- 4 hours ago
Pat Callinan's 4x4 Adventures - Season 18 Episode 2 -
Cape York Part Two
Cape York Part Two
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FunTranscript
00:00G'day folks you find us in far north Queensland on the old Telegraph track. Last episode you left
00:12us at Cockatoo Creek where we had already had some serious challenges and a few battle scars
00:19on my F-150 so if you haven't seen that episode be sure to check it out but this time we have
00:24so many more challenges to come I cannot wait to get into it and our aim is to make it to the
00:31northernmost point of Australia Cape York. This episode I'm joined again by Steve from Redarc who
00:38will be behind the wheel of our Ford Everest and of course Josh who'll be helming our beautiful
00:43Bronze Ranger Tremor. We'll be heading up the old Telegraph track taking in some beautiful stops
00:50at Twin Falls and Elliott Falls, the Jardine River and all the way up to the tip of Australia
00:56and believe me when I tell you that this journey won't be without its challenges with plenty of
01:02obstacles, water crossings and maybe even the odd bogging. Our first stop is just ahead at Fruitbat
01:09Falls we just need to navigate a slightly tough bit of track to get there. Wow well we've got a little
01:15drop-off into Sailor Creek at the moment. I never liked my sidesteps anyway. Here we go. Gently as she does it.
01:29Yeah we've slid down.
01:35That was a doozy.
01:36Surely was. The Cape is a doozy a minute at the moment. We're on the sliders here.
01:45You can hear our beeping. That's just how close I am to the track. It's trying to swallow me whole here.
01:56There is so many unexpected obstacles and hurdles on this track. This is one I could not say in good
02:03faith that anybody should ever drive at night because oh there is just so much going on. So much going on.
02:13Steep drop-offs. Steep inclines declines. It's all happening. Just save it for the daytime folks. It's not worth it.
02:21Fruitbat Falls is a naturally occurring weir and found a few kilometres from the junction of the
02:27southern bypass road and the old telegraph track and it is a fantastic place to stop and wash off the dust
02:35and it's mostly croc free. But it doesn't hurt to be cautious. To the uninitiated you might wonder why we
02:43would bother subjecting our four-wheel drives and our bodies to the rough and tumble of Cape York. Well
02:48I think that reason becomes apparent when you land at a place like this. This to me is off-road heaven.
02:55Fruitbat Falls folks. A magnificent swimming hole. Gorgeous waterfall. Crystal clear water.
03:03Doesn't get much better.
03:04And well there's nothing for it but to hop in and enjoy that beautiful crystal clear water.
03:17What a spot. Simply beautiful.
03:20Steve I've noticed when I've been looking at my red vision screen today I've been charging at about 95 amps and
03:36yesterday I was doing about 100 sometimes even 101 from my alpha system. Is there a reason why that
03:42would fluctuate? Yeah absolutely Pat. Today it's fairly warm. The batteries were heavily discharged last
03:48night so they've been taking a fair bit of current this morning so they may have come up to temperature
03:53and the manager actually monitors battery temperature and adjust charge in in real time to
03:59not only charge them effectively and correctly but also protect them. That's a very cool feature.
04:05Still blows me away this system just how quick it charges your batteries like it is crazy. We can run
04:11induction cooking, charge camera gear, we're running two fridges plus a beer chiller which is basically
04:20another fridge. Oh man not to mention running the stereo it only seems to take a few hours to recharge
04:26the next day. Just the speed in which you can do it is unreal just gives you total freedom at the campsite
04:31doesn't it? Yeah it sure does.
