Going OTT on the OTT (Old Telegraph Track)

Old Telegraph Track (OTT)

Sunday 30^th July – Thursday 4^th August

Day 1: Bramwell Roadhouse (the start of the OTT) to the junction of Delhunty River and Bertie Creek – 31kms, 5 river crossings.

After the obligatory photo at the entrance to the OTT we quickly caught up to 9 Range Rovers on a tour at the first river crossing – Palm Creek. Palm Creek looked like a 4x4 show as heaps of other four wheel drivers had popped in to watch all us crazy people attempt the track. We didn’t want to get stuck behind the tour group at every river crossing so we were grateful when they let us squeeze past a few whilst we were waiting in the shallow creek. Palm Creek is a small creek, but the entry and exits are steep and had been really churned out over the last few months, so they were proving challenging for everyone. After watching a few cars go up the exit we were doing (with one getting very stuck) it was Daniel’s turn. The winch was ready and Jackson knew what to do. Daniel got the car up most of the way up, just needing the winch for the last bit. The poor car suffered though and it had a few more dings to add to the collection (and a lot of mud!).

The rest of the river crossings on Day 1 were relatively straight forward and we rolled into a fabulous camp spot around midday. We were camped right at the junction of the Delhunty River and Bertie Creek and we spent the afternoon cooling off in the crystal clear water and sitting in the rapids.

Jackson and Daniel went to try their luck in a few of the deeper holes in the Delhunty and within 5 minutes they were back with a Pikey Bream, which we baked whole as an entrée – Yum!

Trying to get out of Palm Creek - a muddy, boggy, steep exit. Luckily the winch was prepared.

There were some seriously big termite mounds along the OTT.

The track at this point was so dug out that when I opened the door to get out the ground was at the base of the car door.

Daniel and his catch- a Pikey Bream.

How fresh is this....we cooked it only a few hours after it was caught. A delicious entree......

..then for main course it was bush hotdogs. Hotdogs cooked on the fire then put into damper that the kids had rolled around a stick and cooked on the fire.

Day 2: The camp spot was so lovely that we decided to stay another day to enjoy the river and the remoteness (as it was off the main track so we only had 2 other campers there). Little did we know the weather was not going to co-operate. It ended up raining ALL DAY. I tried to do a bit of work under a very rudimentary shelter (we had not packed for wet weather) but spent most of the time scooping the pooling water off the tarp before it collapsed! Daniel took the kids to check out the Gunshot Creek crossing so we were prepared for the morning. Mid afternoon the people we met on the Frenchman’s rolled it, so it was lovely to spend some time getting to know them and hearing about their adventures.

The best shelter we could rustle up with our limited supplies! 

Enjoying Bertie Creek during a break in the weather.

Day 3: Junction of Delhunty River and Bertie Creek to Cockatoo Creek, 24kms, 3 river crossings.

After it rained all night we were feeling a bit dubious about the next river crossing at Gunshot Creek. It is an extremely challenging crossing at the best of times, but after about 30 hours of rain we were concerned with how slippery it would be. Out friends from the Frenchman’s Track eased our worries though and we all agreed to help each other make it through. The main issue is the entry – there are several entries and they are all steep, with two of them basically vertical drops. The boys decided on a third entry that, although still a very steep drop, was not as steep as the others and there was less chance of damaging our car. They had to dig out some of the dirt on the side of the track, then use Maxx tracks in the deep boggy holes. Their preparation paid off and all 3 cars made it through unscathed. We stayed at Gunshot for a while after, as it was exciting watching others try to cross – especially some crazy people who were going south on the track.

We set up camp at Cockatoo Creek and spent the afternoon swimming in the river and enjoying the rapids before relaxing by a campfire and stargazing.

While the boys were all sussing out the different tracks, Emilia did some aerial gymnastics!

The crossing at Gunshot Creek - Daniel made it look easy, but it is actually very challenging. His experience and skill four wheeling driving was certainly very much appreciated.

Daniel edged the car down until it eventually slid into the muddy water.

Coming out of Gunshot Creek was a lot easier than going in.

Enjoying the rope swing at Cockatoo Creek.

Tandem swing!

Instead of the rope swing, I preferred getting a massage from the rapids.

The sign at the junction of the OTT and the PDR (Peninsula Development Road). The OTT joins the PDR for 7kms. Although I don't love four wheel driving, the OTT was preferable to the PDR as the corrugations were pretty bad.

Day 4: Cockatoo Creek to Nolan’s Brook, 60kms, 7 river crossings

We left early, hoping to arrive at Fruit Bat Falls before the crowds. We were rewarded for our early start with the falls all to ourselves for an hour. It was blissful standing under the gushing waterfall- better than any massage I have ever had. I stood under a particularly strong one for ages, until my back went red, and all the muscle soreness from the last few days of four wheel driving disappeared. After a quick breakfast in the car park we headed up to Eliot Falls and enjoyed a few hours exploring Eliot Falls, Twin Falls and The Saucepan. We left feeling very clean and refreshed.

As we’d had such an early start we decided to keep driving and, after a few river crossings, we were at Nolan’s Brook- the last river crossing on the OTT. We relaxed in the water and watched everyone else cross. Daniel had to jump in and help at one stage as a car got stuck in the soft sand in the middle of the creek and ended up needing to be pulled out. When they were out and opened up their car doors so much water came gushing out! It was certainly entertaining watching everyone else and the methods they used to try to cross.

Although it was still a bit cool and misty, it was worth coming early to have the falls to ourselves.

Enjoying a hydrotherapy massage.

Feeling refreshed after our long soak.

Eliot Falls - we swam up to the falls but the water was so strong you had to keep hold of the rocks or it sent you flying back down!

We had fun jumping into this deep hole..even I had a go.

And Daniel impressed the kids with some flips.

Twin Falls.

The Saucepan- to the left of Emilia is a big deep swimming hole, the kids spent their time floating down the rapids into the swimming hole.

Cypress Creek- A few days ago some other people had added some extra logs to stabilise the bridge- it still looked a bit dodgy to me!

The bridge felt okay to walk over but the log on the passenger side creaked and moved when the car went over - a bit scary!

Crossing Logan's Brook- after I waded over to take the video I was told a crocodile had been spotted there a few days back!

Logan's Crossing was a deep one - at least Katty (our mascot) got a rinse off.

This view became very familiar on the track.

Crossing Nolan's Brook - the last river crossing on the OTT.

The Nolan's Brook crossing wasn't as deep as Logan's Crossing, but still deep enough.

The kids enjoyed the rope swing at Nolan's Brook - but they had to hold on tight as the water was too shallow at this point of the season to drop in to.

Not a bad spot for our morning coffee.

Ready to board the ferry to take us over the Jardine River - we made it!