TRIP RECORDS

TRIP ROUTE MAP
We have published our route map, complete with distances and a list of our nightly campsites. The map is included as the first pic in our online Photo Album (follow the link on the right of the blog page).
These maps were prepared using the very good HEMA maps and OziExplorer (PC version), with GPS datalogging from a Garmin Oregon 400t handheld GPS.


GOOGLE EARTH VISUALISATIONS
Links to two Google Earth files are included with this blog entry:

1. one displays the photos from our web album at their location on the map, and
2. the second displays our detailed GPS track as a blue line on the map within Google Earth.

http://sites.google.com/site/thetiptrip/the-tip-trip---file-cabinet/TipTrip-PhotoAlbuminGoogleEarthformat.kml?attredirects=0

http://sites.google.com/site/thetiptrip/the-tip-trip---file-cabinet/TipTrip-CompleteTrackFileinGoogleEarthformat.kml?attredirects=0

You must have Google Earth installed on your PC in order for these links to open successfully. If you open one, then the other, you will be able to view our detailed GPS track and our photos together on the same map. You may need to zoom in a little to clearly see the blue line of our track route.

ROAD CONDITION PHOTOS

Note also that there are a number of photos in our album (mostly without captions) taken looking ahead out the windscreen. These photos might be useful to anyone considering or planning a similar trip and curious about the road conditions. When viewed in Google Earth, these photos will appear at the location where they were taken.

Tosh & Techo, over & out...

...thanks for visiting :-)

Day22 (Fri-14-Aug)- Packsaddle Roadhouse to Adelaide (Home Sweet Home)

Up early this morning; a very cold pre-dawn start to our 700km trek home to Adelaide via Broken Hill.

Highlights from today (Fri-14-Aug):
- saw lots of kangaroos north of Broken Hill as dawn broke
- our last iced coffee for the trip, for breakfast at Broken Hill
- lunch at the Burra Bakery
- said farewell to the dirt and enjoyed bitumen south of Broken Hill
- arrived home safely, unpacked the top layer of our stuff, sat back and enjoyed a drink under the verandah, recounting the high points of our trip. We both agreed that it was a marvellous adventure and we couldn't believe our luck with the weather & the crowds (lack of)
- seeing our family and friends again
- looking forward to sleeping in our own beds again

Lowlights:
- had to dodge lots of kangaroos north of Broken Hill as dawn broke
- still can't work out where we "lost"30 litres of diesel from the Landcruiser's sub tank. Incredible to believe that someone could have milked it along the way without our noticing. This will probably remain an unsolved mystery.

Tosh & Techo, back home after a fabulous trip!


We plan soon to post some facts & figures from our trip, the full track details (for viewing in Google Earth), some more photos of the road conditions along the way and a couple of our most important tips for anyone considering or planning a trek to The Cape.

Day21 (Thu-13-Aug)- The Dig Tree to Packsaddle Roadhouse

Good day; bad roads (again). A mix of rough stony tracks and soft sandy patches. We've had enough rough roads for this year! Visited Innamincka & the Oil Fields before heading south over the border into NSW to the Packsaddle Roadhouse, 175km north of Broken Hill.

Highlights from today (Thu-13-Aug):
- sunrise over the Cooper Creek
- Farmer's Union Iced Coffee at Innamincka
- self-guided tour of three Cooper Basin Oilfields near Tickalara, with expert commentary from Techo
- friendly welcome at Packsaddle roadhouse & good chat with Packsaddle Pete on the front verandah
- great showers at Packsaddle - they even have those shaggy bathmats!
- another still evening, but jumpers are on tonight!

Lowlights:
- Iced Coffee was frozen so we had to wait for it to thaw
- laptop mouse escaped - most likely in the oilfields, we think
- the sub tank fuel gauge works - but for the life of us, we can't work out where we "lost" 30 litres of diesel
- have dug our jeans out from the bottom of our bags ready for our return to South Australia tomorrow

Tomorrow we plan to get an early start, stock up on Iced Coffee and knock off the remaining 690km to home in Adelaide.

