G’day all,
Tommorrow the adventure starts for real. I have dreamed of this trip for many years, read hundreds of articles on the trip to the Cape and counted the days until I could finally hit the dirt of the epic trip.
We picked up our camper trailer today for 14 days and head off tommorrow once everything is packed and the van is stored safely away. We knew that the van wouldn’t fit threw the Old Telegraph Track and the thought of not being able to complete this section of the trip was unthinkable…so a camper trailer was the solution.
We leave Cairns and head for the Crebb Track tommorrow camping somewhere along the Creb Track. From there it will be on to Cooktown and into the Lakefield National Park. We plan to head through Cooktown and Lakefield NP fairly quickly as we will bring the van back to both these areas later. We do however plan to get out to Bathurst Bay and Cape Melville on our way back from the Cape…time permitting.
Locals advise us that the Telegraph Track is the worst it has been for some years after a massive wet season. Apparently the first creek crossing on the Telegraph Track has been completely washed away and is just one big drop off with cars dropping onto their bullbars and then requiring winching out…we will see…the challenge is definately to complete the Telegraph Track one way or another. Going to the Cape after dreaming about the Telegraph Track for so long and missing out would be too hard to bare…we will succeed. As my friend Mr Gadget would say “you have a winch, well use it!” …and that we will.
Stay tuned, this trip is going to be an adventure to remember.
Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia
Tags: 4WD, 4x4, Adventure, Bloomfield Track, Bushman, Bushman Bud, Cairns, Cape York, Crebb Track, Offroad, Telegraph Track
G’day all,
After a few weeks around the Gold Coast getting things fixed on the caravan, retuning the Patrol with its upgraded radiator and intercooler and some minor surgery for yours truly (after a small health scare) it was time to leave the Gold Coast and head for the Northern Tip of Australia.
First I enjoyed my birthday on the Gold Coast dining out at the Sharks Rugby Club for breaky and dinner. On your brithday you get a free breakfast and free dinner all for an annual membership of $6, hows that!! Not bad hey!
My birthday was a lot of fun after surgery the day before and it was nice to relax and enjoy the company of my family. We had breakfast, played mini golf, went to Movie World and then back to Shark’s for dinner.
On 21st July we headed to Brisbane, staying overnight to hand over the car to AMMS the next day for some final tuning of the Patrol – awesome effort Glen the Patrol has flown up to Cairns and the temp guage and EGT guage have confirmed the new setup is working a treat.
Leaving AMMS we headed to Kedron to pick up the van after the brakes were adjusted and then hit the highway staying overnight at Gympie. The next day it was an early start which ended up at Miriam Vale.
From Miriam Vale we headed to Mackay were we caught up with a mate on his farm. We enjoyed a few beers, fed the horses and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the surrounding hills. JD made me promise to return on our journey back down the coast so we could get in some fishing and mud crabbing…sounds a promise that is too hard to resist in my book…twist my arm JD, why don’t you!!
From JD’s farm to Mackay stopping for dinner before leaving for the final stretch to Cairns where we will arrive sometime tonight.
In Cairns we pick up a camper trailer from Johnnos Trailer Hire (thanks Pat for your generosity to the cause, we will give you a good plug as we continue up to the Cape) for three weeks. This marks the start to our 4WD adventure to the tip of Australia following the Crebb Track, Cape Melville, Bathurst Bay, Frenchman Line and the Telegrapgh Track (just to name a few). What is certain is we will bring you the best information on travelling to the Cape in 4WD, offroad amd Bushman Bud style. We will travel roads less travelled along the way to bring you an adventure you won’t forget.
Stay tuned!
Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia
Tags: 4WD, 4WDing, 4x4, Bushman Bud, Camping, Cape York, Offroad, scenic, Track
G’day all,
A week flies when you are having fun.
We have been buzzing between the Gold Coast and Brisbane and back to the Gold Coast. First we visited the North end of the Gold Coast staying at the fabulous Treasure Island Holiday Park where the kids enjoyed a caravan park full of other kids on school holidays. There were many activities to do like jewellery making, chocolate making, plaster moulds, animal shows, magic shows and more…meanwhile the parents had some much needed R&R and started preparation for the trip to Cape York. We also managed to fit in a visit to Movie World.
It was then off to Brisbane to get repairs and warranty work carried out on the Kedron Topender. We found Kedron to be very helpful and promptly fixed everything that was required without fuss…thanks Dave and the rest of the team. From there it was onto AMMS to sort out the issues with the turbo. Glen sorted everything out and suggested a few solutions for the cooling of the Patrol which he decided to look after due to repairs we needed to pay for on the turbo in Melbourne. We have also decided to upgrade the brakes due to the total weight of our rig. The fitting of a new radiator, brakes and intercooler will take place on Wednesday 14/6.
