Hi everyone,

Finally - the prices in the Destination Guide are done so you are ready to grab your updated copy whether you already had bought it or not :-)

Also I have done a post-Ita road report for early travellers - many people have been asking - thanks all for your patience!

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In This Issue:

• Book Prices Updated

• How to Get Your Updated Version

• Post Ita Road Report

• Feedback Always Welcome

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PRICES UPDATED IN THE DESTINATION GUIDE

Finally - it's the day I have been looking forward to for so long.

Finishing it within April was always my goal, and even though it is the evening of the last day of the month I am very happy with this result, considering the time that the cyclone wasted.

All in all most prices had gone up, some had also gone down, some have stayed the same, and there are always still some that despite my best efforts could not be perfectly correct for you the day you go.

There are the ones that don't have flat rates, but set their prices depending on what day you go, how many you are, and how many nights you stay (they ended up either in ranges or POA).

There were a very few that I could never reach (POAs include these as well), and there are always the ones that say that they can change their prices any time of the year - full stop.

It is just the nature of this job, and I can only do my best, which is pretty near perfection. With so many prices it cannot be a hundred percent, but it is done ninety nine :-)


HOW TO GET YOUR UPDATED VERSION

Here is how to get your updated version:

If you haven't bought it yet - if you buy the Destination Guide now, you get the updated version.

If you bought it before - go back to your original purchase email and download it from the link from which you downloaded it first - now there is the new version.

If you cannot find your original purchase email, you are welcome to contact me, but be aware you may not get a super quick reply if there are many people asking, because I have to find each purchase one by one.

I know from starters I didn't stress it enough, but I have lately stressed more and more how important it is to make sure you save that email until your trip is done and you are done with the book.


POST ITA ROADS

A lot of people have been asking about the roads post Ita. To every one I said the dust needs to settle before I even know myself.

Now that the shortest term impacts are gone and the large scale cleanup is well underway, I can give you the picture.

First - Cyclone Ita only affected the area roughly around Cooktown (if you will head straight up along the Peninsula Developmental and don't visit the Cooktown area, you may want to scroll down to the rest of the roads).

Its path went from Cape Flattery to Cooktown, then Cape Tribulation, Port Douglas, Cairns and its Northern Beaches, before turning off the coast a bit south of Cairns and getting out of the area I can talk about.

But - there was a big difference in its strength - and consequently its destruction.

It crossed the coast at Cape Flattery as a category four tropical cyclone.

By the time it got to Cooktown, it had downgraded to category three, because it had already had to cross some land.

And soon after Cooktown it quickly downgraded further to category one, as it kept crossing the land (they need the ocean waters to keep their power I believe most of you know).

So you can picture, the most damage is between Cape Flattery and Cooktown, also in and around Cooktown, but much less in Cape Tribulation and south of it.

So the roads in the path of Cyclone Ita:

The coastal road from Cairns to Cape Tribulation is all sealed and open as is the inland road (Mulligan Highway) to Cooktown.

The coastal road from Cape Tribulation to Cooktown is not doable due to the Bloomfield River causeway not fixed yet since the cyclone (they ARE building a bridge there which will make things a lot easier - but I would not want to guess at this stage when it will be ready).

Bloomfield Road itself is open but there are washouts, and if you give it a few weeks, it will most likely be a lot better.

The road from Wujal Wujal to Cooktown is open, and CREB Track is closed as always this early in the season.

The Lions Den that was damaged and flooded after Ita is back in business and welcomes visitors again.

Cape Bedford and Cape Flattery are technically closed at this stage. Battle Camp Road is closed, Starcke Wakooka Track is closed and will likely be so for a good while yet.

The rest of the roads (as the cyclone season officially ended today, we can assume there are no more surprises coming):

Peninsula Developmental is open all the way to Weipa (even though Archer River could still play up this time of the year), and you can also get to Mapoon.

The road to Lockhart River and Iron Range is not closed, but the river and creek crossings are high, and could be too high to get through depending on the recent weather the day you go. And the same goes for Frenchmans.

The Old Telegraph Track is not good - from what I hear the creek waters are still high.

The road to the Tip is boggy in places but open.

And all that said - some of the things above can change very quickly depending on the recent weather - in the big picture, the later you visit the better are your chances.

If you are out there on your adventures already - we would all love to hear from you, and see the photos of what the tracks are like.

(You can get in touch by contacting me, replying to this email, or building your own page where you can also upload photos - thank you :-)

 
FEEDBACK ALWAYS WELCOME

I really appreciate any kind of feedback on the Destination Guide.

Please let me know if you enjoyed it while planning before the trip, and while using the information once on the trip.

If you get any questions about anything, please feel welcome to contact me.

That's all for this time - happy planning everyone :-)

Katrin


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