Tosh & Techo

Day20 (Wed-12-Aug)- Windorah to The Dig Tree

Firstly... we've been out of NextG range for two days, so apologies for the delayed postings.

440km today. Doesn't sound like much, but almost half of that was on road conditions that rivalled the Cape's Bypass Rd. Instead of fierce corrugations, we tackled rough, hard rocky tracks through the gibber country of south-west Qld. We made our destination at The Dig Tree on The Cooper Creek around 2pm, and decided we'd camp there 'cause we'd had enough driving for today!

Highlights from today (Wed-12-Aug):
- arriving at camp early and being able to rest & recuperate on the banks of the Cooper Creek
- peaceful, still, uncrowded campsite right next to the Dig Tree; a spectacular sunset and another mild evening under a clear sky

Lowlights:
- rough, remote last 200km to Nappa Merrie from the north
- hitting (probably fatally) a beautiful, rare endangered bush bustard that was too slow to take off as we approached it at 80km/h
- noticed sub-tank fuel gauge is reading wrongly; a quick investigation failed to fix it; another job for when Tosh gets home

Tomorrow we plan to continue south, staying east of the Qld border, pass by a couple of Techo's oil fields around Tickalara before heading across the NSW border toward Tibooburra.

Tosh & Techo.

Day19 (Tue-11-Aug); Winton to Windorah

Good day today. Visted the Lark Quarry Conservation Park thismorning and saw the marvellous building they've constructed there to cover and protect the dinosaur stampede footprints discovered there. Then it was a long, remote drive through changing scenery to Windorah.

Highlights from today (Tue-11-Aug):
- The marvellous building at Lark Quarry; housing a superb display of dinosaur footprints. A lot of money, thought & effort has gone into this park and it was great to see our taxes put to such good use
- bizarre ancient servo with blind, very old attendant at Windorah (had to tell him how much fuel we'd filled, what it cost and how much cash we'd handed over, so he could work out the change
- campsite fees just $5 at Windorah caravan park
- Mild evening; no jumpers required
- Red chicken curry & rice; yummy but too hot for Techo to finish

Lowlights:
- noisy overnight at Winton (cattle & trucks)
- the Windorah 'caravan park' looks much better at night in the dark then during the day; but the amenities are good

Tomorrow we'll head toward Burke & Wills' Dig Tree on the Cooper Creek near Innamincka.

Tosh & Techo.

Day18 (Mon-10-Aug)- Undara Lava Lodge to Winton

Woke to a dewy morning at Undara, headed off on a looong drive through uninspiring countryside to arrive in Winton. We set up camp in one of the caravan parks and watched as the park filled with vehicles and people in preparation for the local Rodeo next weekend.

Highlights from today (Mon-10-Aug):
- Iced coffee with the very friendly roadhouse cockatoo at The Lynd Junction Oasis roadhouse
- great lookout over the deep Porcupine Gorge, carved deep into the plains by the Porcupine river, north of Hughenden
- seeing our first ever Muttaburrasaurus in Hughenden
- finding the "shuffle" function on the iPod, so we didn't have to make decisions on what to listen to

Lowlights:
- the uninspiring scenery
- the narrow, chopped-up, patched bitumen "track" between Hughenden & Winton
- Tosh conceding that shock absorbers will need to be replaced when we get home (they've gone very 'soupy')
- smelly Artesian water in Winton caravan park showers

Tomorrow we will visit the dinosaur footprints preserved at Lark Quarry, then either pop over to Longreach or continue south toward Windorah (we'll see how we feel in the morning...)

Tosh & Techo

Day17 (Sun-9-Aug)- Cairns to Undara

After breakfast at the Stuarts, we drove into Cairns to check out the new 'lagoon' area on the foreshore, then headed south to Mission Beach (via a Kurrimine detour to see the Stuart's holiday spot) to drop in on Techo's parents in their home-away-from-home. Then we turned west and headed inland to the Undara Volcanic National Park.

