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Late afternoon at Twin Falls.
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Just as the Overland Track is a must do for most Australian bushwalkers, the Old Telegraph Track holds the same sway for most 4wd enthusiasts. Like the Overland Track the OTT also travels some stunningly beautiful and wild country, although instead of the alpine lakes, rivers and mountains of Tasmania the OTT crosses wild tropical rivers and creeks, and passes through tropical rainforest and the savannah of far North Queensland (although there is less tropical rainforest than you may imagine).
It was getting close to the end of October by now and the weather was getting super hot and sticky, heading north towards Bramwell Junction it seemed we were the only ones still up here. When we did see another vehicle they were inevitably rattling their way south so it all felt a little foreboding as we turned off the Southern Bypass Road and started up the OTT. As soon as we motored away from Bramwell Junction we are into it today as the OTT arrowed its way north. Palm, Ducie, South and North Alice Creeks all came and went with little trouble, well actually there was a problem... yes, the problem was keeping me in the driving seat and not wanting to stop all the time to enjoy the superb wild swimming! Luckily for me when we arrived at the Dulhunty River the temptation for a swim was even too much for Sam. With no one else around it was just a matter of parking on the ford and then finding a deep enough pool to soak in for awhile, the cool crystal clear water being very refreshing in the tropical heat.
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When I think of the OTT I think of creek crossings.
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There is quite often choices when it comes to the water crossings.
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The Dalhunty River.
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The Dalhunty River was my first swim of the day.
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Suitably refreshed after our nice dip we jumped back into the Troopie and continued bumping our way north. First Bertie and then Cholmondeley Creek were negotiated without too many issues, however then we arrived at what is arguably the crux of the OTT, Gunshot Creek. Now anyone who has been around 4wd's for awhile will have no doubt seen photos and video of Gunshot (yes, like the Murray or the Yarra it's first name only for Gunshot). There was a fairly substantial detour around Gunshot that headed east towards Heathlands Rangers Station before re-joining the OTT a few kilometres north of Gunshot however I decided to head up and check things out. Jumping out of the Troopie at Gunshot things didn't immediately look that promising, there were two entry points and both were near vertical two metre drops into mud and water, not something I was keen on tackling on my own. Looking around I noticed another entry point a little further along the creek and while this one was steep it also looked doable, the problem with this one was that once in the creek I had to drive down it for awhile before I could exit. Still after walking the creek and finding that the creek bed was reasonably good and that the water was only thigh deep we headed through, making it without any real problems.
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Gunshot
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There was an easier entry into Gunshot but I had to drive through here.
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With Gunshot out of the way we continued north again, crossing Cockatoo and Sailor Creeks before meeting the Bypass Road again. The next section of the OTT up to the Fruit Bat Falls turn off is shared with the Bypass Road so it was all pretty easy going today. Arriving at the turn off to Fruit Bat Falls the Northern Bypass Road hands off west, the OTT goes north and Fruit Bat Falls is off to the east, so east it was. Fruit Bat Falls is a stunning waterfall and swimming hole on Eliot Creek and once again Sam and I were lucky enough to have this beautiful spot to ourselves today. Downstream of the falls there is a nice swimming hole while up stream there is a wide rock bed that the water flows over, however after exploring upstream a little further I found some nice one metre plus deep spa sized holes that are perfect for soaking in, sweet! Actually when I think back to this area, which is now in the Jardine River National Park, it's calling me back to explore a little more although next time I'm thinking that it'll be on foot with my pack.
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I'm thinking that this might I've been Cockatoo Creek....second swim of the day!
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The swimming below Fruit Bat Falls is very good.
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Fruit Bat Falls
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Fruit Bat Falls
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Up stream of Fruit Bat Falls there are some deep holes to soak in.
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Fruit Bat Falls
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Fruit Bat Falls is a day use only area so after spending a few hours here we jumped back into the Troopie and followed the OTT north for a few kilometres to the Twin Falls Camp. Now I'm not exactly sure what the name of this camping spot is because apart from Twin Falls there is also Eliot Falls and Indian Head Falls all within a couple of minutes walk from the camp, anyway I'll go with Twin Falls. This is another of those magic Cape York spots, so nice that Sam and I spent two nights here. Like I mentioned there is no shortage of waterfalls to cool off in here so it was nice to spend some time alternating between basking on the rocks reading and then cooling off in my choice of pristine waterholes.
