Tag Archives: 4WD

Far North Queensland

A Suprisingly Intense And Hairy Detour to Maytown

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Once the mechanic opened we discovered that Woody seemed to need more than just a change of oil filters, so we decided to limp down to Laura where it would be cheaper to fix.  Giving Stu a head start we lounged by the Coen river and left 3 hours later.  With Stu only being able to reach a max of 60km/hr we arrived at Laura at the same time and said farewell to the relentless bumping of the corrugations!  That would have been the longest 250km Stu has ever done.

Arriving at the quaint township of Laura we got wind that the Army was about to leave town and to celebrate the band was playing at the pub.  After a little exploring we stumbled across their workmanship of an ANZAC memorial and a giant outdoor sports complex (we even shot some hoops!)  We ended up staying behind the pub with the rarity of having asian bartenders with minimal english in the middle of the outback!  Dancing in barefeet to the band we began chatting and boogying with the locals.  After the bar kicked us out at 10pm, we kicked on with them out the front until midnight.  It was an honour to meet the locals including the well respected elders.

The following morning we visited Split Rock which had a vast array of Aboriginal Art.  Having traveled further inland, we were feeling the heat with absolutely no breeze.  This rock art was great to browse through as it included echidna, spirits, bats, turtles and other interesting outlines painted in Ochre.  These were dated back to 13,000 years ago!

Even though Stu’s car was still struggling, we decided to take a detour through The Old Coach Road to Chillagoe via the Maytown Ruins.  On a map the track looked similar to The Frenchman’s, but it wasn’t until 15 minutes prior to the journey Nay read that we should allow around 8 hours for the small 80km journey.  As they say, she’ll be right!
The first 50km flew by as we sped along on solid dirt road until our first obstacle was before us.  Taking the relatively easy descent, we kept rolling with excitement as to what the next 30kms had to offer.  We could not get over how frequent our surrounds were changing to now a dry arid bush.  The track kept on the uphill as we continued our climb.  When we encountered some controversial rock steps, we relocated smaller rocks to help get us up the path that was best suited.   Arriving high on the hill we took the opportunity to walk 400m to a rock cliff for a stunning view of our surrounds.  Absolutely breathtaking to say the least, especially knowing how remote we were.

Making it to the R. L. Jack Memorial, we took the 4WD track to continue a loop that wasn’t marked on the NP map.  It wasn’t until the point of no return where we stopped to assess the next obstacle – a sheer 700mm vertical drop in the track.  With a slight re-arrangment of the logs and rocks at the bottom, we went for it!  With Woody in front, he crawled down first as the homemade ramp heaved under his weight. Buzz followed after unscrewing both underside boxes to increase his rear clearance, for one hell of a heart thumping experience.  This track was instense and after crawling down some more rock steps only 200mm from a cliff edge, we made it to camp.  16 out of 30km in 5 hours was exhausting and we were glad to be sitting around the fire watching the replays of the days events.

With an early rise the next day we were keen to hit Maytown.  Only 14kms to go we thought it couldn’t get worse from the day before… oh how wrong we were!  Returning to the ‘main track’ after the loop, someone had kindly put duct tape on a sign to mark the path we had just conquered.  We now knew the track was called ‘Death Hill’!  Around every corner there was more steep inclines to climb and hills to crawl down.  That morning had Buzz’s wheel almost 1m in the air, Woody almost tipping as Mark and Nay jumped on the bullbar to stop it rolling and another 4 hours on the track.  At this stage, Woody’s mechanical problem was becoming worse and we were thankful to have made it through the Old Coach Road!

Before making it to the site of the Maytown Ruins we had a few points of interest through the old Palmer River Goldfields.  There were plenty of mine shafts at various depths and a fascinating old steam powered battery used to crush the rock collected to filter out gold.  We even had fun exploring a small mine cave dug under the road.  There was also a restored old shed with a Melbourne made boiler that was used back in 1882! 

The main attraction of this unreal detour was before us – Maytown Ruins.  This town was like most run down abandoned ruins but had some quirky characteristics.  A small tin shack housed the general tourist info including a guest book, newpaper clippings, photos and a map of the town.  It wasn’t until driving along the run down main drag we discovered plaques along the bluestone gutters.  With each plaque was the owner’s name and the title of their building that once stood.  This old bluestone guttering was even ‘as new’ as the day it was laid.

To his demise, when returning to the car Mark discovered Buzz had a hole in the side wall of his tyre.  After trying like buggery we couldn’t get it off to throw on the spare.  Instead we plugged it up with resin, pumped her up and limped along until the next big tyre shop.