Highlights from today (Sun-9-Aug):
- deluxe cooked breakfast at the Stuart's
- seeing the foreshore development at Cairns
- catching up with Mum & Dad and seeing their winter hiding spot at Mission Beach
- Bev's leftover-roast sandwiches with chutney & mustard
- listening to a Hamish & Andy podcast to pass the time on the road
- finding a peaceful & remote campsite, away from the crowds, in the back carpark at Undara Lodge (all regular campsites full!)

Lowlights:
- not finding the topless section of the Cairns foreshore
- pulling into the overly-commercialised Undara Lava Lodge
- a Kookaburra flew in & stole our salad as we were dishing up
- this evening we've had to dig out jumpers from the bottom of our bags

Tomorrow we'll head towards Winton/Longreach (haven't yet decided).

Tosh & Techo.

Day16 (Sat-8-Aug)- Cooktown to Cairns

Travelled from Cooktown to Cairns via the Blookfield Track through the Daintree and finished at the Stuart's in Brinsmead Glen, Cairns for an afternoon of catch-up and a marvellous home-cooked roast!

Highlights from today (Sat-8-Aug):
- tropical rainforest experience on the Bloomfield Track
- easy, unrushed and enjoyable drive
- catching up with the Stuarts - great company; marvellous dinner, comfy beds & a hearty breakfast

Lowlights:
- return to two-wheel-drive country & traffic lights
- urban sprawl encroaching on the rainforest
- crowded shopping centre carparks

Tomorrow we plan to visit the Grey Nomad parents at Mission Beach, before heading inland toward Undara.

Tosh & Techo

Day15 (Fri-7-Aug)- Coen to Cooktown

After a great night's sleep by the brook at Coen, we set off to Cooktown via Laura and the Battlecamp Rd. More corrugations, more traffic, but not as bad as yesterday. Arrived Cooktown with plenty of time to spare, found a wonderful campsite in the very shady Penninsula Caravan Park and are set for the night.

Highlights from today (Fri-7-Aug):
- listening to Hamish & Andy's "Unessential Listening" in the car passed the time superbly
- lunch at a great roadside spot, Isabella Falls, on the Battlecamp Rd approaching Cooktown
- Tosh's phone finally gets into Optus coverage area (first time since Alice Springs) and receives his week-old text messages
- makeshift repairs on the car are holding up real well

Lowlights:
- morning checks revealed another car problem. The bracket supporting the cruise control had fatigued & failed, leaving the unit 'swinging in the breeze'. A quick bracket renovation with coathanger wire, duct tape and a couple of cable-ties saw it securely back in place.
- contacted Tosh's sister in Cairns to arrange a catch-up, but they're presently too far down the coast

Plan to tackle the Bloomfield Track to Cairns tomorrow and stay with the McIntosh's friends, Bev, Tony & Georgia tomorrow night.

Tosh & Techo

Day14 (Thu-6-Aug)- Punsand Bay to Coen

Today was our worst day yet...

Yesterday we achieved our goal of getting to The Tip, we celebrated and spent a relaxing afternoon at the remote, peaceful camp at Punsand Bay, then went to sleep happy.

Today we woke with a sense of loss and, with a touch of sadness, we packed the car and set off southward for home. It was an extraordinarily rough trip over hundreds of km of corrugated gravel & sand 'roads'. We arrived in Coen late this afternoon mentally exhausted from the jolting corrugations.

Highlights from today (Thu-6-Aug):
- Finding the WWII aircraft wreckage sites near Jackey Jackey airfield at Bamaga
- well-earned rest and hamburger at our Bramwell Junction lunchstop
- another beautiful campsite by the babbling brook at Coen

Lowlights:
- aforementioned empty feeling
- relentless, mind & bum-numbing corrugations all along the Bypass Rd & Telegraph Rd
- getting yanked off the road into a culvert at 80km/h (car & load survived, but a scary moment)

Tomorrow we'll head toward Cooktown where we'll probably spend the night.

Tosh & Techo.