Cape York - The Australian Adventure - RELOADED

[JAG811]

Back in 2014 I set out on an adventure that was 10 years in the making.
A newly divorced father, I packed up my 3 year old daughter, my old Land Rover 'Sally' and we ventured as far north as we could go on this big old island.
Prepared but cautious, excited but still a little anxious, I can remember setting sail on what would be the greatest adventure I'd ever embarked on.

I recorded the adventure on this forum - https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/cape-york-the-australian-adventure.129397/
Seven years later, I find myself again retuning to Expedition Portal to journal my preparation, vehicle modifications, trip report and photos as I prepare to make a return to the infamous Cape York.

A return to the Cape has always been on my mind. My youngest daughter Maya was only 1 at the time, and has always asked about the stories Inca and I have shared about our Cape York adventure. I always promised Maya I'd take her back to see it for herself one day. In a world of lockdowns and COVID restrictions, this year seemed like our invitation had arrived. Unable to travel internationally, Cape York started to call out to us again.

A new life, a new family, a new Land Rover Well it's not new …. but I've moved on from a TDi to TD5.

I've got 3 weeks left to have the Big Girl ready for a final boarding call, before we set sail again. A wife and 2 girls, I'm out gunned 3:1.
1031km from Cairns to Cape York, and then we'll turn around and make our way home.
We'll take 13 days to travel the standard route - Peninsula Development Road up to the Old Telegraph Track, before we catch the ferry over the Jardine River and finish up at Punsand Bay for an woodfired pizza and a bourbon.

 

[JAG811]

 

[JAG811]

Headlights
One of the first things you notice when you hit the Peninsula Development Road are the amount of trucks coming home with fishbowls where their headlights once were.
I’d imagine any trail or track with constant creeks to ford would present with the same problem, but the Old Telegraph Track is renowned for bonnet high creek crossings all day long.

Big Girl had a cracked drivers side headlight and a blown bulb.
I’ve replaced the standard headlights with some free form Narva policarbonate replacements. And I’ve used LED H4 replacement globes.

I’ve siliconed the park light wiring holes in the headlight grommet, and siliconed in the park light bungs into the headlight housing.

But the preparation tip I wanted to share was that I’ve sealed the headlight grommets off with rubber grease. Just like you’d seal off your distributor cap with some regular grease, it really helps to keep the water from entering your headlights through the back of the housing where the wiring meets the bulb.

It worked a treat last time and I thought it might be a good tip to share this time.

 

[JAG811]

 

[Knickter]

Good luck on your new adventure and please do share some photos.

 

[JAG811]

The Map

Cairns to the tip of Cape York - 1031km each way.

 

[JAG811]

Winch Cradle

 

[JAG811]

Cargo Barrier

I wasn’t planning on building one, until I saw how much I’d have to pay for one.

So I started with a grid style barrier. Large enough to still slide timber and steel through, but small enough to mount molle pouches. I wanted a gap in the middle in case I needed to reach through and then I started to think about recession it off the back seat, because it has no headrests. That way the kids could use there pillows with it too. And then I thought why not run some black cord along it. The cord will blend right in and hold up the kids pillows.

Angle around the outside for strength and flat bar on the inside to create the grid, it was just a matter of trying to keep everything as square as I could.

Really happy with the end result.