Hi all,
just planning a trip up to cape york (weipa) end of june. Since I ve been told pullinga trailer is not a good idea on that road I want to get a tinny as a roof topper.Does anyone have a set up like this with some pics? And what is the maximum lenght tinny I can put on my Land Cruiser?Any other tips about the drive/location except the crocs???
Thx...
G'day Mad Turk, i did the trip in june 05.
Went to the top, took 4 weeks holidays & had the best time.
Went up on the Telegraph track & returned via the Development Road.
Only saw one croc the whole trip & that was on Horn Island.
4000km on the blacktop & 3100kms on the corrigations.
Have a great time & keep it upright.
Cheers Steve.
another
One more tease
Didn't see many croc's just marks where they had been.
Mission Bridge Weipa Dec 05
Cheers Steve.
Mad Turk,
You'll be coming to paradise at the right time of year, just make sure that all your equipment in stowed and tired down correctly, as the road from Lakeland to Weipa is usually fairly rough and corrugated by the end of June. Don't forget to check the new alcohol bans/laws up here as they can become confusing enough for us locals of weipa, let alone foreigners.
Mad Turk,
Depends what you intend to do as for what size tinny you will want - if you are ging to move from place to place and have to reload the boat, motor etc back onto the truck, i personally wouldn't go any bigger than a 12 footer with a 15hp - otherwise its a lot of work lugging the gear up and down.
if you are going to be camped in one spot for your trip (as our trips north tend to be) i'd go a 3.9m with a 25 - on the basis you only have to move it once up and once down. - take some of those clamp on wheels for dragging the boat up the beach at the end of the day too (make sure they are air filled tyres so you can drop the pressure) - much better than dragging or complete lifting the boat up above the high tide mark at the end of the day . (or if you are staying in weipa - possibly a fold up trailer (you may even be able to hire a trailer in weipa)
i've seen a 4.2 wide body dory on the top of a nissan ute - but the weight in that would be getting up there - personally i don't think that you should go over 75-100kg - with 100kg at the upper end of what is generally considered safe to have up top (bear in mind i have a ute with a purpose built boat rack too - keeps the weight a bit lower than on a roof rack on top of a wagon.)
you mention weipa - if you are staying there for your trip - consider that the rivers are very big - you can head up the embley and after 15minutes heading upriver the river banks still disappear over the horizon straight ahead - and they do get very rough - particularly when the wind is against the tide. so keep that in mind when choosing your boat
remember the swamp geckos are pretty big too - so a small low sided tinny is not a good idea - i personally wouldn't take a punt to use at weipa either due to both the crocs and how rough the rivers can get. consider whether sending a bigger boat up by barge from cairns is an option - depending on how big the boat is - would cost less than a grand each way
My brother is in weipa and the fishing options we have when we head up there and use his 16 footer centre console are exponentionally better than if we only had a car topper. - if this is a once in a lifetime trip for you - the cost of barging a bigger boat up there may be worth it?????
a last tip - check out mapoon an hours north of weipa - there's a camp ground there with cold shower and toilets - you won't be dissappointed- we've fished from there very successfully with a 12 car topper- but again much better out of the big boat - just watch the alcohol restrictions.
Moffy
Great pic of the croc slide Steve
Hey Moffy,
Thx mate.
Might be a good idea to put my boat in the barge,i can see the possibilities there with fishing...I am going for 12 days and I am actually going to mapoon not weipa,I just found out. Yes this will be a once in life time trip, well depending on the fish I catch,if it is as good as they say it is than i just have to come back every year to australia just to go to cape york...
Mate you talk about 12 foot tinny on the car do u reckon if I get a high side tinny say 12 footer with 15 Hp will that be enough for me for the creeks and a bit of fishing in the bays considering its not blowing a gale???There will be 3 of us keep in mind...
I mean I love to take the boat up there but organising all that for 10 days dosent seem very time effective,since i have to drive to cairns load the boat,drive to mapoon wait for the boat in weipa and same thing all over again on the way back. I ll only have the boat for 4 or 5 days up there with all the travelling the boats gonna do...