We ended up crawling out of the wonderous ruins of Maytown and made our way towards Chillagoe.  About 160kms to go at 4pm, Woody struggled to even make it to 50kms/hr.  It was at 7pm we packed it in and pulled over onto a paddock, which we called home that night.  Within 20 minutes we were having dinner and laughing about the Old Coach Road taking over 9 hours to complete a measly 80km.  As we retired to bed we had an early alarm set and hoped Woody would pick up to make it to our next destination… 

19/09/2016 – 27/09/2016

Far North Queensland

A Wild 4×4 Challenge – Frenchman’s Track

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Chucking a u-turn back on the main drag, we were noticing that nothing was well sign posted on the cape.  The trail for our days goal was a small off shute that could be easily overlooked.  Our faithful WikiCamps saved the day once again and helped pinpoint this location.  A small brief from Stu beforehand had comments mentioning this 50km stretch of track could possibly take up to 5 hours (we thought 3 would be generous!)  Straight into it, we took the route and were met with a sandy corrugated path.  Thin beach like trees took place of the standard redgums that sheltered us at camp the previous night.

Starting to reach some obstacles of rather large ruts we slowed down our pace.  The track ahead was starting to become a minor challenge with some slow descents and carefully maneuvered angles.  As Buzz and Woody navigated through the obstacles with ease, their surroundings were ever changing.  Opening up to a desolate landscape lead to magnificant views.  Some areas would have been great campgrounds if there had been shade!  As the bush engulfed our path once again, the first major river crossing was upon us.

Making it to the Pascoe River was a thrill.  Having just watched the path a convoy with 5 vehicles had just taken, our excitement levels increased knowing we were next.  A steep rocky entry that the previous cars had made slippery was the first challenge.  After both vehicles successfully crawled down they plunged into the Pascoe.  Having to snake through the water as it was just shy of our bonnets, we dodged some serious holes and a boulder.  Taking turns through the crossing, both beasts emerged from the other side!
The equally steep climb out was just as fun as the entry.  The occasional rock slipping under the tyres and cars bouncing in the ruts had us jeering and grinning all the way up until we had found flat ground.  Pascoe River was conquered.  As Nay was the perfect camerawoman, she nailed all moments which provided a good laugh over a beer that evening at movie night.

Burning along with the windows down and plenty of jokes over the CB, everyone was loving being in the bush on this adventure.  The next crossing was approximately 50m long with some deep pockets.  The alternative track to the side only meant crossing 10m of water.  After examining the crossing, the shorter route was the one to take.  Buzz shot in first, slipping into the boggy ruts with his wheels spinning on the exit.  Not being able to go forward of back, Buzz was stuck.

A quick recovery brief by Stu and we shot into action (after Mark got over the car being bogged).  Attempting to gain traction with MaxTrax was unsuccessful as the mud was too intense.  Without having used the winch properly before, there was a team effort to set it up on Buzz and hope for the best.  With everything in place the winch hauled Buzz forward to solid ground so we could continue.  

With Woody next in line and knowing the difficulty, he punched it!  With the MaxTrax still in place and the extra momentum had him making it look easy.  It wasn’t until the very end that the wheels started to spin, flicking dirt up all over the car.  With great force, the mud flew over his car, dropped between the frailer (front trailer) and the roof, hitting the windscreen with enough force to crack it!  Gaining traction again, Woody was out.  Later we discovered a Prado had been stuck the previous day for 6 hours in this same spot and unfortunately flooded the interior of his car! 

The last river crossing said to be the nastiest and most challenging, was simply a little puppy.  As it was so dry the water levels here were very low.  Smashing through with ease we had a late lunch and ended up swimming in the shallows which was very refreshing after a big morning!  Directly after this river was a steep dusty incline to get us back in it.  Not long down the track of corrugations and Woody’s horn was going off every time he turned!  Annoying the hell out of Stu, a bit of bush mechanics and electrical tape temporarily solved this problem.  

Another shallow but long water crossing between the final low range obstacles kepted us on edge.  As the adrenaline was pumping from a serious sandy path that put both vehicles on serious angles (probably at their limit) we knew the end was near.  Popping out at the Developmental Road 5 hrs later from when we started, we all had victorious grins with the self accomplishment of making it through The Frenchman’s Track!

Hitting 100km/hr again, Mark was devastated to see a surfboard fly off the roof of his car, only to realise the other had already gone missing with the recovery tracks.  Both boards were repairable right-offs, they hadn’t even seen a beach this trip!  The strap had snapped along the last leg of the corrugations on the Frenchman’s Track as we found our missing belongings 20mins back the way we came.

