Ticking a road trip off the bucket list

How many tick-boxes on your bucket list include driving? There’s probably at least one road trip on there, even if it’s only 300 kilometres long!

Guy Shepherdson from Alliance Leasing recently ticked one such road trip off his own bucket list – and it was a heck of a ride. Read all about it in our latest article!

From Brisbane …

Cape York is a spectacular place – right at the northern point of Australia, surrounded by some of the most amazing beaches and scenery you can find anywhere in the world. Guy drove across water, rocks, dust, dirt, and the odd patch of bitumen to get there in his four-wheel-drive Ford Ranger, and it didn’t skip a beat.

“We drove up to Cooktown, then across into the middle of Cape York. The whole round trip was probably well over 6,000 kilometres, and it’s by far the biggest one I’ve ever done,” said Guy.

“It was definitely one on the bucket list, and I bought the Ford Ranger in 2014 with this whole trip in mind.”

Guy drove through the Daintree Rainforest, one of the most beautiful places on earth, and a World Heritage Site, before leaving the sealed roads behind and bashing over dirt, rocks and rivers.

“The scenery through the whole state is changing all the time, but it’s amazing to see some of it that’s untouched. We stopped at some of the roadhouses and pubs along the dirt road after the Daintree Rainforest. There’s anĀ infamous bit of ‘road’ called the Telegraph Track that follows an old phone line. It’s fairly rough and rugged, with lots of river crossings. We did over 30 during the entire trip.”

About 500 kilometres north of the Daintree Rainforest is the Iron Range National Park. That’s even more dense than the Daintree Rainforest, and Guy spent a night at the campsite on Chilli Beach.

“That was probably the roughest night of the whole trip, because the beach was just so windy and wet. But we had a great time, and it was beautiful.”

… to Cape York …

“The tip of Cape York is pretty incredible – to be standing on the northern point of Australia and see the beaches up there with the campsites – it was something else,” continued Guy.

“There’s also pretty good fishing, but we spent more time standing around doing nothing than catching anything.”

From Brisbane to Cape York and back, Guy managed to see some pretty incredible wildlife:

  • A dingo,
  • Some emus,
  • Lots of brolgas and eagles,
  • Quite a few snakes, and (the best of the lot)
  • Turtles while fishing.

“We really wanted to see a cassowary, because they’re supposed to be quite rare. They lived up to their reputation I suppose, because we didn’t see one anywhere. One of the coolest things we saw was an eagle swoop down and snatch a snake off the road.”

… in a Ford Ranger

The four-wheel-drive system on the Ford Ranger served its purpose well – harsh driving conditions and unforgiving terrain is never a great time for any car. However, the Ford Ranger needed only a wheel alignment on the way home, after driving 6,000 kilometres and crossing more than 30 rivers and streams.

“It was really great on fuel economy for the whole trip, especially on the highways,” noted Guy.

“It really didn’t shy away from anything we threw at it, and it easily held everything we brought along. It needed a good clean when we got home because of the red dust, but that’s all part of the fun.”

If you have your own bucket list road trip planned, get in touch with Alliance Leasing today to find out how novated leasing can help you get behind the wheel of the perfect car.

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