CAPE YORK - Tip and back. - Roothy

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Here's some footage from one of my first trips up Cape York for the magazine still called 4WD Monthly back then. I'm not sure but it's probably around 2004 and unlike future trips it's just Milo, me and the camera car.

So if you want a blast from the past when the Cape was just starting to open up to tourist traffic this is it. Remember that so much of the information has changed over the last decade or so too. I start out making some comments about how there's a bit more sealed road on the way up 'now' - yeah right, most of that early bit is sealed these days and there's tar in and out of Coen too. Then there's Milo pulling the old Jardine barge across the river, something that'd be unheard of now.

The scenery's the same though, and so whether you're remembering your own early trips or planning a first one, there's value here. There's always value in a Cape trip!

Why did we do this trip? From memory it was more of a 'let's go check it out before we start planning big trips with sponsors along' sort of deal. See, as a trail bike tour guide I'd been running up and down the Cape for years but the guys in the Sydney office of Monthly needed to know what they were in for, and whether or not it'd be suitable for sponsors. After this trip every time Milo headed north she was followed by two or three other vehicles and our trips got more adventurous as time went on. At the end of the day, nothing beats good company when it comes to exploring the real remote parts of our wonderful country.

Meanwhile, I did find some words I wrote back then about trip preparation - some of which are just as valuable today as they were then. Have a go at this:

Trip prep? If I get it right Milo will purr up to Cairns, chew her way through the tracks and charge home like the Handbrake working out the bankcard. There'll be plenty of terrific camps, lots of great meals and a truckload of great adventures. Get it wrong and you'll see me with my thumb out somewhere north of Rocky...

In our game it's got to start with the truck. It's got to be in good working condition before you even start so if you think a 'spanner' is a cocktail that'll loosen your nuts, you'd better go find a good mechanic. Now is a great time to replace all the belts and hoses - keeping the old ones as spares for the trip - and of course a full service with new oil and filters everywhere is the cheapest guarantee you'll have of avoiding an expensive tow.

Real trip preparation is all about building up the anticipation before you go. If you're taking the family then grab the biggest map you can find and stick it up in the kitchen where everybody can see it. Get everyone involved in planning the route, do some google searching or whatever the kids call it to check out places you might like to visit and turn those dinner conversations to what you're likely to expect and the adventures you might have along the way. Get excited.

Oh sure, there's a ton of things you'll need to do from planning out meals to budgeting for fuel and depending on where you're going there'll be permits and camp site bookings to make too. That's all the stuff that has to happen but at the end of the tip what really makes it one to remember is the experience itself. And that starts the minute you decide to go!

The lighter the truck, the further you'll go without getting bogged, the easier it'll be on the mechanicals and you'll save money on fuel too. But there is one absolutely vital exception to this golden rule.

In my case it's plenty of gin and tonic. No, I haven't gone all sooky, it's just that the old rule of 'a happy wife is a happy life' never was truer than on a family trip away in the bush. In my book this is the time the wife - or partner - should be having the time of their life. You'll be getting your jollies plunging your truck through creeks, scrabbling up hills and soaking up those huge great outback miles only this incredible country can throw your way. Maybe the wife will too if she's one of the many ladies who loves her share of wheeling. And you'll have earnt a little celebration five ounce shandy by day's end too. But trust me, if you want to make this four wheel driving caper a regular part of your life, you've got to make sure the wife - and the kids - enjoy it to the max.

That starts with waking up happy every day and staying happy no matter what. Happiness is cheap, it's catchy and there's buckets of it to be had in the Aussie bush. If the people around you can see how much you're loving every minute of this great big adventure, they'll join in too. And they'll all beg you to go again once you've made it home!

Видео CAPE YORK - Tip and back. - Roothy канала JOHN ROOTH