A Ridiculous amount of Fun.

I must say that for anyone who owns a 4wd in QLD, the Cape trip is like a rite of passage into 4wd manhood. Apart from the challenge of machine against nature, if you come out the other end with a vehicle that is still drivable, you are guaranteed to have had the most fun you could have ever dreamed of.

After hanging out at the top of australia for a while we headed south and checked out the mouth of the Jardine River. As you can see below it was a little soft and eventually we stopped going forwards. Fear not, the max tracks came down from the roof rack and we were going again in no time.

I have realised that a long wheel base with limited articulation and a heavy load results in lots of 3 wheel action. The poor navara was consistantly negotiating creek entries & exits on 3 wheels. Kirsty wasn't too sure about that but I was loving it.

Under advice from many different travellers and locals that spoke of the 19 drowned engines this season, terrifying stories of water logged interiors and many tears that followed as people tried to cross the northern creeks, we bypassed the deep crossings heading north. But after we had crossed the ferry over the Jardine heading south we had a meeting and decided to do what everyone, including what our guide book suggested not to do, and that was hit the OTT heading south. This turned out to be the best decision we made all year.

Nolans crossing was our first victim, and after walking it and finding the holes we put on the tarp and away we went. There were still echoes of the screams of anguish from the day before when a cruiser drove straight in without looking and got stuck in the hole. The water level rose inside the car until he eventually got it snatched out in reverse only to run into the bank and add some panel damage to the bruised ego and soggy carpet. Both our cars got through without drama.

It's a horrible sound as the exhaust burbles under water and this distinctive swamp aroma drifts in through the vents, but a great adrenaline rush.

Next we hit Logans crossing which was a little deeper again and much wider but again we fitted the tarps and carefully made our way through. The Hyundai definitely got a lot of second looks to make sure they really were seeing what they thought they had seen.

The log bridge over cypress creek really is a buzz. Getting bogged is something you can handle. Having a bridge collapse under you is a horrible thought, fortunately it held together for us.

Cannibal creek put us to the test. Narrow entry into a deep but narrow crossing with a tight turn into a steep slippery exit. Both of us took a few goes to get up and the max tracks came out again to give that extra bit of traction as the front left wheel came off the ground.

Go the nav.... We timed this well as two troopies towing trailers had just spent 1.5 hrs winching themselves up this bank before we arrived.

The final test was coming out of Palm creek. We could smell the ice creams at Bramwell junction only 3km down the track but the nav just couldn't get traction up the steep ledge, even with the max tracks. So out came the winch and up we went. Victory was ours.....

If you had diff locks, you would most likely claw your way up this crossing, but I just couldn't find the button to engage them.... The winch worked well.

For dad this crossing was where he stamped his authority... unfortunately for me and the nav. With max tracks in just the right places he had his first attempt as we all watched and with opposite wheels off the ground he stopped in the same place I did. We all took a photo and turned to get the winch setup. Only a few moments later I spun around as I heard the Terracan revving to see it launched off the ledge come crashing down on the side steps as it bottomed out and then bounced up the bank. Needless to say dad had a smile from ear to ear and a chest bigger than Arnold Schwarzenegger as he jumped out of the car triumphantly. Mum was horrified by the crunching sounds that came from the car. But needless to say, and I quote "dear it was worth it to beat Jonno..... and the side steps are only a little bit bent". So the Hyundai conquered the OTT North and South.