04:32In terms of when to travel to Cape York it's really over those winter months you don't want to come
04:41up here in the wet the rivers are simply too high the track is too wet and too challenging and
04:47basically undriveable it would be irresponsible to do it in the wet season so I think around about that
04:54June July mark is not a bad time to come but I would recommend trying to if at all possible avoid the
05:01school holidays because that is when this place gets really really busy and certainly the old
05:07telegraph track gets very blocked up and the Jardine ferry also has a massive weight to it. Cape York
05:15will have you spoiled for beautiful places to take a dip and our next stop is one of them. Elliott Falls
05:22and Twin Falls are just off the old telegraph track. A short walk along a board walk and we were greeted with
05:29this magnificent sight and somehow we were the only lucky buggers here. Look at the colour of that that
05:38I don't know what is it greeny clear turquoisey it's so gorgeous isn't it?
05:45Man could never make something this beautiful could they? Not at all not at all. Ah nice
05:51How good. Well fellas first impressions twin falls what do you reckon? Pristine perfect. Unbelievable I
06:02just yeah I can't get over this. Will you be back Steve? Oh 100% I'll be bringing the water absolutely. Good
06:08stuff. The tele track is really a place of duality. One minute you're driving along laser focused trying
06:16your best to avoid damage to your vehicle on one of the toughest tracks in Australia and the next
06:23you're bobbing gently in a beautiful water hole. Your mirrors will get smacked because you didn't
06:28see a tree you'll do what I did and and smash a rock and dint a seal or uh never mind the actual
06:35obstacles that are in front of you the big declines where you could smack your bull bar into your face you
06:40know so she's a challenge and we're averaging 30 k's a day and it feels like we're doing 300 you know like
06:47yes you just get decision fatigue and which line am I going to do because every one of our lines has
06:53to be different with different wheelbases like that's it. A little bit of a scrabble up the rocks
06:58and I'd found a bit of fun. Oh man Cape York makes me feel like an absolute uh teenager when you get
07:07waterfalls like this it is criminal not to take advantage of it. What a beautiful sight. Sometimes
07:18well you just gotta jump in. Let's go.
07:31The Cape truly is one of the most rewarding 4x4 destinations
07:36in the country and we could have stayed here at Elliott Falls all day. There's even a campsite
07:42out the back but there are more tracks to drive so we marched onwards. Now that we'd enjoyed a couple
07:49of relaxing waterholes for the morning it was time to earn our keep with the first obstacle of the day
07:55which just happens to be another beautiful creek. Oh wow I tell you is there any end to the beauty
08:04here in Cape York you cross these creeks this one is called Canal Creek
08:11just look at it folks look at it any one of these water crossings you would happily swim in
08:18probably drink out of to be honest you'll notice that there is a whole lot of wheel articulation
08:23required as you're driving along the old telegraph track but occasionally you can hit something
08:28unexpected it might be a tree root popping out of the side of the track it could be a big rock and
08:33what that can occasionally do is violently spin your steering wheel because it spins your tyre really
08:41quickly in your wheel and then that transfers straight back up the steering shaft to the steering
08:47wheel. Now if your thumbs are on the inside of your steering wheel spokes you can actually dislocate or
08:54even break your thumbs not a nice thing to happen folks so just make it good practice to keep your
09:00thumbs on the outside of the steering wheel that way if that steering wheel does get jerked rapidly
09:07violently then you're not going to do any damage to yourself. Today is a day of water crossings and
09:13with one down our next is slightly trickier. I am dropping into Sam Creek now and I tell you what I feel
09:22like I've got to breathe in in the big rig because this is very very skinny and I hope not to hit things
09:33there we go and we're in just try to gently get the tail in so it doesn't go bang
09:39there we go you don't need a bow wave in every water crossing folks you can just sort of drop things
09:47in gently especially for a little short and reasonably shallow things like this. There's a nice little
09:53climb out of here I'm just going to throw the rear diff lock on because I might need it we shall see
09:59and up we go good bit of liftage oh man it's so interesting driving this vehicle the long wheelbase
10:13is so handy in situations like that in others not so good break over angle isn't quite as strong
