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Cape York in Summer?? Cape York in Summer??
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  #1  
Old 17 Dec 2008
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Cape York in Summer??
Is it possible to do a Cape York trip on a bike in february??

I realise its the rainy season but hopefully somebody can fill me in and this will help me decide what direction to head once I hit Oz.

Cheers

Robbo
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Old 17 Dec 2008
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pretty simple
no ,it is the wet season ,look up all the motorbike tour dates, they are in winter ,the jardine is like a kilometre wide in the wet , go to tassie in feb ,then head to mitta mitta in march for the horizons meet
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Old 17 Dec 2008
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Originally Posted by thecanoeguy View Post
no ,it is the wet season ,look up all the motorbike tour dates, they are in winter ,the jardine is like a kilometre wide in the wet , go to tassie in feb ,then head to mitta mitta in march for the horizons meet
As thecanoeguy said it's rainy season and there is not much moving around that doesn't have four legs in cape york that time of year.

I can second the tassie idea too, on or off road.
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Old 17 Dec 2008
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Thanks
Thanks for the replies and info, Tassie sounds good but as for me I will be arriving to Oz in Darwin then its home to Victoria for me, was just hoping that Cape York could have been a detour, but another time I guess.

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Old 18 Dec 2008
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Originally Posted by Robboxrv View Post
I will be arriving to Oz in Darwin
In Feb ..

Stick to the tar .. even savan way will be wet .. may be Litchfield park will be ok .. but as above crocks will be around...
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Old 18 Dec 2008
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Just out of interest: will the main (sealed) roads between Darwin and Sydney normally remain passable all the time during the rainy season?

Last February we had had enough of the rains already in Indonesia (sometimes felt like we needed oars to get the bike moving!)... so decided to go to Perth instead of Darwin, and then went from there to Sydney. Climate-wise a very different route, I guess. I wished we´d had a bit more time, because then we would´ve probably been able to explore the north in less wet weather.

I talked to some Aussie in Indonesia, and he said some rivers near Boulia (possibly ones that run to Lake Eyre?) regularly flood at that time, and cut the roads.. but does this mean even the main highways regularly get closed during the rains? Or only the smaller roads & tracks are regularly affected by them?
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Old 18 Dec 2008
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Pecha, it is quite rare for any of the main roads to be closed by flooding but it can always happen. When the rains come they can come in a big way. Heading down through the centre I doubt very much if you will have any problem but going via Mt Isa (North West Queensland) there is a possibility. In any case there are usually alternative routes.

The last time I got stuck by a flood was in 1967 (yep you read that correctly) and that was just South of Kempsey on the NSW North coast. There has been a new bridge over ther for the last 30+ years and no further problems.

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Old 18 Dec 2008
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Originally Posted by pecha72 View Post
Just out of interest: will the main (sealed) roads between Darwin and Sydney normally remain passable all the time during the rainy season?

Last February we had had enough of the rains already in Indonesia (sometimes felt like we needed oars to get the bike moving!)... so decided to go to Perth instead of Darwin, and then went from there to Sydney. Climate-wise a very different route, I guess. I wished we´d had a bit more time, because then we would´ve probably been able to explore the north in less wet weather.

I talked to some Aussie in Indonesia, and he said some rivers near Boulia (possibly ones that run to Lake Eyre?) regularly flood at that time, and cut the roads.. but does this mean even the main highways regularly get closed during the rains? Or only the smaller roads & tracks are regularly affected by them?
Hi

It is in the lap of the rain gods. A few years ago, the town of Katherine had 2ft of water through the main street and was cut off, that is south of Darwin. If there is a cyclone or a low pressure system around, it will be up that way and the season for them is until late April. Luck of the draw.

Also, if there is a low pressure system up north, or on the east coast, it can like it did early this year cause major flooding as far west as Winton and south of there for a long way.

That said, 'most' times you should have no real issues, if there is a local flood it may only be for a few days at a specific crossing.

Being a Queenslander I know that rain that falls 1000km away, may affect the river systems in my local area.

Just keep an ear open for weather reports, especially cyclones and ride safe. Drink lots of water.

Cheers
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