Well after 18mths in the planning, including bbq meetings and powerpoint presentations, it’s all come to an end…And as much as I love my own bed, I’m feeling a little ‘all over the shop’ with all these luxuries at my fingertips, as well as actually missing the ‘remoteness’ of some of the places we stayed.
Over the next few weeks, each of the trip participants will provide their own, no holds barred, without influence or threat of being left at home in the future, trip account, ideally in the following format. I’ll kick things off for now though…
HIGHLIGHTS…
Wow, after researching and planning for so long, for me there’s so many so I’ll just list them in no preferential order:
Hitting the first corrugations of the PDR, Bramwell Station, our first water crossing into Eliot Falls, Eliot/Twin and Fruitbat Falls, our day trip on the Tele Track, stopping for fuel at the famous roadhouses I’d read so much about, the sunsets of Seisia, the fishing at Weipa, Harper covered in dirt and learning to crawl, the kids having fun on the beach at Seisia, the trip up the Daintree, Cooktown, the fantastic campsite at Airlie Beach, and of course – signing and hanging one of our ‘Riff2Tip’ shirts from the roof of the Lions Den Hotel…There’s surely heaps more, but they’re the stand outs for me…
LOWLIGHTS…
The whole trip was exciting for me, but the following moments left me a little flat:
1) The passing of Clare’s Nan – Completely unexpected, and affected all of us. Nan was much loved and still missed by all of us. Her legacy lives on through our little gem Harps, who shares her middle name (Lola) with Nan. Having to farewell Clare, Harps and E at Bamaga Airport was very difficult, and despite being surrounded by the others, I felt a little lonely without my trusty navigator beside me…
2) Dropping Ethans iPhone at The Tip – The hype of reaching the top of Australia engulfed all of us. Unfortunately for me, it was a bit too overwhelming, resulting in my fine motor skills dropping off and me accidentally dropping Ethans beloved iPhone on the rocks, smashing the screen just as we were leaving The Tip. Definitely put a bit of a downer on what should have finished as the most fantastic of afternoons…
3) The Prado breaking down – After hailing its praises for the days following the toughest roads and water crossings she’d seen, we got back safely to Cairns. Only for her not to start and get us away on time. The worst bit was breaking up the group, with Team DMax on a tight schedule due to work and school commitments, they had to depart Cairns and head for Sydney, whilst we waited for a replacement alternator…
GIVEN MORE TIME I’D…
Plan our days a bit better, ie not so long in the car…more time seeing the sights. On paper we didn’t account for refreshment stops and Harper playtime. Turned our planned 5-6 hour days, into 7-9 hour days causing us to arrive late at our camp sites. Regrettably, we missed quite a few sights along the way as a result…Maybe one day we’ll get back up there…
BEST MEMORY…
Without a doubt, reaching the top of the hill that looks down onto ‘that sign’. I almost teared up at this point. Having researched endlessly, watched hours of videos and read others’ trip accounts and having travelled thousands of kilometres, to finally be standing there was almost too overwhelming. I hope one day the kids realise and appreciate what it took to get there…
What a beast…Having bought her second hand just over 12mths ago, I suppose she was a bit of an unknown entity. Sure we checked and double checked everything before we left, but there was still some blind faith that accompanied her. Having travelled the corrugated roads that we did, I have no doubt that getting Paul and his team at Heasmans Steering to fit a set of Bilstein B6 offroad shocks and the Polyair rear bags to the Prado got us safely through.
For those that have travelled on corrugated roads (some were 100mm high), you know what I’m talking about…For those yet to do so, make sure you have everything strapped down, and your false teeth secured…It’s relentless and punishing on the car. I really am amazed at how well the Prado went, and with a little tip from the towie in Coen (travel on the opposite side of the road if safe – corrugations form the opposite way) we got through without any noticeable damage to the suspension…Despite Clare launching her skywards after hitting a sneakily hidden dust hole…
THE CAMPER…
I succinctly recall collecting the brand new, never seen a dirt road or weather, camper. I had no idea how she would look after the trip…With the exception of our day trip along the OTT, the camper went everywhere the Prado would go. The camper seemed to handle the tracks and corrugations well, although she got a little loose on some of the sharper, corrugated corners. Probably driver rather than the trailer though…After the water crossing into Eliot Falls (water 3/4 up the wheel arch), she only had some minor damp to the battery compartment. The remainder of the trailer, including the main tub, stayed dry. The seals also seemed to do a good job, with just a hint of dust getting in under the front.
A novelty for us at the start, became a bit onerous towards the end of the 32 days. Predominantly the setting up of the additional kids room and annex, especially on the snappy one nighters, was a bit painful. Yes we did get quicker, and either Clare or myself could do it on our own if need be, but that extra 15-20mins ate into the sunset, and refreshment time…With the outer skin covered in red dust, setting up and pack up meant covering yourself and clothes in the red stuff…After a while, you just gave up and spent the whole holiday pretty much with a red tinge in all of your clothes (which still exists 2 weeks later…)
It was great to experience hiring the camper trailer without the sizeable outlay in purchasing our own. As we travelled along, Clare and I spitballed a ‘wishlist’ for a camper. For me, the main difference would be for a larger tent size (12ft at least) to accommodate our family, without any additional rooms, etc. A walkup at the foot of the bed was Clare’s ‘must have’, after having me climb over the top of her in and out of bed to feed Harps…After having my heart set on buying a soft floor camper for the last 18mths, I dunno now…maybe something like a wind up Jayco, or similar might serve us better. I guess we’ll see….
WHAT NEXT?
Who knows…Two weeks later and the garage still resembles a camping store. We’ll catch our breath, see in the new year, and I suppose start planning for a 2015 trip…There’s so many places I’d still like to drag our little family to. The High Country, Ayres Rock, The Simpson, Cameron Corner, Kakadu, Fraser…Maybe a ‘big’ trip every second year, with a couple of NSW based in between…
A big THANKYOU to our parents. Your encouragement, assistance with the house and the odd $ here and there, allowed us to get up and back safely…
A huge THANKYOU to Paul, Katreen and Brooke…Without a doubt, my dream of going to the tip may not have come to fruition, without their sense of adventure, trip experience and willingness to be our travel buddies…An additional thanks goes to Paul…Despite my lack of 4WD knowledge and experience before the trip, I felt safe at all times knowing full well he had experienced the Cape before, and wouldn’t put our family in danger or leave us stuck at the side of the road…Thanks mate!!
Even BIGGER THANKYOU to Clare, Ethan, Ben and Harps for sharing my dream, putting up with the endless hours in the car, bumpy roads, dirty clothes and the odd ‘meltdown’ – without you all the trip wouldnt have been the same…
I know it sounds corny, but after going back through our photos whilst writing this, it hit home – we really do live in a beautiful country…Don’t put it off, or wait until you’re too old to enjoy it – get out and see it…..
Anthony
Riff to Tip 2014 
Never met anyone before who ventured to the. Cape. Must have been just a magic experience all round. Open country, dusty roads, wonderful outback locations, trucks stops, and the characters you meet along the way, and those exciting river crossings. Definitely the trip of a lifetime. I so much envy you all, and thank the big man up stairs that you all arrived home safely. Looking forward to hear and read more wonderful stories in the future from all corners of this great nation. Congratulationa to yourself and. Clare for following through with that wonderful dream and experiencing the journey that everybody else may just dream about So very proud.
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