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On the short drive between Fruit Bat Falls and Twin Falls we still had one water crossing to negotiate.
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It pays to be very careful where you swim up here.
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Twin Falls.
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Twin Falls
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Twin Falls... hmmm.
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Twin Falls
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Spending a couple of nights at Twin Falls meant that I could break out the camp oven. Check out the size of my old headlamp!
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Dinners ready.
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After a couple nights at Twin Falls Sam and I set off again north on the OTT. While the southern section of the OTT has Gunshot to contend with, apart from that the creek crossings aren't too bad, the northern section of the OTT ramps things up a bit with a series of tricky crossings. Sam, Mistake, and Cannibal Creeks all required different approaches however it was Cypress Creek that really focused my mind. Cypress Creek actually had a bridge...of sorts! The bridge was a collection of loose logs spanning a deep gully however I had a 90˚ turn off a steep sandy single lane track to get on it which meant that getting both the front and back wheel aligned on the logs was pretty tricky. Still, with copious amounts of sweat trickling into my eyes we did indeed safely manage to negotiate the bridge at Cypress Creek and after negotiating a few more un-named creeks we arrived at the deep Nolan's Brook, it was time for a swim! Actually I'd argue that Nolan's Brooke is more suitable for swimming than driving a 4wd through it because it is deep, really deep... with steep slippery banks.... apart from that it was all pretty good!
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The bridge at Cypress Creek focused my mind a bit.
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The real issue with this crossing was the right angle turn onto the bridge.
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Nolans Brook, good for swimming - pretty deep for driving!
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After safely negotiating Nolans Brook we took the track out to meet the Northern Bypass before heading off north to cross the Jardine River on the ferry. Now you can actually cross the Jardine River at a long and deep ford on the OTT however it's not something I'd consider on my own, especially as the river is home to a large population of Saltwater Crocodiles. Safely across the Jardine we made our way north through Bamaga and up to Pajinka Wilderness Lodge, this lodge is long gone now I think but back in the day it was a good spot to spend a couple of nights, it also made the perfect spot to head up to the tip of Cape York Peninsula the next day. To get to the tip of the cape involved a short walk out along a rocky point with some nice views down to Frangipani Beach below. Arriving at the end of the rocky point it was a little surreal, when I'd thought of standing on the northern tip of the Australian mainland I'd imagined that we'd by staring out into a vast ocean however in reality the view from the tip is of islands just off the mainland. After taking a few happy snaps at the tip Sam and I returned back to Pajinka and enjoyed a nice celebratory BBQ with some of the locals along with a young couple on their honeymoon who were about the only other travellers still up on the cape, couple that we'd get to know a lot better over the coming weeks.
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We made it.
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The tip of Cape York Peninsula.
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When I'd imagined standing on the northern most point of the mainland I thought that I'd be gazing out over an empty ocean.
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The Dirt.
The Old Telegraph Track is rough, really rough in spots. Thankfully the old Troopie had diff locks, a winch and snorkel and while I didn't use the winch I used everything else I had at my disposal. The camping and swimming, along with the adventurous driving make this a memorable adventure I think, one of my favourite trips actually. Now having said that I'd hate to be up here in the busy season as I'm thinking that it would be a bit of a conga line of 4wd vehicles, especially now days when it seems that every one of my cashed up bogan brothers has a shiny new 4wd. As I mentioned we stayed at a place called the Pajinka Wilderness Lodge on this visit which was quite a pleasant spot to spend a couple of nights, unfortunately the lodge had a fire and fell into disrepair a few years later. We mostly used Hema paper maps on this trip.
Relevant Posts.
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Heading back to Pajinka - that's Frangipani Beach behind us.
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Frangipani Beach must be the most northerly beach in Australia - It looks beautiful however I wouldn't recommend swimming here!
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