Page 72 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine

CAMPING
& outdoors
Caravans have been arriving in increasing numbers on the Cape during the past three years.Travellers escaped COVID bubbles to spend winter under shady trees at the Weipa Camping Ground.
There’s plenty of room!This place is normally packed in the dry season but that’s certainly not the case in 2020.
WTempting time for a Cape York trip
ITH all the Cape York Facebook One of the most im- changes and sites, there are still portant preparations for restrictions many prospective trav- any remote excursion is
Trip to the Tip
by DAVE DONALD
we’re experiencing ellers worried about making sure your sus-
these days in this crazy COVID world, it’s good to have something that remains constant, and getting out to fish is one of those snippets of normality that is good for the soul.
state-wide, serving to dramatically emphasise the very important con- tribution recreational fishing makes to mental health in our modern community.
There are still plenty of NSW and Victorian number plates among the traffic, so obviously quite a few people have managed to move north before the latest restric- tions in southern states were imposed.
towing caravans up the Peninsula Development Rd.
pension and tyres are in top-notch condition before hitting the high- way.
Being able to go out to chuck a lure or bait is an activity that has kept a lot of us sane during this weird time.
For years, we’ve tried to get this message through to politicians and bureaucrats, but it has fallen on deaf ears, particularly in Queens- land.
The relatively light vehicle numbers means that the road has been holding up much bet- ter than it usually does, which is certainly a bo- nus for those who have had the opportunity to make the trip.
Rest assured that pro- vided your van is set up for semi off-road con- ditions, which is fairly standard these days, you shouldn’t have any problems travelling the road safely, provided you always drive to pre- vailing conditions.
While the road is vast- ly better than it was 20 years ago, there are still enough rough patches to find weak spots in a rig that has not been properly maintained.
It was interesting to see the boat ramp car- park at Weipa over- flowing during the midst of the lockdown because even camping was off limits.
There can be little doubt that the ability to get out on the water during this crisis has been of major benefit to preserving family and community harmony.
The number of vans doing the Cape has greatly increased over the past three years.
On any dirt stretch, be constantly aware of what’s in front of you and never try to hurry.
So almost everyone in town with a day off was out on the water enjoy- ing a break away from the tedious and stress- ful situation imposed due to the restrictions.
Up here at the pointy end of Queensland, the lifting of the biosecu- rity zone to the Cape in early July has since seen traffic steadily in- crease, but it’s nowhere near as heavy as past
Meanwhile there are another 50km of bitu- men on the way by the end of the year, mean- ing that by this time next year there will be less than 200km of gravel road between Cairns and Weipa.
The biggest traps are bull dust holes, sudden gully crossings (usually labelled with a ‘dip’ sign) and corrugations on tight corners.
It’s better to arrive 15 minutes later than spend hours stuck on the side of the track in the dust with a broken spring or axle – or even worse, an upturned ve- hicle!
This sort of reaction
was certainly not lim-
ited to our Gulf outpost,
but appeared to happen
Page 72 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020
According to many of the inquiries being posted to the various
If you happen to get stuck behind a truck or slower vehicle, give
years.
* continued P73 www.bnb shing.com.au
Identifying bull dust may be difficult to a newcomer but once you hit your first bad hole, recognising and steer- ing clear of the soft patches becomes sec- ond nature.
The aim is to arrive safely, not pass every vehicle in sight.