Here are some more photos, and there is a fairly lengthy (30mins+) video being put together for Utube by one of the SJC guys (Hunty) which should feature all of the Jeeps on the trip.
Steve (XJ) and I drove down the west side of the Tip beach to the next headland looking for the track back to Pusand Bay.
This is Dave (KJ, trip leader and LOST lurker) and Hunno (CJ8) getting ready in Cairns (Sunlander Caravan Park). Hunno bought that CJ8 from a guy in the Sunshine Coast Jeep Club - he flew up to pick it up and drove it straight up to Cairns. Hunno's ZJ was not ready (needed new diffs) in time for the trip and he was determined to go and do it in a Jeep. The CJ8 had most of the problems on the trip, broken motor mounts and transfer case mounts, carbie float bowl problems on the steep bits, etc etc:
This is Dave, Hunno and Steve at breakfast at the Lion's Den after the Bloomfield Track.
All the Jeeps lined up at Kalpower camping ground on the way to Musgrave Roadhouse. We stopped here overnight coming up from Elim Beach and Cooktown. There were three other vehicles (non Jeeps) on the Trip: a Discovery 4 towing an Ultimate camper, a Pajero (the wife's car of a Jeep Club member that couldn't bring his Jeep - too uncomfortable apparently), and a ringin Navara with two couples from SEQLD who we met up with at the Lion's Den (they had booked for an ARB tagalong and it was cancelled after they got up to Cairns).
Convoy stop on the track to Musgrave Roadhouse from Kalpower (CJ8 mounts needed more work), and don't be fooled by that road the dust and corrugations were terrible:
On the OTL, Jeep carwash in the Dulhunty River crossing. Hunty (foreground) had absolutely everything in that JK, in addition to the shower he's using to wash the JK he had a 5000W inverter to run his coffee machine and microwave! Of course they were all dirty again five minutes down the track. BTW, both KJs suffered from dust and sand getting into the rear service brake hub area - nothing to really worry about but it made a grinding noise at low speed and we flushed them out occasionally in the creeks and rivers.
Hunno's CJ8 stuck fast at the bottom of the drop at Gunshot - he did eventually manage to drive it out of there unassisted:
Steve's XJ taking the drop at Gunshot (with family on board). His great approach angle and 35" tyres allowed him to drive it out at the bottom. PS there was a Brown Snake lying on the tree overhanging the creek. I should also add that it was about 35C every day up there and we welcomed any chance to get into the water.
More to come.