CAPE YORK, QLD TRAVEL
Cape York. It's on many a traveller's bucket list of must-see destinations. It's a mecca for nomads escaping cold southern winters, families taking advantage of mid-year school holidays and adrenaline-seeking four-wheel drivers.
We set off from Melbourne at the end of May towing our Crusader Musketeer Warrior X Country (reviewed in Caravan World issue 638) with a 2018 Holden Trailblazer. Our route was inland up the Newell Highway, with a couple of work and family-related detours, and then across to the Queensland coast at Rockhampton.
An estimated 80,000 people visit Far North Queensland (FNQ) each year during the dry season. About 60,000 choose to stay on the bitumen and travel as far as Cooktown, while 20,000 will tackle the notorious red dirt corrugated roads all the way to the tip at Cape York.
It's challenging trip to the most stunningly beautiful, rugged and remote northernmost point of the Australian continent. The ultimate reward is the picture you get of yourself standing under that sign at the very tip that we've all seen on hundreds of Instagram posts and YouTube videos. But there will be many more memorable moments along the way that will stay with you forever.
Before setting out
As with any big trip, preparation is key. This article is not about what you need to do to prepare, but there are some basics which shouldn't be ignored: get your van and vehicle serviced; carry appropriate supplies of fuel, food and water; carry tools and spares, a compressor to deflate/inflate tyres, maps, navigation and communications equipment; and book camping spots in advance, particularly during school holidays.
The drive
While there are a few long stretches of good, sealed roads to the Cape, the vast majority is unsealed and the road conditions will vary from pretty good to downright terrible, depending on when the road was last graded. The sheer volume of traffic during the dry season means that a newly graded road can turned corrugated and gnarly in just a few days so it really is pot luck.
Let the tyre pressures down on the car and the van when you
