CREB TRACK! IN A SUBARU... IN THE WET...

The Subaru Offroad Forester has finally completed the CREB Track, Cape York!
The day we showed up at the start of the CREB track it officially opened for the first time since the 2020-2021 wet season. It seemed like a sign that we were meant to be the first car through for the season. They say do not even think about attempting this track in the wet. Well it was showering on and off all day meaning the track was a little damp. More concerningly the Daintree river was very high for the light little Subaru meaning we were at risk of being washed away in a crock infested river. We started the CREB track on the 26th of May 2021 and were the first vehicle through the track in quite some time.

Perth to Cape York and back via Alice Springs in the Subaru Forester!
• 6.5 weeks
• 13,810km
• Over 5,000km of dirt roads
• 1,830L of fuel
• Solo trip with no assistance from other vehicles
• Easily more than a km of water crossings
• Stuck in water with the engine block fully submerged on 4 occasions totalling over 10 minutes
• Water in the car up to the top of lower seat cushion on the same 4 occasions
✅ Old coach road
✅ Old Telegraph Track complete - One of the first through for the season the and first to not use chicken tracks on any crossing.
✅ First through the CREB track after it was officially opened.
❌ Frenchman’s Track not complete, driven both ends to the rivers but depths not passable. The first crossing for the season was only a month later so we can’t feel too bad about this one!
• One snapped rear CV on old coach road – 15 minutes to replace
• Old crappy muffler fell apart crossing the Daintree – wired back together for the 6000km return journey and still going strong
• Wire in the alternator loom snapped – my fault for poor cable routing with insufficient slack – 20 min fix.
• Bearing under the AC pulley failed from water ingress – No AC for the return trip.
• Drive by wire throttle body decided to start sticking after the water - some cleaning and lube and she was all good
• Did a sidewall in cockatoo creek.
Apart from that she ran like a dream and survived all the abuse we gave her - still running like a dream back in Perth.
If I were to do the trip again I would probably put some heavier springs in the back but apart from that it was a great setup.
Already looking forward to heading back one day!


Music:
Dynamite by Patrick Patrikios

To Pass Time by Godmode