Cape York

Camping north of the Jardine is included in the ferry fee, so make the most of it.
Here are a couple.


Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

We loved Loyalty Beach, safe and easy access to all the major attractions.

People rave about Pundsand Bay, your packed in like sardines, and not for us.

We found very limited sites at Mutee Head, basically first in for the best spots and did day trip from Loyalty Beach.

As for walking to the Tip, you have 2 options, the mountain goat track, uphill hill or if the tide is out, the easy walk along the beach which is easy.

Make sure you check out the Aboriginal Rock art at Somerset Beach. Go through the Mangroves and then rock hop to the cave, worth the effort.

If you have a snorkel, snorkel Sox highly recommended, the red dust will kill your air cleaner element and I changed it every night.

We loved Weipa, we were there for a week, well worth the detour.

Lots to see and explore, dont rush the trip.

It might look remote, but if you dont see other groups of vehicles every 10 minutes or so, something is wrong.

Be prepared to see lots of idiots driving like there is no tomorrow.

When you are up there, the best and most accurate updates are at the Croc Tent, they are very helpful.

If you do the 5 Beaches drive, make sure you check tides first, something that I did not and could only do 3.


Just keep planning and enjoy

Hi William B,

I have to agree with Stephen and Peter, that at Punsand Bay, whilst closer to the “Tip”, you can be very close to other campers. If going again, we would stay at Loyalty Beach.

As far as the road conditions are concerned, the Peninsular Development Road which runs from Laura to Weipa is pretty much sealed all the way to Weipa. From the junction of the Peninsular Development Road and the Telegraph Road just north of Archer River, the Telegraph Road to Bramwell Junction is mainly gravel and depending on when the grader was last over it, can be quite corrugated. From Bramwell Junction, the Bamaga Road to Bamaga and beyond is also mainly gravel with a few bitumen sections, with mostly bitumen at the Bamaga end. The gravel sections can also be quite corrugated.

Back in 2018, we took our 18’ Full Off Road van all the way to Punsand Bay without any issues. With the exception of staying at the Bramwell Junction campground and Punsand Bay, we bush camped all the way. In order to drive the Old Tele Track, which we did on our return from the Tip, we left the van at the Bramwell Junction campground and drove up the OTT almost to the Jardine River, then drove back down the Bamaga Road to collect the caravan and continue back down to Weipa. Whilst it is possible to drive the OTT in a day, (we did including a 30 minute stop at Fruitbat Falls for a swim), it is better to take a couple of days to enjoy the whole experience. This will mean you will need an alternate method of sleeping and camping arrangement to the caravan.

The OTT is definitely not suitable for towing even a off-road camper trailer. Palm Creek and Gunshot are the most difficult to go through, but there are other creek/river crossings that can also be quite challenging.

We spent a week at the Tip, and several days getting there and back down to Cooktown. We started our journey “up the Cape” from Karumba on the south east coast of the Gulf. We travelled up the Bourke Developement Road from Karumba, then the “Dixie” Road to Dixie, crossing the Mitchell River near Maramie, and joined the Peninsular Development Road just south of the Musgrave Roadhouse.

As I stated earlier, we bush camped most of the way up and back. Your Ferry Fee at the Jardine River also includes a bush camping permit whilst up at the tip, but does not cover any camping in campgrounds. These you will need to book and pay for separately.

Food and fuel is available at several places all the way to the Tip, but prices will be high.

Do not be in a rush, do not be overloaded, but most importantly, enjoy the experience.

Macca.