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!

Fireflies and Frenchman's Guacamole

Kutini- Payamu (Iron Range) National Park - Wednesday 27th – Friday 29th July

Frenchman’s Track - Friday 29th July

Bramwell Station - Saturday 30th July

We said goodbye to the caravan at Archer River Roadhouse then headed towards Iron Range National Park – fully loaded up and ready for adventure.

The campground at Chilli Beach (the major attraction of Iron Range NP) was fully booked out so we settled on a campground in the rainforest. Our initial disappointment at the location of the camp area (as well as the fact it was a 750m walk to the nearest toilet) was negated once darkness fell and the fireflies twinkled in the sky. They were so beautiful to watch and we even got to see one up close when it landed on the ground. They look just like a regular bug but when they open their wings their bum glows! We were also lucky enough to see a vibrant green tree frog when we went for a walk to the river (to see if we could spot any crocodiles). Our wildlife encounters didn’t spot there – Emilia nearly stepped on a snake walking up the road to the toilet. It had been run over so Daniel was going to put it out of its misery but when he touched it with a stick, it slithered away. Hopefully it recovered as it didn’t look too well. We also saw a huge python and Jackson disturbed a snake in the grass near our camp. However the funniest encounter we had with an animal was on the second night. Everyone was already in the tent and I was just finishing brushing my teeth. As I went to put my toothbrush away I heard a rustling in the bag that held the bread, eggs and chips. Of course I wasn’t brave enough to do anything so I just took a big step back and held my breath. Out popped a head! ‘DANIEL…I NEED YOU HERE RIGHT NOW,’ I screamed, as I was certain it was a snake. As Daniel got out of the tent (in his jocks) the critter jumped out of the bag and into the car. It was not a snake…just a native bush rat (but quite a big one so I felt justified in my angst!). Well Jackson isn’t one to let something interesting pass him by, so he came out of the tent (in his jocks as well) to help Daniel. So we had Daniel and Jackson (in their jocks), with head torches on, going from door to door, lifting up seats and peering down the crevices trying to find the elusive bush rat, who kept disappearing whenever they spotted him. Ten minutes and many expletives later, Daniel finally caught him in one of the drawers and sent him off into the bush (hopefully not to return). And the whole time, I just stood a few meters back holding a torch!!

On the second day there we did a day trip to Portland Roads and Chilli Beach. Portland Roads is a small community that was once the site of a large port where Allied Forces loaded supplies for the navy and air force fighting in Rabaul. We learnt (when we visited the Lockhart Airstrip (which was made for WW2 allied planes) that there were around 7000 US troops stationed in the area and that they chose this area as the rainforest provided great coverage whilst being close to the port (at Portland Roads). The boys decided to try their luck flicking a few lures off the rocks, whilst Emilia and I wandered around and read the history. Twenty minutes later back they came with a huge Queenfish!! We ate like kings that night.

Chilli Beach is a lovely long sandy beach with coconut palms separating the forest from the beach. We can see why it is so popular, however at the moment (and apparently this happens quite often), the beach is lined with SO MUCH rubbish- it was actually quite heartbreaking. Most of the rubbish is washed in from the ocean from other countries. Each year they clean up over 5 tonnes from the 6.5km stretch of beach, which is just such an extraordinary amount.  The kids wandered through and couldn’t believe how many lighters, toothbrushes and thongs they saw. They picked up a bucketful of rubbish to add to the pile in the campground that everyone had collected.

There were lots of small fires on our way into the national park, some of them were close to the road and you could feel the heat as we drove past.

Daniel discovered this little (well he was actually quite big) guy on our first night. Green tree frogs are one of his favourite animal species so that made the day for him.

Low tide at Portland Roads.

What a catch! Their fishing expedition wasn't going to plan after Daniel had to fish Jackson's hat out of the ocean, then Daniel hooked this Giant Queenie so they were all smiles when they came back.

Chilli Beach - a long, wide beach with white sand and palm trees. Super windy though - as you can see from the palm trees.

Daniel braved the windy weather as we'd heard green coconuts were the best, and he decided he wanted to find out for himself. After a couple of failed attempts, he used some of the rope lying around the beach, along with some muscle power........