10:20I think I need to run 40 inch tires and now for the gnarly exit
10:29you gotta love a truck that makes you smile if it doesn't make you smile just don't drive it
10:41and the final in the trifecta of creeks for the morning is Mistake Creek it's a relatively shallow
10:47creek leading to a steep and narrow uphill climb and as the name suggests it could put your vehicle in
10:54peril if you take the wrong line after the break the crossings get scarier deeper and muddier and later
11:03we take to the skies over Cape York peninsula welcome back you find us navigating our next obstacle
11:12on the old telegraph track we're at the log bridge at cypress creek and it's got everyone a little nervous
11:19so we're all taking extra precautions and walking it before we drive our first log bridge fellas yeah
11:27she's a long way down i feel like we're in the amazon now
11:32you do not want to come adrift here do you no certainly not but we've got our uh i'm pretty sure
11:39this is Queensland roads regulation straps here absolutely everything's all legit
11:44these logs have been stress tested oh this will be fun okay i'm just thinking steve do you want
11:50to call us through you can you can guide us i'm i would like to personally put my right hand
11:56tire through that's what i was thinking yeah and um and then we'll guide you through yeah that sounds
12:01good i might chuck you this unit in there thanks beautiful gear on i'll get you through so with steve
12:07on comms guiding josh and i through it was time to drive okay so uh yeah mate keep going left hand
12:15down like that straighten him up a bit tiny bit more right hand left hand down sorry he's trying to
12:22scare me that's good that's good keep coming straight this is just a game of trust now go a tiny bit left
12:29down straightening back up and you're good keep coming through beautiful thanks mate that's all
12:39right smooth sailing the big log there was moving out on the top so for that crossing i did have it in
12:44low range makes perfect sense and uh i didn't have the differential lock on i don't think i really
12:51needed it there i'll bring you a bit closer in with them there's absolutely nothing i could get wrong
13:06the sound of the creaking is really nice isn't it that's two down one to go when you're guiding it's
13:12a good idea to use hand signals so you can sort of let them know rather than left hand down right hand
13:17down which can be a little bit confusing a little bit that way a little bit of that way and you're
13:23usually pretty well sorted and when you are guiding in a situation like this it's slow slow slow you just
13:29got to make everything slow and deliberate because here one force move not good i'll now put that into
13:36action as i guide steve across oh mate you don't need me beautifully lined up yeah just keep it slow
13:42nice and slow crawl it over that's it that's it that's it beautiful that way that way
13:56well done the obstacles don't seem to stop here having cleared cypress creek straight away we were
14:02into another water crossing at cannibal creek wow go pad ski that's so good seeing an f truck turn a
14:11corner with the front right up in the air it was a sight to behold cannibal creek is a nice easy
14:18crossing but there's a much bigger deeper one coming up yeah so with nolan's brook guys i don't
14:25know whether we'll cross it we really do just want to suss it out because we're so close to the tip now
14:30and i think my plan is similar to the advice that i would give to anyone is to pull up and have a cup of
14:36tea or have some lunch and just suss it out and chances are you might watch someone else drive
14:41through and that will give you a little bit of additional information to help you decide whether
14:47you want to cross as well sounds like a solid plan as water crossings go on the old telegraph track is
14:53this one the worst the hardest yes that's a very simple answer mate it absolutely is
15:01we pulled into nolan's brook a place with a hell of a reputation more vehicles are written off
15:08here than any other in cape york unsurprisingly we weren't the only ones here in fact quite the
15:16crowd had gathered to watch other adventurers make the crossing we also took the opportunity
15:22to knock even more air out of the tires before attempting the crossing as it has a soft sandy bottom and
15:28this is one you definitely don't want to risk being caught out on then the best course of action
15:34is to walk it with some gentle encouragement from the gathered crowd you walk in that tie track mate
15:43and i walk in this one and we'll see what we're going to get so this isn't too bad so far no it's a good
15:49sandy bottom there's a little hole that's all right pretty quick
15:55i'm gonna lose a mic pack here soon i think yeah oh it's coming up now