As this disaster had us behind schedule, we shot up late in the arvo past Bramwell Junction.  Making it to Palm Creek, the first crossing of the Old Telegraph Track (OTT) we found ourselves in a dustbowl with no fire as it was stinking hot!  Totally spent from the days events lead us to lounging back, watching the movies our famous camerawoman had taken.  Anticipation followed, knowing there was more of this action to come in later days as we braved the OTT… 

25/08/2016

Far North Queensland

A Coastal Snippet In A Great Bushland

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Finding ourselves crawling out along the 4WD track from where we had once been, we all had a chuckle while crossing a rut.  Both Buzz and Woody’s wheels became airborne!  After emerging from the bush we were greeted once again by our good friend corrugations.  Reading about and creating much hype, the ‘famous’ Archer River Roadhouse burger was on the menu for lunch.  Probably being so long since a decent burger it was rather delicious, unfortunately nothing compared to the Buxton Burger. 

We travelled along the Developmental Track taking us further north until reaching an unmarked road.  WikiCamps had shown us this was a 4WD trail to an old abandoned gold mine.  Cruising along a path of moderate difficulty, a small descent appeared in front of us.  Dropping into low range we took it slowly.  An ever so small ditch at the bottom and both Buzz and Woody went ‘bang!’.  Woody hit his undercarraige and recieved no damage but after a further inspection on Buzz, a rear box had 4 out of 6 of it’s bolts sheered off and was hanging by a thread!  A quick strap to hold it place for the time being and we were off again. 

The gold mine itself was very fascinating as much of the machinery was still intact although heavily rusted.  Amazing at how it was all just left in the bush as the cost of removing and selling it must of been more expensive.  It would of been great if it had some info boards describing some machinery but we couldn’t expect it all!  

Back on the main drag we were heading toward the very popular Chili Beach.  Along the way was a 70m walk to a lookout of Mt Tozer, this gave a beautiful sight of the heathlands surrounding us.  Making it to our destination late arvo we were greeted with a stunning view of a pristine beach!  It wasn’t until we disembarked from the car that a pungent smell of rotting fish hit our noses.  Having already booked the camp we sucked it up not letting it ruin our time here.  Mark took this opportunity before dark to screw Buzz’s underside box back on, with the hope it wouldn’t happen again!

That night a few quiet beverages turned into several and before we knew it the smell had vanished!  Mucking around the fire with the music cranking we ended up drinking a fair amount of the traditional Fruity Lexia.  With the sun’s rays baking on our tent, the terrible odour of dead fish returning, we were over the moon when Stu volunteered to cook bacon and scrambled eggs on the hotplate!  What a great way to recover!  

Close by we visited an airstrip built in WW2 that was still used to this current day.  It was very interesting with an abundance of information.  One info board depicted how a nuclear bomb being detonated in a rainforest environment would compare to a standard situation.  Using enough TNT on a stragically built tower, the test was conducted and the bombs were detonated.  Scientists scrumaged through the aftermath and recorded their results, discovering such a blast would have positive results if needed in the war.  Just before leaving, the old grounds keeper had a serious go at us all for parking on the grass in some shade.  Apologising as there were no signs he was relentless to let us know we were in the wrong!

Leaving Iron Range National Park we set up next to Browns Creek.  Not being 100% sure if there were crocs or not, swims were kept short in this freshwater creek, there were plenty of bait fish though!  Trying our luck again with the net, we jagged about 8 small ones to use as bait!  Going for a wood run after such success we stumbled across a large redgum trunk on the ground.  Cutting a few decent logs from it, we unknowingly at the time gave birth to Big Red (one hell of a travelling companion).

After having leftover stew in the jaffle iron on glowing coals, meant bedtime for some and a night expidition for others.  During their walk along the creek, Mark and Stu discovered the nocturnal wildlife!  Spotting a couple of turtles Mark quickly delved into the water and caught one.  Showing Nay his find in the tent he gave it a little kiss before releasing again.  Seeing some interesting frogs and other types of small fish we talked about having to do more Nocturnal Marine Biology Wildlife Excursions (NMBWE) in days to come.

The following day we were up early and quick to get on the road.  Our next big goal in the 4WD catagory was just ahead of us.  A famous trail by the name of The Frenchman’s Track was only 2km down the road, it was on our to do list…

23/08/2016 – 25/08/2016

Far North Queensland

A Bypass Through An Untouched National Park

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Straight back onto the bumpy corrugated road we slowly became immune to the rattle of the car.  As long as we kept up our momentum, it lessened the pain.  It was almost like being in another country compared to Cairns, blue skies were out and the weather was a constant 31 degrees every day!

First stop off after Isabella was the historic site of Old Laura Station.  The remains of this old homestead were very much in tact.  Being able to freely walk through the grounds and buildings at no cost was something unusual for us since the east coast!  Taking photos of the blacksmith and stable yards in the winter, it was unimaginable of how tough it must of been in summer when Old Laura was flourishing.  Especially as it is so remote!