...and was successful. The water in the green coconut was fizzy, which was surprising. The coconut flesh was so tender and delicious, and we enjoyed it on our breakfasts for the next week.

Collecting some of the mountains of rubbish washed up from other countries. So many of the beaches up here have a lot of rubbish on them - it is really sad.

The rubbish consisted of heaps of broken thongs, hundreds of lighters and toothbrushes and so many plastic bottles.

Art using reclaimed rubbish!

The giant swing was a hit.

This was the best climbing tree any of us have ever seen.

The day we left we went to Lockhart River (quite a large community) to check out the beach. It was blowing a gale so we just had a short stop and the kids collected shells.  After a quick stop to see Mount Tozer we began the ‘Frenchman’s Track’. I had originally suggested it as it looked like a shortcut – not knowing it was a difficult 4wd track!

At Lockhart River Airport - formerly Gordon Strip, an air strip used by American bombers in WW2

There were so many shells on Quintel Beach at Lockhart River.

On a track trying to find a hidden waterhole. We didn't find the waterhole but found so many big termite mounds.

And another abandoned car. Down every bush track up here there is inevitably a stripped and burnt out car!

Mt Tozer- an important mountain to the local Kukuu Ya’u people.

Frenchman's Track

We did the first 11kms easily and we enjoyed the changing landscape along the way. We reached the first river crossing, the Pascoe River, at lunchtime and I was definitely a bit stressed when I saw the steep entry and exit and the depth and flow of the river. Daniel did a walkthrough and was a bit unsure, without a second vehicle and some people who knew what they were doing to help out, it was probably a bit risky (I was disappointed for him and the kids but secretly relived for myself). Just as we were about to turn back 2 vehicles pulled up. After a chat with them and another walkthrough the decision was made and they were going to help us through. I volunteered to video, which was a great choice for me as I would’ve been terrified on the climb back up to the track! The car got through the river but the track out was steep and super muddy and some very skilled driving, and some directions from the other guys, was needed to get the car safely to the top. A bit of water got in the car (much to Jackson’s delight) so we had wet footmats and all the things in our doors were a bit worse for wear! It was certainly a bit of a full-on start for me!

We had hoped for a nice campsite near a river along the track, but unfortunately we didn’t find any by 5pm so we just set up camp in a small clearing off a side track. It was here that I learnt a quick way to make guacamole – simply take your avocado for a drive along a 4wd track, open it, add a little salt, pepper and lime juice- voila! You don’t even need to mash it!!

We left early the next day and, of course, we discovered great camping on a river only a little bit up the track!! The kids learnt about ‘Murphy’s Law’ that morning. The rest of the river crossings were reasonably uneventful and we were able to do them without a support crew. The car ended up a bit worse for wear after one crossing though, but Daniel has been able to punch the panel back in to place. Jackson thought it was an absolute hoot. He really enjoys the challenging sections and the river crossing, where he scopes it out with Daniel and sits in the car cheering away. Emilia likes the excitement of the river crossings, just not the steep sections where the car feels like it is going to tip.

After crossing the Wenlock River we joined back up with the Peninsula Development Road (PDR) and headed to Bramwell Station for a well needed shower. That night they had entertainment on so, after a very interesting talk about the history of the station, we listened to a great singer (who was also a comedian – thank god some of the jokes went over the kids’ heads) then listened to a pretty average Rod Stewart impersonator. We left after a few songs as we were hoping to get a reasonably early start on the Old Telegraph Track in the morning.

It was a very eventful first four nights in the tent and we’re all excited for the Old Telegraph Track (** I am not really excited about the four wheel driving (like the others are) – just the lovely rivers and picturesque landscapes, but I know it will be a memorable adventure!)

The signpost to signal the start of the track!

We ended up quite high up on a rocky section on the first part of the track.

To cross or not to cross??? There was a lot of discussion with all the other drivers as to which way to cross the Pascoe River, and if we should do it.

We ended up crossing (though I swam across and did the video). I have edited the video so it was small enough to upload, but on the full video, after Jackson explains how much water got in the car, you can hear me screaming 'pick up my handbag, pick up my handbag!'

The muddy bog hole that had a surprise tree root in it.

Whoops. Someone is impressed with the panel damage though.

The final crossing- the Wenlock River. We made it!