Gunshot
creek crossing is the most famous creek crossing on the Old Telegraph
Track.
For many
people, the
famous Gunshot Creek
crossing is the absolute highlight of their whole Cape
York trip.
While
people like to hang their memorabilia in trees in many remote places on
the Peninsula, nowhere else can
you tell that the excitement levels
have been this high up.
What Is So Special about the
Gunshot
Creek Crossing
It
isn't easy to find a moment to
have this creek crossing for yourself - there is always someone who is
just sitting here waiting for others to come down to clap their hands
and
take photos.
Doing
the Gunshot Creek crossing 2010. It really
is
an exciting
place, and when done properly, it is indeed something that puts your
adrenaline levels right up.
"Doing
it properly" means going down at one of the steep drops, the most
right-hand track (right-hand
when you are on the top and left-hand once you're down and look back to
it - the
dark-mud
one) is
nowadays the more usual
one.
Gunshot
Creek crossing 2012. UPDATE It
changes too, in 2014
the dark mud drop looked like this: Gunshot crossing 2014.
The easy alternative is to do the so-called "Slingshot",
which means driving left along the creek a bit, until you come to the
easiest slope and do it from there.
Walk down and have a look first -
don't let the steepest crossing turn you off if
you know yourself and
your vehicle.
People
going up the so called 'cheat track', aka Slingshot. Hey, I have done it (and
yes, Rob did get my wheels right!). While it
is really exciting to do it and can easily be the highlight of the
whole trip, make sure you know
yourself and your vehicle before you decide to
do it! Once you start
dropping you're going down and there is no way
back :-)
Me
after doing the steep drop of Gunshot; and the bank from above.
Also
have someone to guide you to make
sure you get your
wheels right. Because when you are up there, you cannot see anything
down where you are going.
Oka
Paul getting my wheels right, in the older days. There
is heaps of memorabilia
on the northern bank of the creek, but only from the current year, as the lot gets washed away every wet season. Memorabilia
in
2015.
Gunshot
Crossing Videos
Below are a few videos
by other
people...
Doing the "dark-mud" drop..
That's how simple it is if you do it right.
Doing the middle drop:
I
so much agree with the author, who says, "cameras never justify it"...
Get
this 50 pages
guide totally for FREE.
It
contains information that helps you getting started with planning of your trip.
You get to make early-stages desicions such as when to go, how long time you
should take, how to get
there and get
around, where
to stay (general info), what
will it cost..
and a short insight to what is there to see and do in Cape York.
This complete 300 pages
travel guide is all you need before and during your trip. Besides the
background chapters on the peninsula's history and wildlife; and the comprehensive detail about all
the places (down to prices, opening hours and full contact
detail), it has invaluable information on at least 10 four wheel drive tracks,
at least 30 guaranteed FREE
camping spots on the Cape (and at least 150 on your way to
the Cape), at least 40 best
swimming holes, all mapped; as well as practical things -
from fuel, roads, wireless internet and mobile phone reception,
how to deal with the national
parks booking rules; and Aboriginal land entrance and camping permits
and alcohol restrictions - to vehicle preparation and accessories and necessary recovery
gear by my vehicle-recovery-guy partner).
Not to mention locals'
tips on how to spot that croc and palm cockatoo ;-)
If
you liked the books or
this website, let others know about it!
Link to it from your website, your blog, your forum post... Share it on Facebook, Tweet
about it...
Every link helps other travellers!
Thank you for doing the
right thing and letting others know :-)
This site uses British
English, which is the English we use in
Australia.
Disclaimer:
Although
best efforts have been made to ensure that all the information on this
website is correct, this site is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
This is the ORIGINAL Cape York Travel Guide run Locally on the Peninsula.