Cape York is hard to get to, here's how you should see it

Should you DIY or join a tour when travelling to the northern tip of Australia?

To go solo or to tour? That is the question.

Independent

Be honest. Who among us hasn’t thought about standing at the Australian mainland’s most northerly landfall at some stage in our lives? Of all the far-flung places you could visit in Australia, reaching “The Tip” as it’s commonly called, ranks highly on most travellers’ lists. And that’s because it’s hard to get to. Harder than Mt Kosciuszko, for example, our highest peak on the mainland, where a ski lift from Thredbo can remove much of the grunt work. Harder than the southernmost point on Wilson’s Promontory, a day’s hike from Tidal River. Harder than Steep Point in Western Australia. And certainly harder than Cape Byron in northern NSW. Contrast that with Cape York. From Cooktown onwards, there’s barely a blacktop road for another 1000km.

The tip of Cape York from above

The corrugations and potholes along the Old Telegraph Track have claimed the scalps of countless vehicles with fragile undercarriages. Then there were the swollen, crocodile-infested rivers that you have to cross at certain times of the year. But that’s the point of doing it yourself. It’s not so much that you’ll be standing at the edge of the country, overlooking Torres Strait; it’s the adventure in getting there. The places you camp and the roadhouses you stop at. The wildlife you see. The people you meet. It’s the dust that washes off beneath a waterfall after a hard day’s driving. That’s why you do it. At least, that’s why you should.

A red dirt outback road on the Cape York Peninsula

Tour

Want an adventure, minus the hassles? Then book a tour to the cape. “You don’t need to worry about having the right set-up or navigating 4WD tracks. That’s what we’re here to do,” says Scott McMillan, operations manager at Outback Spirit, which delivers all-inclusive adventures to remote parts of Australia. “As a guest, you can focus on enjoying and immersing yourself in the experience. Everything is included, from a morning cup of coffee to your scenic flight over Lakefield National Park and so much more in between.” Like other tour companies to Cape York, Outback Spirit tours start in Cairns and stop at highlights like the Moreton Telegraph Station and Fruit Bat Falls – about the only croc-free waterhole on the peninsula. They also travel through the World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest to Cape Tribulation and add in a couple of nights on Thursday Island.

Frangipani Bay, Cape York. Picture: Mark Daffey

And most importantly, instead of driving all the way back to Cairns, guests return by plane, which is something you most certainly can’t do if you’ve driven up yourself. Perfect for time-poor travellers. More often than not, independent travellers to Cape York provide their own tented or swag accommodation and cook their own meals. Tour guests commonly stay in hotel rooms, though some budget providers offer tented accommodation. In Outback Spirit’s case, guests stay several nights in the company’s private lodgings. One popular compromise is a tag-along tour, where you drive your own vehicle accompanied by an experienced guide who knows the track and can help with stressful mechanical issues.

Originally published as Cape York is hard to get to, here's how you should see it