16:12jimbo swing around and have a look at this uh we got the uh we have the the peanut gallery here
16:16so do i hear some of you guys have been out there with the shovel no no not at all okay
16:29so armed with the knowledge we needed and a line chosen it was back in the rigs
16:34okay here we go there is nothing like having a crowd with the water crossing
16:46there we go a bit bumpy there isn't it mate a bit lumpy josh and steve navigated their rigs through
17:02without a problem talk about performance under pressure
17:10the unfortunate thing there was that people had dug holes in them and we couldn't take the track we
17:15wanted to and you'll even see that we hit a few bumps on the way out and that was remnants of
17:20some more of those holes it's not the best thing to see and in fact it's really sad because the convoy
17:25that came in after that was a convoy for charity and they would have been the ones stuck if they
17:29hadn't walked it first so just goes to show do get out and do walk it because you don't know
17:35what's been going on in there up next i'll show you one of the best and quietest camps on the old
17:41telegraph track and later bogger strikes back there's so many ways to get wet in the cape often
17:49you're walking across the river or you are rolling around in the mud and when you're getting into a
17:55car that you actually love you don't want to make it feral and wreck the seat so i've actually installed
18:00these seat covers here they've got a nice soft cotton feel but they're actually 100 waterproof so i can
18:06rock in in my wet shorts or muddy shorts if you've been changing a tire or something and do no damage
18:14and have no guilt whatsoever for treating my car badly these things are actually made over in perth
18:21as well 100 aussie made and that makes me feel good black duck folks that's the name and you might
18:28want to check them out especially if you're going to come up the cape you will have seen just how crowded
18:34it is there at the campsite at nolans brook and for good reason there is entertainment water holes
18:40it's pretty cool but it's a bit too crowded for me so that's why i'm just heading a little bit further
18:44north to a camp that not many people go to at all normally they do nolans brook and then jump straight
18:50on the jardine ferry and head over to the more popular campsites of punsan bay and seisha they're dead
18:57keen to get to the tip i've got a little bit more time up my sleeve so i'm going to take our team and
19:02we're going to camp on the banks of the beautiful jardine river cape has just opened up for us we've
19:08gone from these tight closed-in spaces to this and it feels massive comparative to what was a jungle
19:16that we're in it's nice to be back out in the open the world suddenly feels a lot bigger if you're new
19:24to four-wheel driving or simply haven't mustered up the courage to do your first water crossing let me give
19:30you a few tips to get you on your way water crossings definitely involve a little bit of skill
19:36and technique both in the preparation and in the driving now when you are preparing for a water
19:43crossing obviously the first thing you want to do is to walk that crossing now when we walk it we're
19:48looking for all sorts of different things we're looking for obstacles under the water they might be
19:53holes they might be logs rocks whatever you also want to feel what it's like on the base there so is
20:00it muddy is it sloppy is it sandy and if it is sandy how do you want to actually attack that do you want
20:06to reduce your tire pressures as you would normally in a sandy location so there's a lot of things that
20:13should go through your head when you're walking that water crossing now once you have walked that water
20:19crossing the next thing i think you should do is actually consider do you actually want to put you and
20:24your vehicle through that if you're feeling really uneasy and unsure about your skills and the
20:29capability of your four-wheel drive be brave and actually turn around that's sometimes the smartest
20:35thing to do and up here in cape york that's a really easy thing to do because there's a lot of little
20:40tracks that you can backtrack and head straight across to harder ground and not put yourself or your
20:47vehicle through these sort of situations because they are challenging and if they do go wrong
20:52they are very expensive and it often involves an absolute write-off of your vehicle and sometimes
20:58an increased insurance excess as well so if you don't get it right it's pretty damn bad something
21:04else you could consider is actually putting a water blind over the front of your four-wheel drive
21:09that does a few things it does create a little bit better air bubble underneath the bonnet and it
21:14also stops water from slamming in and possibly changing the pitch of your radiator fans because if that