M_T
Originally Posted by Moffy
Mad Turk,
Depends what you intend to do as for what size tinny you will want - if you are ging to move from place to place and have to reload the boat, motor etc back onto the truck, i personally wouldn't go any bigger than a 12 footer with a 15hp - otherwise its a lot of work lugging the gear up and down.
if you are going to be camped in one spot for your trip (as our trips north tend to be) i'd go a 3.9m with a 25 - on the basis you only have to move it once up and once down. - take some of those clamp on wheels for dragging the boat up the beach at the end of the day too (make sure they are air filled tyres so you can drop the pressure) - much better than dragging or complete lifting the boat up above the high tide mark at the end of the day . (or if you are staying in weipa - possibly a fold up trailer (you may even be able to hire a trailer in weipa)
i've seen a 4.2 wide body dory on the top of a nissan ute - but the weight in that would be getting up there - personally i don't think that you should go over 75-100kg - with 100kg at the upper end of what is generally considered safe to have up top (bear in mind i have a ute with a purpose built boat rack too - keeps the weight a bit lower than on a roof rack on top of a wagon.)
you mention weipa - if you are staying there for your trip - consider that the rivers are very big - you can head up the embley and after 15minutes heading upriver the river banks still disappear over the horizon straight ahead - and they do get very rough - particularly when the wind is against the tide. so keep that in mind when choosing your boat
remember the swamp geckos are pretty big too - so a small low sided tinny is not a good idea - i personally wouldn't take a punt to use at weipa either due to both the crocs and how rough the rivers can get. consider whether sending a bigger boat up by barge from cairns is an option - depending on how big the boat is - would cost less than a grand each way
My brother is in weipa and the fishing options we have when we head up there and use his 16 footer centre console are exponentionally better than if we only had a car topper. - if this is a once in a lifetime trip for you - the cost of barging a bigger boat up there may be worth it?????
a last tip - check out mapoon an hours north of weipa - there's a camp ground there with cold shower and toilets - you won't be dissappointed
Moffy
Mad Turk,
A big 12 footer will go alright at Mapoon - when i did it with a car topper - we only had a small 12 footer, but only fished two out of it - a 13 footer would be better, as it cvan get rough wind against tide (e.g incoming tide and big south easterly blowing its not uncommon to have 1.5 metre waves rolling through the channel) but harder work getting it up the beach of an afternoon.
there is plenty of rubble not far out from the beach (i.e under 1 mile) stretching from Cullen Point (the point at Mapoon) nearly all the way back to Janie creek - about 15 k's south of Cullen Point - so plenty of area to fish in a tinny that's reefy/rocky - have caught legal trout, sweetlip, plenty of golden trevally etc off this rubble - Daintreeboy even got a legal trout on an SP if you're keen on them. - there would be fingermark on it at the right time too. i hear they get mackeral trolling a bit further out too
the 12 foot tinny will also get you across to Namaleta creek, on the northern side, opposite Cullen point, - its about 3 miles) where we usually catch plenty of barra and salmon etc. - there's millions of queenies to be had where ever you go.. Daintreeboy got a couple of metre long fish here on our first trip
would be a bit of a run back to the mouth of the Wenlock or the Ducie in a 12 footer (its about 5-6 miles at least - but you would have the option of launching at Batteridge's #landing (i think its called) - which is a mud ramp back in the wenlock proper - about 15 ks towards weipa from Mapoon - but it is a top half of the tide (or higher) ramp only - unless you like getting really muddy and becoming croc bait. - other option is taking the 12 footer into stone's crossing and fishing the wenlock upstream from the crossing in the sweetwater for barra, sarratoga and sooties - haven't done this yet myself - but its high on the list.
if you're keen you could also load up the boat and drive down to Janie creek for a different creek to fish - camping spots here as well i believe - but it can be crowded.
we caught a lot of fish of the beach in front of camp every afternoon/evening anyway (mainly queenies and blue salmon (not uncommon to have all 4 of us hooked up at once - was very good fun.))
again - watch out for the crocs - there's big ones that patrol the beach even though you are a long way from the mouth proper of the rivers.
for an example of what you can do in a big boat from mapoon check this out http://www.ausfish.com.au/cgi-ausfis...m=1131584000/0
we usually go in october - less crowded and better fishing - but being closed season for barra, we don't target barra or aim to take home bucketloads of fish - we just look to have a good time catching a few (hundred) and releasing most.
a canopy is big plus (whether the boat is big or small) - although it will not be so hot in June - but may help you fish for longer as - without a canopy we used to pack it in shortly after 10-11:00am as it just got too hot (Late october)
Moffy #
The other option I believe available is to hire a boat in Weipa, may be a better option - get a bigger boat and don't have the hassel of rooftopping or trailering. Someone in Weipa should be able to give you the goss
NC
Good call Nick - there's a variety up there for hire - simple tinnies, polycrafts and also some stessl trucks (4.3 from memory) - probably get a good deal for a longer term hire (e.g over 7 days) too.
As Nick said, hiring a boat from one of the businesses in Weipa may be an easier way to go.
Here are a couple of the better boat hire mobs and ph.
Pugwash Water Taxi Hire & Fishing Charters (they always have a big rang of tinnies) :- 07 40697873
Weipa Houseboats (Dinghy Hire) :- 07 40697469 or 0427 697 305 (Steve Rehn)
Hope this helps. If you are after more info on Weipa or surrounds drop me a PM
Marcus
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