Arriving at Lakefield National Park we detoured past a lagoon blanketed in lilies.  Hearing this site had a residential croc, Mark was quick to spot it and we all had a perve on this impressive beast with Stu’s $6 binoculars.  Our first choice of a camp site that evening was at Kalpower Crossing.  After we were wrecked by the National Park booking system at the Ranger Base, we went for our second favourite spot at Hann River.  This was still an unbelievable spot to crank out a fire and relax.

Throughout this northern section of Australia there were copious amounts of termite mounds, majority built by Magnetic Termites.  These fascinating creatures build their enormous homes in a North to South direction.   After leaving Hann River we drove through the Nifold Plains.  Found here was a ridiculous amount of these mounds.  Hundreds upon hundreds in all directions.  A fine drop of our cask red on the car roofracks while watching a sunset behind these silhouettes would have been incredible.

One last stop in Lakefield for lunch at Sweetwater Creek, we were truly lucky to have great scenery surrounding us.  Unfortunately, upon departure a freak accident occured when a stick flung up under Buzz’s side step, smashing into the underside of the car.  With a bit of panel beating we were lucky enough to push it back into place!

Burning out of the National Park, we quickly found ourselves at Coen (Stu had been chanting “Co-en the saints!” theme song everytime this town was brought up).  After a short pit stop to restock on fuel and groceries we ducked beside a small river only 5km north of the township.  Having the 4WD luxury, we drove through the river and set up on the sandy banks.  By doing this, we were away from everyone else with our own private freshwater swimming hole.

Relocating to another river camp further along our corrugated nightmare of a road, we arrived at Archer.  WikiCamps pulled through with the goods again and lead us down a serious 4WD trail.  After hitting a pretty ordinary camp down one path, we decided to venture down the other where we lucked out and hit an amazing, beautiful oasis.  Another sandy waterhole that was even better than the one at Coen!

Pulling the hammock out for the first time we tied it to some trees over the river and had a great relaxing afternoon.  We even tried catching some small bait fish with a net but didn’t have much luck. Grabbing some firewood and using some red gum previously collected from our last spot, Stu got some coals cranking for dinner.  Putting on a delicious mouth watering chicken stew cooked in the camp oven, we were living the dream.  

In these past days, we made the most of our freshwater swims to clean ourselves up and escape the blistering heat.  As a change of scenery was on the itinerary, we were about to embark on an exploration that was to take us to a saltwater croc haven…

20/08/2016 – 23/08/2016

Northern Territory

A bumpy trip to Palm Valley

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As we departed our camp dingo friends, the road was rough ahead.  Just under 2 hours of driving on an unsealed corrugated mess, we found ourselves at the Aboriginal community of Hermannsburg which was the site of the old Lutheran mission.  This was a rather large culture shock.  We had a tour through the historical grounds from back in the late 1800s.  The purpose of this mission was to intergrate natives into white culture.  This was also the place where the famous aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira grew up and marked his place in history. After the tour, we went to the local supermarket to buy a loaf of bread (which we’d been longing for since Coober Pedy!) and was actually reasonably priced, unlike the diesal at $2.37c/L!!

A blackboard from the school at the mission

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We continued our trip back down the road onto a “4WD only” track that headed toward Palm Valley.  This path followed a similar suit to the one earlier that day although some sand and dried up river beds made it entertaining.  Making it to the camp site just before the Valley we bunkered down and relaxed by the Finke River and had hot showers!  We had heard mixed stories about the last of the 4×4 path into the Valley itself and weather or not it was only taken by experienced drivers, otherwise we’d have to walk an extra 8km.  So stragically having dinner at the communal kitchen we striked up a convo with some other campers in regards to the matter.  Mixed opinions all round!  “Definitely need to be very experienced!”, “Need high clearance.”, “Nah you’ll be right mate.” and “You’ll have fun! Just go over and down all the boulders!” was the talk of the kitchen.  Our unsettled minds went to bed thinking what the hell..lets give it a crack in the morning..

The next day lead to more fun and adventure!  Waking up we made our way down the unknown track into the Valley.  Low range and a nice slow pace, we navigated through some contraversial landscapes to find ourselves out the other side and into a gorgeous Valley filled with Red Cabbage Palms. These palms grow only in very particular areas around Australia and if all were put together around the country it would fill a small area of 1 square km.  A 5km walk lead us around the top edge of the Valley to gain an oversite of the entire place and its magic.  This then lead back down where we were taken among the palms and along the riverbed.

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Back at the car we made our way down the track in which we came for a bumby yet exhillirating exit.  As we made our way back on the riverbed track we came to a halt as a member of the grey army had his caravan bogged to the axles in sand.  A learning curb for us, yet a trying time for another couple who had been with him for over an hour before we arrived, we attemped to get him back on the road.  Working with this old timer who didn’t want a bar of anyones advice, what took another hour after four more cars piled up, he managed to get some distance untill he was back on solid ground.  From here we had a clear path ahead to the Macdonnel Ranges..

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