21:20happens you can actually cut a hole in your radiator and find that down the track your engine's
21:25overheated because you've lost your radiator fluid obviously we fit a snorkel to our vehicles because
21:30that lifts the air intake much higher and stops us taking in big gulps of water which would hydraulic
21:36the engine because your engine can't compress water it is incompressible and that causes major terminal
21:44damage to your vehicle so we're running snorkels on all of our vehicles you can get away with a
21:49water blind for a short crossing but it is a lot more sketchy so that's the outside preparation
21:56let's get in the vehicle and prep for the drive now i'd always recommend selecting low range in your
22:03four-wheel drive because that gives you additional torque to the wheels particularly at those lower speeds
22:10and you will find there's quite a bit of resistance in the water as you're trying to push your way
22:14through that water crossing and you never know how soft it is underneath there so you want to engage
22:20any traction device that you can so i'm going to select low range now
22:24and in addition i'm going to select the rear differential lock that locks up those rear tires and
22:30they will then turn at identical speeds so it doesn't matter if one of them slips it will still continue
22:37driving so it really gives you that positive traction just in case you get stuck halfway across
22:43now that brings us to the driving style what should you do i think a lot of beginners make the mistake
22:49of really hitting it because they are so excited and a little bit fearful of what's going to happen
22:56so they hit it really hard that's not a smart thing to do because you get this big jolt and stop
23:02and it's not a smooth run what you're wanting to do is create a nice bow wave around the front of
23:08your four-wheel drive and just do steady progress if you hit it hard you could damage electrical
23:14components radiator fans all sorts of stuff as you hit it hard so just go in reasonably gently and then
23:21keep a firm throttle on the way through but there's no need to go too fast because you may end up
23:27spinning tires and getting bogged you tend to find the guys that drive steadily all the way through
23:34keeping that constant throttle on there they are the ones that successfully get to the other side
23:40don't be jerky on the throttle because that could lose your momentum dig your holes all sorts of stuff
23:46you just want to keep that constant momentum going through and then you'll find that 99 times out of 100
23:53you will make it to the other side absolutely safely now if it is a particularly tricky crossing as
23:59well you can also take the precaution of getting your straps or your winch ropes ready so that they
24:06are ready to go so that your vehicle isn't stuck in that river and sustaining damage coming up josh tries
24:13to reclaim his bogger title we finally reach the top of australia and later take to the skies
24:23i'm so glad and the crew are so glad that we camped here last night because i think the old telegraph
24:32track it is one of those tracks where you've got to stay buttoned on all the time there's lots of
24:37people there it's a frenetic pace and it's very challenging through the duration so to be able to
24:45find a spot like this we are the only campers here there is about six campsites but we're the only one
24:51here in peak season and you get here and you kind of decompress and i would recommend that rather
24:58than jumping rapidly on that ferry and racing to the tip come here and experience this really special
25:06part of tropical australia a part that hardly anyone ever gets to see and i mean look at this we're
25:13camped literally on the jardine river the melaleuca are in bloom
25:22this to me is what it's all about the challenges yes we love them but the serenity that you get
25:30at a spot like this this to me is what it's all about after an epic journey it was time to say goodbye
25:37to the old telegraph track as we departed camp and backtracked to pick up the northern bypass road
25:44but it's the kind of track that can leave a mark sometimes literally as in the case of my rig but
25:51also on you as a four-wheel driver for a whole lot of people four-wheel driving is an escape it's an
25:58escape to somewhere and also sometimes an escape from something sometimes your mind just likes to play
26:05tricks on you and one of my favorite things about this track is likely not what you're expecting
26:11it's that it forces distraction it forces you to focus and think critically about what you're doing
26:18because you take your eyes off the track and it's going to punish you so you really are so distracted
26:24from anything that you may have going on at home or anything like that and it's one of the reasons that
