speedi, the best time to head north? there is no 'best time' to head north. The sooner you get up here to soon your in the hunt for that first job.
I reckon its a fair call to say the the old days of getting up here for the start of the dry and getting work 'like that' are over. It's a long hard slog, but as has been said before, it'll weed out those who really want it from those who reckon its a fast track to the left hand side of a jet...