A tough track, big rewards and the road to the Tip
This year marks 140 years since an overland telegraph line arrived in the northernmost point of Australia. Construction of the line that sliced down Cape York Peninsula was ‘completed’ in 1886, even though messengers on horseback were initially required to carry telegrams over the final 90-kilometre leg. The line was dismantled 100 years later but the groundwork had been laid for one of the wildest camping and four-wheel driving destinations in the country. The legend of the Old Tele Track was born.
Entering The Cape
I’ve been travelling with my husband and our toddler son for nine months when we reach Tropical North Queensland. Cape York is a non-negotiable destination on our lap of Australia; a bucket-list trip within a bucket-list trip. Lured by the challenging terrain and the feeling of remote exploration, we set a course for the northernmost point of mainland Australia.
But we aren’t content with bumping along the Peninsula Development Road (PDR), the easier way to the tip. For us the 150-kilometre Old Telegraph Track (OTT), the original path for the Overland Telegraph Line, is the only way to go. Serious four-wheel drivers hit the OTT at the start of the dry season (May to October), when the creeks are still high; but we do the opposite – timing our arrival for August when water crossings are lower. Excitement and nerves collide as we leave our vintage caravan at a campsite near Cooktown and hit the road with a tent strapped to our roof racks.