26:29i myself got into four-wheel driving but this track more than any other in australia that i've driven
26:34has epitomized that for me it has been absolutely revitalizing so thank you to the old telegraph track
26:42although that said josh might have been a little distracted from his driving as well
26:47geez what's he doing coming up my inside i think this he thinks it's an off-road overtaking lane i don't
26:54know if i'm feeling brave or stupid but i just found that okay no i'm just stupid make that was coming
27:02up the outside i think i think i've lost him back there patsky may i borrow your f-150 please
27:09bogus strikes again classic josh lennon maneuver there i tried to go on the right hand side get
27:14around patsky for a bit of fun but i made it three meters in before i ran out of talent and clearance
27:20okay let's get this rig into place
27:22and try not to get bogged in the process it's pretty firm up here we're going to keep this
27:32recovery simple as there are no trees big enough to anchor to we'll be using my f-150 as the anchor
27:38point we'll attach the winch from the ranger in a straight line pull with his covert winch
27:43what a way to start the day okay so now i've got to prepare my vehicle and you might think that just
27:52being an anchor vehicle there's not much to do leave her in park leave the vehicle off no no no no no
27:57don't do that you could do some serious damage so i have my vehicle running that powers up my brakes
28:03and i'm also going to put my vehicle in drive now i do that because when your vehicle is locked in park
28:09it's not designed to move so it's designed to stay in place then those gears that are holding it in
28:15place if you all of a sudden put some serious winching force behind it that could potentially
28:21snap those gears obviously you don't want that to happen so i'm slipping it into drive vehicle on
28:27and now i'm ready for him to start tugging at my vehicle because there is a potential that my vehicle
28:32could be pulled half a meter a meter backwards in the process
28:36what do i start this winch when should i lay down the power just so i'm not digging more holes
28:42great question mate it's really just about trying to match the speed of your winch beauty okay well
28:48i'll just match speed of the winch to make sure that there's always a bit of tension there and
28:51and we'll see how we go and with plenty of power in the covert winch josh and his ranger were free from
28:57their muddy hole and then just when we thought we were home and hosed i got a call over the radio from
29:06steve uh you got a copy pat i do mate what's up oh mate i've just got myself a little hung up here
29:13and uh i'm not going anywhere so i might need you to uh spin around and come and come and rescue me if
29:18you could please no worries mate i'll double back give me a sec thanks mate i'll uh i'll wait here
29:25like you've got a choice okay mate well there's a bit of a sharp turn after where you're stuck so i reckon
29:32uh this might be just a job for your winch actually i was going to snatch you out but um i think the
29:38snatch strap's a little bit too long for this recovery so how about we do a short little winch
29:43yeah that works for me mate i'll i'll jump out and get it sorted so like josh steve was out of the rig
29:49and into the mud to hook up his winch now steve's actually just de-isolating the winch there this
29:57isolation switch basically means that no one can stuff with your winch or you're not going to get
30:02any false activations there so it is possible for vandals to actually hotwire your winch simply by
30:10playing with the control box but with that tucked away under the bonnet it's not going to happen and
30:15likewise if you just get any any shorts in there if salt water gets in there corrodes things and starts to
30:21activate your winch unnecessarily it's a really dangerous thing and it can also damage your bull
30:27bar now we uh we might throw some gloves on uh keep it nice and safe and uh whip it out nice short
30:33winch here if you're new to four-wheel driving you might not appreciate um just how important these
30:38recovery points are we speak about it a lot but i don't think it's a point that you should really
30:44forget about because often four-wheel drives will come out of the factory with
30:48basically shipping tie down points that aren't rated for a big heavy recovery so if you get these
30:53aftermarket ones they are well and truly rated for snatching for winching and they're rated for much
31:01higher than the actual weight of the vehicle itself we're hooking the bushranger 4x4 revo winch on the
31:08everest up to the recovery points on my f-150 to make this recovery simple and safe and then it was
31:16time to get him out all right pat are you good for me to have a winch yes mate i am locked in reverse