So from there it was back to the Gold Coast to catch up with cousin Ella and a doctors appointment. We again decided to stay at Treasure Island and spent three fabulous days with Ella and co. The first day was spent at the caravan park with an enjoyable afternoon BBQ and swim in the heated pool. The next day we spent the morning at Wet-n-Wild and then onto Movie World in the afternoon. Today we headed to Springbrook National Park and took in the amazing sights of the Natural Bridge, Purling Brook Falls and Best Of All Lookouts. From there it was over into NSW to Tumblegum and the great pub with a kid friendly beer garden for lunch. It was here we said goodbye to cousin Ella, Niaomi, Peter, Hamish and Olivia and headed for home only to be convinced by the kids to take them for a last hour to Movie World. A few rides on the Scooby Doo ride and time for home exhausted after a action packed few days.
Tommorrow we head for Brisbane for the caravan annexxe to be fixed and then onto AMMS for the new cooling and brake system. From there we look forward to catching up with friends Hamish, Alex and kids before heading for Cairns and the start of our Cape York safari…awesome.
Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia
Tags: 4WD, 4WDing, 4x4, Adventure, Bushman Bud, Offroad, scenic
G’day all,
It has been a busy few weeks but I have finally got around to updating our daily diary. Check out our amazing final few days in Tassie, tackling some of the hardest 4WD tracks in Australia before we head over the Snowy River National Park mountain range via the very challenging Barry’s Way with our 3.5 tonne Kedron van before some fun in the snow and getting prepared to hit Cape York. Catch up and stay tuned as our next few months up North unfolds with a trip to Cape York along the Telegraph Track, including side tracks to Cape Melville, Hopevale, Bathhurst Bay, Cape Flattery and more. From there it is onto remote locations throughout the Gulf, into Arnhem Land, Kakadu, the Kimberleys and back along the Tanami to Alice Springs…wow…can’t wait for it to unfold.
Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia
G’day all,
We left Jindabyne about 11:00am, saying goodbye to our new found friends Alex and Hamish who were staying on for another week of skiing (lucky people and good on you…enjoy, hey). The plan to travel as quick as possible to the Gold Coast.
Our plan was to take the Pacific Highway up the coast stopping at a nearby rest area when I started to get tired. We made it to Grafton that day at about 1:30am, jumped into bed and continued onto to Runaway Bay arriving early afternoon and booking into a caravan park for a few days.
The caravan park proved to be a great stopover with the kids enjoying all the other kids courtesy of QLD school holidays. We did manage to hit Movie World but spent the rest of our stay around the caravan park allowing the kids to enjoy the company of other kids.
From here onto to Brisbane dropping our van off at Kedron for the one year warranty work and picking up a new bigger radiator for the Patrol before heading off to Cairns.
So here we are beautiful Brisbane for a few days, finalising a few matters before making for Cape York…stay tuned.
Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia
G’day all,
Are we not lucky? In Tassie several days ago taking on the challanging Cold Stream Track, on the ferry to Melbourne, taking on the challenging Barry’s Way to arrive in Jindabyne for 4 days skiing before heading to the Gold Coast and onto Cape York…awesome!!
We signed up for 4 days of skiing the slopes of Perisher Blue using Monday to pick up hire equipment, book lessons and get tickets. Tuesday we hit the slopes in style with beautiful weather, blue skies above and all around as the song goes…The kids improved all week with skiing lessons in the morning before tackling the big slopes later in the day with Dad. During the week I gave the kids new nicknames. Amy picked up “Pocket Rocket” and Jess “Speedy” for their amazing abilities of flying down slopes at break neck speed and taking on the small ski jumps. These kids just constantly amaze me…no fear or inhibitions always helps too. Lovely Lynda also tackled her fears and got stuck into becoming a better skier. Good on ya. By the end of the four days she was battered and bruised but better for the experience I think??
After three days of brilliant weather, the fourth day was a shocker and by lunchtime we had had enough.
One of the great things to come from our time here was meeting up with Hamish, Alex and kids who were down from the Sunshine Coast skiing and on their way around Australia. We all hit it off, including the kids and had some amazing similarities with our travel arrangements. They too had a Kedron van, two kids aged 5 and 7 and were heading to Cape York and around Australia. We enjoyed a lovely dinner with them and found so many things in common with two like minded people. Thanks guys we had a great time. One of the nice things to happen here is that we agreed to meet up later in July for the trip to Cape York. Can’t wait it will be a very memorable trip with great people.
All good things must come to an end and so our skiing holiday was wrapped up and we set our sights on the Gold Coast. The kids really wanted to hit the theme parks on our way through so I decided to drive through the night to get us all there before our annual passes expired.
Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia
G’day all,
We had planned this trip since getting off the ferry from Tassie as an alternative way to Jindabyne. Barry’s Way is steep, winding, slippery and for the most part single lane with massive drop off sections as you traverse the peaks of the Snowy River National Park.
