Weipa to Dulhunty River, Queensland
A shortish day, covering 216km, from Weipa north to the Dulhunty River, where we camp for the night. On the way, we get to the first real 'track', the Overland Telegraph Track, where we go through a few interesting creek crossings.
The road east from Weipa was the same one we went in on for the first 40km or so, then we cut across to Batavia Downs and the OTL, passing through some nice Macrozamia stands. And it's not the same road--below Weipa, the OTL is a fairly decent road. Here, it's still fairly wide, but with lots and lots of corrugations to jar your teeth out. They're so loud in the car you can't hold a conversation, and occasionally you get this pounding pressure in your ears that just hurts from their sound.
That didn't last long, though: we turned off where the Southern Bypass road branched off. While the OTL follows the old original telegraph line in a bee line to the tip of Cape York, it also has numerous creek crossings. The Southern Bypass avoids these by veering to the east then north across higher country. It is also a bit less scenic from what I hear as well. Anyway, the OTL north of the Southern Bypass is strictly a two-track affair: one track for your left tires and one for your right. You can't go more than 40km/h on it, and even that's generous, as there's numerous washouts and the branches and trees brush the sides of your car.
Our first creek crossing was also probably the most dramatic of the next few days. Now with most of these crossings, the issue isn't the water, it's the banks. The first one at Palm Creek featured a moderately steep drop into a pit where you bury your bull bar and lower bumper, then a shallow drive through 10 meters of water. That's not too hard. The exit is the tricky part--it's a 20m drive up a slippery 45 degree bank, with a few rocks thrown in. We were the first to do it, and didn't have any problems at all. I drove, and just kept it in 4WD low range, first gear, and the 'Cruiser walked itself down the bank and across the river. On the far side, I took a bit of a flying start (but not really fast) kept my momentum up, and resisted the urge to really spin my wheels. I didn't particularly want to dig myself in. It was uneventful.
Most did OK, but some others did have a bit of a problem... Bill in the Pathfinder took it too fast, which caused his car to bounce too much. He caught his rear differential on the center mud, and had to get a gentle tug out with a snatch strap. Ian in the Range Rover just couldn't keep his momentum up at the very top, and also got a gentle assist.
With that done, the next crossing at Bertie Creek was also a bit of a drama, but nothing much. We were passed by a group of three cars, and another family in a Landcruiser.
Finally, we made our way to Dulhunty River. The campsite is nicely located, but it was quite crowded... the other groups that had passed us in the afternoon had taken quite a bit of room as they setup camp, and there were already three other groups of people camping there. We ended up scattered about--Chris and I put up our tent just above the falls, which was great. It was very hot and humid there, with quite a lot of biting flies. Me and others took a few dips into the pools just below the falls, which were sublime, with lots of little spa bubbles to relax you. Chris kind of kept to the sidelines. I don't know why he didn't want to swim.
And then dinner, and then we went to bed early. I didn't feel like doing anything with all those biting flies. Blech!