31:21and uh brakes are on now i'm ready to go
31:27jeez just pop the box keep on coming i reckon
31:32well done mate that winch was working overtime there the revo yeah it did a good job though got
31:37us out of that situation we can continue on so i'll just pack it all back up and off we go
31:43good work mate thank you well that was a muddy bit of fun for the morning consider it a kiss
31:48goodbye from the old telegraph track after the break the tip awaits a tasty local treat and then
31:58we take to the skies
32:01welcome back we've made our way along the northern bypass road to the jardine river crossing the ferry
32:07here requires a ticket to cross and let's just say you'll probably get more bang for your buck at
32:13lunar park well this little sticker folks cost me 160 dollars and that is for the privilege of about
32:21a 30 second ride across the jardine river so golden ticket in hand it was time to board and make the
32:29most of our time on the jardine river ferry well we made it finally on the jardine river ferry used to
32:34be able to cross this thing but gosh it looks long and deep so knowing me a ferry is probably a better
32:41option now it's onwards to the tip
32:50as we make our push north the view out the windscreen has undergone a beautiful change
32:57i really love this final little dash to the cape because you have these gorgeous little water
33:03crossings but it really does feel like you are in a different part of australia this is
33:08rainforest country in certain pockets at least it's dark it's dank but it is absolutely beautiful
33:18suddenly the rainforest canopy opened up and we'd made it the very tip of the continent was now
33:27only a short walk away now there are a few ways to get to the tip one is to walk over the top of the
33:34headland but the quickest way provided the tide is playing ball is to park up at frangipani beach
33:41stroll along the flats and then make your way over the short stretch of rocks until you're there
33:48ah well fellas we actually made it well done thank you very much mate thank you cheers steve
33:55there was a few times there where i wasn't too sure that we would have made it
33:58same yeah so how was it for you josh like what you said mate i really wasn't sure if we were going
34:03to make it it's one of those tracks where you're just hanging by the seat of your pants the whole
34:06time so to get here feels like a massive achievement yeah and i reckon it's actually it's a bit of a
34:11load off because there's so many challenges down on that track that to get here in one piece and we
34:19have had a little bit of damage along the way it's kind of yes we've made it and how about you steve oh mate
34:25i loved it every step of the way it was just an adventure you never knew what the track was doing
34:30and i was thought i was prepared for everything but we just had a crack and we got through and i
34:34loved it well the pressure's off now fellas i think we all deserve a celebratory cold refreshment
34:40i think so let's roll and with the sun slipping away there was nothing left to do than pop up the
34:47bushwhacker fold out some chairs pour a few frosty refreshments and reflect on the journey we had just
34:55made if you were to give some advice to someone that hadn't been to the cape before what would
35:00be one thing that you would you would tell a newbie i would say make sure you have a good winch
35:05a good winch on board's got us out of strife a couple of times on this trip so uh yeah definitely
35:09consider that as a as a really important thing to bring with you i think pace is really important
35:14on something like the old telegraph track you have nothing but time so get out walk things look at
35:20what you're doing and literally just drive slowly there is nothing on the old telly that you need
35:25to hit at speed i can't believe like there is beginners hitting that track and like you referred
35:30to earlier it's like a double black diamond sort of track now it's um it's a heavy hitter so just go
35:37slow and steve how was that feeling when you first hit the tip mate it was unreal just uh like i said
35:43i've seen the i've seen the sign a few times uh on socials and posted about but to see it yourself
35:49for the first time is a really good experience and yeah it sort of makes you think how large
35:54australia is and puts it in perspective what about you josh i think elation for me but also
35:59a lot of proudness really proud to be out here to be doing it with you and doing it the right way
36:05there's a whole lot of there is genuine wrong ways to attack the old telly and i feel like we did
36:09it the right way so i was proud of us yeah awesome i think hang on just before we go too much further i
36:14think the word is pride not proudness i'll just give you an english lesson yes yeah i didn't finish