Leaving Buchan at around 11:00am it took us the rest of the day to travel Barry’s Way which proved to be quite a challenge. At one point the caravn pushing the car sideways towards a ravine…scary to say the least. We are however travelling Australia to travel the roads less travelled and experience the challenges of doing so, so you take it on the chin, take a sigh of relief and look forward to the next corner, he, he.
Please, if you are thinking about dragging a van through this track travel slow, very slow and be very prepared. Our car and caravan are etremely well setup and have been modified significantly to handle such roads, so be warned this is a tough, dangerous track.
About half way along Barry’s Way you cross the border from VIC into NSW but I must say the track does not get any easier. We stopped here for a few photos of the VIC/NSW thing and continued on taking in the second half of the challenge before with great relief popping back onto the bitumen 30 klm shy of Jindabyne. Big day for sure but an awesome track with fantastic scenery…been there, done that you may say…and lived to tell the tale!!!
We arrived late in the day at Jindabyne and headed for some comfort at the Discovery Caravan Park, looking forward to some skiing over the next few days.
Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia
G’day all,
We left Foster mid morning and headed along the coast towards Lake Entrance. We are planning to explore this region over next summer and so it really was a quick visit on our journey to Jindabyne via Barry’s Way.
The coastal strip of Victoria towards Lake Entrance is beautiful country…from what we saw anyhow, but what I cannot understand is when you have a ninety mile beach available for all people to use, why is it that us 4Wder’s cannot drive any of the beaches in Victoria. Even if it is just to pull your truck up on the beach for a fish. Australian governments should be shot sometimes with their policies and regulations towards us fellow 4WDers.,
Leaving Lakes Entrance we headed to Buchan and stayed over at the wonderful camping ground in the National Park next to Buchan Caves. This proved to be such a nice location that we stayed two nights before heading towards the much anticipated Barry’s Way which takes you over the peaks of the Snowy River National Park and into NSW and Jindabyne. This track is gravel and clay with most the way winding, slippery and singles lane…should be quite a challenge with a 3.5 tonne van, hey!
Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia
G’day all,
Today we were happy to leave Tassie. The weather had again turned. We basically did a few routine jobs and waited to jump on the ferry.
Getting there at check in time we finally learnt our lesson that you just end up waiting in line for a good hour or so. The best way to tackle the ferry is to turn up 15mins before close off time when no one else is around and drive straight on board. Next time we will be much the wiser.
Onboard the ferry the forecast was for 7-9m waves and a bumpy and rocky ride to Melbourne. Given the dire looking forecast the conditions were quite good onboard. We enjoyed the onboard movie and then me and Joey Jess watched the live band and enjoyed a hot chocolate while Orangatang Amy and Lovely Lynda went to bed feeling sea sick.
Been woken up at 5:40am is always going to be a struggle, however just enough time for a quick shower and then down to the car and hit Melbourne’s city streets before peak hour traffic arrives.
We were back on the mainland and I must say relieved to be there. We now turned our sights on a few days skiing Perisher and then heading to the Gold Coast for caravan maintenance before heading for Cape York.
Our first day back on the mainland was clearing the city and heading to a beaut rest stop for the night at Foster.
Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia
G’day All,
Our last day on Van Demons land after 5 amazing months and what a great way to finish the odessey and offroad 4WD adventure than a drive to Stanley and a walk to the top of the Nut.
On the way to Stanley we stopped off at Wynyard and Table Cape. This place has amazing views along the Northern Coast of Tasmania and well worth the trip out there from Wynyard. In addition to the special views is a great short walk along the coastline to the Table Cape Lighthouse. Unfortunately the lighthouse was not open for exploration but made for a great place for playing some hide and seek with the kids.
Back to the car and onto to Boat Harbour, Sisters Beach (two equally great places to soak up the afternoon…but we had the Nut to conquer) and finally to Stanley at 3:30pm. We hadn’t expected to take so long to get there so we paid for a one way ticket to the top of the Nut on the chair lift. This saved us enough time to do a full lap around the Nut before nightfall and allowed us to witness a spectacular sunset from up above Stanley and over the picturesque coastline…a brilliant way to end our trip to Tassie.
The walk around the Nut takes a good 45 mins to appreciate the surrounding scenery and lookouts. The Nut and Stanley is certainly one of those places like no other. The Nut is a granite dome which rises straight out of the ocean to 300 or so metre making for a staggering sight as you approach Stanley. Up on top of the Nut you get to experience unbelievable views of Stanley and 180 degree views of the northern coastal strip of Tassie. This place is amazing and is well worth the effort, in fact I would say it is a must when visiting Tassie.
From Stanley, we arrived home after dark, cooked dinner and hit the sack.
Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia