox for a breather. If you know you have a problematic ignition component like a low-slung coil, it’s amazing what a bit of Vaso smeared around the connectors will do!

MYTH 5: YOU CAN’T DO IT SOLO

We’ve all been there. At first all your mates are keen on heading north, then one-by-one they start dropping like flies. Mother in law’s birthday, can’t get the time off work, house renos didn’t get finished, vehicle not ready, etc. So what happens if you’re the last one standing, do you bail altogether? Don’t! We promise you that if you head north during the peak season of May-September there’ll be thousands of potential new mates up there to meet and travel with. Worried about doing the Tele Track on your own? Pull up to Bramwell Station the arvo before and wander round at happy hour. It’s all but guaranteed you’ll find someone heading north the next morning to tag along with, even if it’s just for a bit. That’s the beauty about the Cape’s popularity.

MYTH 6: CAIRNS IS THE LAST STOP FOR SUPPLIES

North of Cairns you’ve got the fully-equipped townships of Cooktown, Weipa and Bamaga. The further north you get the more expensive supplies naturally get due to freight costs, but the point is each of these townships have all the supplies you could ever need, from food to spare parts. If you’re not planning on visiting these three towns on your trip, you’re missing out because they’re absolute crackers! So by all means stock up in Cairns, but spend a bit of your coin in these towns, and at the roadhouses between, because they survive largely on the traveller’s dollar.

MYTH 7: YOU’LL SWAMP YOUR 4WD

Forgive us if you’re already aware of this, but for those that aren’t, the Cape – and the entire top end of Australia – are divided into two seasons, the Wet and the Dry. The exact dates change every year, but the Wet usually hits somewhere around December-January and lasts til maybe into March. If it’s a good Wet then the rivers will be up earlier in the Dry, which is the time to go if you want bonnet-deep crossings and a real challenge. Worried about swamping your 4WD? Go later in the Dry – after the winter school holidays, and generally all the way up to November. October and November can however be VERY dry, turning bits of the Cape into a dustbowl. It’s worth noting that these are general guidelines and the Wet’s severity and timing changes every year.

MYTH 8: YOU’LL BE WINCHING OUT OF EVERY CROSSING

A Domin8r X Winch is a vital bit of gear for any 4WDer who wants to be self-reliant. On the Tele Track there may be one or two exits from a creek or river crossing that are muddy and chewed up enough to warrant breaking out your mighty Domin8r X. Don’t sweat it, take your time to explore all options and just know it’s part of the fun. You definitely DON’T have to drive down the ‘Big’ Gunshot crossing that’s in the infamous photos, but the other crossings to the creek can be just as muddy and eroded. There’s a bypass around Gunshot, and if you don’t want to, you don’t have to do the Tele Track at all.

MYTH 9: YOU NEED A TRUCKLOAD OF SPARE PARTS

The enemy of 4WDs is weight. It’s tempting to want to take spare CVs, alternators, starter motors, steering arms and other weighty spares, but remember you’re thousands of kays from home and unless you’re not quite right in the brain, you won’t be driving anywhere near as hard as you would on a trip up the local state forest with the boys. Before you go, throw new brakes, front wheel bearings, hoses and belts at your 4WD and keep all the ones you just pulled off as spares. Then by all means take any spares you know are weak points on your 4WD, but don’t sweat it. If you can limp it out, you’ll find a surprisingly decent supply of spares in Bamaga and Weipa.

MYTH 10: YOU NEED TWO SPARE TYRES

This isn’t a trip for dual spare tyres, not by necessity anyway. If you’ve already got twin spares then consider leaving one at home to cut down the weight, as long as your tyres are in good nick. The Tele and the Frenchmans are well-worn tracks, and unless you’re really unlucky you’d be hard-pressed to do serious tyre damage. Even if you do, you can use your spare, and pick up a new or used spare in one of the three big towns for almost all tyre sizes.

MYTH 11: ROADHOUSE FUEL IS POOR QUALITY

It just isn’t. Apart from tens of thousands of tourists, tens of thousands more people call the Cape York Peninsula home year-round – those working on stations, in the mines and living in the townships. Eye-boggling levels of petrol and diesel get sold through all the major roadhouses and servos and generally, if you stick to them you’ll be fine. For petrol 4WD owners it’s no drama, it’d have to be seriously watery to stop your vehicle. Diesel 4WD owners should fit a secondary fuel filter and carry spare aftermarket and factory fuel filters to guard against water in diesel.

MYTH 12: YOU’LL BE STRANDED ALONE IF SOMETHING HAPPENS

Look, this is a tricky one, because we need to tread a fine line between encouraging you to not worry, without filling you with a false sense of security that someone will always have your back should something go wrong. You should always be self-sufficient, that never changes. That means carrying at least a couple of days spare food and water. But should you suffer a breakdown while travelling alone, then assuming you’re on the more popular routes like the PDR, the Tele Track or the Frenchman’s during tourist season, then chances are you’ll see someone within a day at the very most. You’re not in the middle of the desert, it’s a bloody popular place!

MYTH 13: YOU’LL HAVE TO FIX ANY BREAKDOWNS YOURSELF

Well, that’s kind of true, if you don’t have the right roadside assistance. Being a member of your state’s automotive roadside assistance, and having the right level of membership, is as vital as having a snorkel. In fact, you’re a bit of a dope if you head up there and you DON’T have membership. The couple of hundred beer tickets it’ll cost you will pay for itself with a single tow. You’ll typically need the top level premium membership to cover remote areas and a trailer you’re towing. Last year it paid for a week’s accommodation at Weipa caravan park, plus hire of a ute while we were in town waiting for parts to come from Cairns. That’s $500+ of benefits from a single breakdown. Add in the fact that Weipa Autos and Bamaga Mechanic operate RACQ towing and are very experienced at getting broken 4WDs back to their workshop. It’s a no-brainer.

MYTH 14: THE CREB’S ALWAYS CLOSED

The CREB Track runs from Daintree Village in the south, up to just south of the Lion’s Den Hotel. It’s a stunning drive that takes you through some incredibly beautiful and steep terrain. However anyone who has been planning a Cape trip and watched the CREB Track status website knows it seems to be shut more often than it’s open. The thing is, the CREB is that type of red clay terrain that a light drizzle will turn to ice. Couple that with massively steep hill climbs and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. If it’s open, take the opportunity to experience it. If it’s closed, take the Bloomfield up north anyway, which winds through identical terrain – just via a slightly more developed track with concrete on the steepest parts.

MYTH 15: YOU CAN’T TOW A TRAILER UP THE HARD TRACKS

You definitely can! We’ve towed campers up literally every popular track in the Cape. An automatic transmission helps heaps, as it allows you to crawl through tricky bits of terrain. That’s not to say a manual gearbox makes it impossible, though. And if you’ve got a trailer, then a Domin8r X winch is mandatory as the trailer will make each obstacle just that slight bit more difficult. Remember there’s no shame in going for the winch, but there’s every shame in putting your trailer on its side.