36:20school well there's not too many spots on the east coast of australia where you can watch that sunset
36:27dip into the water so i reckon we just keep back and enjoy boys i reckon
36:35up next we finish our cape york adventure way up in the air welcome back we're starting our final
36:42day on the cape with a trip into somerset the northernmost locality in all of queensland and
36:49we've popped into town where i'm picking up a surprise treat to share with the guys
36:54later on now there's a local delicacy that you'll find up in cape york that you rarely see anywhere
36:59else in australia and it is called salty plum and i'm gonna give the guys a taste of this out on the
37:08track and see what they reckon there is so much more to cape york than just the tip and one of the best
37:15adventures you can do is the five beaches drive best completed at low tide this drive showcases a nice
37:23little slice of history and scenery so that was our task for the day well the sand down there is nice
37:31and hard but the little track coming out a little bit soft and a little bit lumpy not a particular
37:38challenge for our fords but it's really nice to know that this isn't just a track it is a four wheel
37:46drive track you would not get around here in two wheel drive this is proper red dirt meets the ocean
37:55it is just stunning and the greens are popping it's like somebody's just turned the saturation
38:00right up on this drive well i can tell you folks that this track does not see much maintenance i think
38:07the maintenance that actually sees is four wheel drives driving it and chopping the branches with their
38:14panels having found ourselves a nice clearing i thought it was a good time to take in that view
38:20and break out the snacks oh how's that guys is that not the perfectly framed picture of the coast up here
38:30pandanus termite mound turquoise water it is stunning could be a postcard it could yeah really could
38:37but i have got you guys a special special gift this is a local delicacy it's called salty plum
38:45and i need you to eat the entire thing on my say so okay we will all get ready okay let's get into it boys
38:54salt is right it certainly is don't know how much plum i'm getting oh
39:08suck on it but got all that salt out of there it's a little bit of a time bomb too
39:13oh my goodness it makes my eyes hang on there's a bit going on
39:21yeah keep on showing oh look at your mouth i feel yeah i've been on the beetle nut
39:26towards the end it's not too bad though like it's very intense but then it comes back i've always
39:32wanted my tongue to match the f150 so it took me on a journey
39:36yeah but i'm okay with it 55 bucks folks for the mega bag bamica servo can't go wrong
39:45an acquired taste to be sure so fortified for the tracks ahead we continued our exploration
39:52i really can't think of a better way to spend your day than cruising across five beaches in
39:57absolute tropical paradise and your favorite four by four with two good mates this is just amazing
40:05these tracks weave in and out of beach drives and across a variety of terrain including some
40:10narrow jungle but the beauty is they really aren't challenging making them a great opportunity for
40:16people who may have skipped the telegraph track to get out there and test their vehicle
40:23there are these big lumps of volcanic rock that make for a very bumpy ride down this hill
40:31take it nice and easy and you shall be fine
40:36they're pushing me into the side of the bank though at the moment i think i'll just make the turn
40:46there we go and there is a beautiful view at the end of it the last stop on our cape adventure
40:52is very cool indeed we're swapping our fleet of fords for this well joshie we have done cape york
41:01in the forby we've done it on foot what do you reckon now we do it in style oh mate this is a proper
41:09trait i think this is a good idea i cannot wait let's go for it
41:18welcome to uh cape york up above and the view from the air as you'd expect is magnificent
41:26this really is an incredible experience to be right over the top and see cape york from the air
41:34folks you must do this if you get the opportunity so you guys are the highest australians in australia
41:44well i've got to say that was a fantastic way to cap off our cape york adventure
41:50and like the rest of this trip an experience i will not forget
41:56well i'll tell you what folks steve josh and i have
41:58had one hell of an adventure we've had a ball up here cape york i mean it's considered the
42:04geographic pinnacle of australia but it could also be considered the pinnacle of four-wheel
42:10drive journeys and i hope you can make it up here one day yourself i'm pat callin and until next time
42:16keep the shiny sign up
42:28that this might be our last time
42:36is
42:47tonight
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