Paluma National Park
Paluma National Park looks like it was created after people moved in up there. The road through the park is very narrow and winding, which also goes through a town in the middle of the park, I would hate to have to drive this road regularly. We went exploring the Little Cascades, Big Cascades and Paradise Pool. It was very humid and even though there is a road going closer to the Big Cascades it is blocked off. Some people had the right idea to ride their bicycles there. There is a campground near the Paradise pool but you aren’t allowed any trailers up here to it would have to be tent camping. Not sure what happens when the locals need to use a trailer… I’m sure the restriction doesn’t apply to them.
Girringun National Park
Wallaman Falls is the highest permanent waterfall in Queensland. The day started out overcast and I was hoping that it would clear by the time we got to the falls. The road up there wasn’t suitable for trailers but we were able to leave our camper at the information centre in Ingham. Even though it was an hour away, we had to go back that way anyway. The road up was indeed windy and sometimes narrow. Most of it goes through the rainforest which in itself is a reason to go there. Once at the top, the carpark was full but as we were getting my camera gear out, someone left. As people go swimming there for a few hours, the spaces don’t turn over regularly. The view from the top is spectacular and if it’s a sunny day, which it was, you will get a rainbow through the water flowing to the bottom. Lindsay couldn’t do the walk down to the bottom and I was in two minds as to whether I should as he would be waiting for me. I am glad I did go as it was one of the most rewarding walks I have ever done. There is a sign at the top that informs you that you are in for a difficult walk and that people have died. It was steep with lots of steps and rocks, with some steps being 2-3 times the normal height of a step, which makes it tougher. The other thing that makes it difficult is the humidity as you are walking through the rainforest nearly all the way. So those rocks are wet as is the ground in between. It was a very slow trip down and up again. You can’t be anywhere near the bottom of the waterfall without getting wet with the spray, I felt like I was in a sauna. Most people had gone down there to swim. There are many large boulders to climb over to get to the water and it looked quite treacherous. I just stayed long enough to eat a muesli bar before heading up again.
Once at the top I asked Lindsay to get the drone out to try and get a shot. It was very difficult seeing the screen in the sun and at one time the app closed when Lindsay was trying to look at the photo he had taken. We lost contact with the drone! Hooley dooley, I thought we would be coming home without it. But it locked on again and we got it back.
Waterfall Trail (Atherton Tablelands)
On the way to the waterfalls, we stopped at the Curtain Fig Tree which Lindsay says is one of the most amazing things he has seen. It is beautiful. The Fig tree seed started growing in the host tree’s crown. It then developed aerial roots and strangled the host tree. When the host tree died, it fell on a neighbouring tree. The fig tree then sent roots down to the ground.
The first waterfall was at Maranda, then the trio waterfall trail of Millaa Millaa Falls, Zillie Falls and Ellinjaa Falls. Mungalli Falls which were disappointing and finally Wallicher Falls. We didn’t have time to go to Tchupala Falls which is just near Wallicher, but this was a mistake as Tchupala is prettier.
After doing a farm tour at the Nerada Tea farm and having a delicious Devonshire tea, we went in search of the elusive tree kangaroo. He wasn’t very accomodating but this is as good as it got. I’d never even heard of them until this trip.
Barron Gorge National Park
The idea of going to Barron Falls early was to beat the crowds but it meant the sun was shading the rocks too much, the afternoon probably would have been better. A lovely treetop walk takes you through the rainforest down to the falls. We saw a gorgeous lime green butterfly, I’m sure if you just sat here for a long time you would see more. The colourful Kurandra train stops right near the lookout and you can see it going through the mountains.
Hypipamee National Park
The bottom of the lake from the viewing platform is 130 metres and is home to a thriving population of freshwater shrimp that are not found anywhere else. It is thought a violent gaseous explosion blasted the deep hole in the earth.
The Dinner Falls loop continues around to the crater.
Millstream National Park
The Big Millstream falls are a short walk from the carpark. There are two carparks, one for cars and one for people towing. Only one car went to their carpark, while five took up spaces that caravans and campers could use. There is a little Millstream falls, a ten-minute drive away, but they didn’t have any water. This water reminds me of meringue just after I added the cornflour and vinegar to the egg whites, with its silky finish.
Boodjamulla National Park
Lindsay doesn’t like me using the real name of this park as he can never remember what I’m referring to, its other name, Lawn Hill Gorge doesn’t describe this place accurately either. The campground is very popular and needs to be booked well in advance if you want to stay there. The other camping option at Adele’s Grove is 10km down a corrugated road, we have stayed there once but this is our preference.
By staying the night before at Gregory Downs, we were able to get into Lawn Hill way by 10 am, effectively giving us an extra day. We headed off to the Indarri Falls and Lindsay swam in his shorts hoping to clean the red dust off them but it didn’t work. We took the turnoff to the Indarri Lookout intending to return to the falls trail but forgot to go back. Continuing to the Duwadarri Lookout that leads down a very steep track which was not good for Lindsay’s damaged ankle.
The following day we went back to Indarri Falls earlier in the morning with my tripod, camera and drone so that we could get some long exposure photos. I walked the Wild Dog Dreaming track after we got back but it wasn’t very picturesque. Leaving the camera gear behind this time, we went back to the falls with friends after lunch to go swimming.
I gave the park’s brochure to Lynne and Tony for them to decide on a walk and whether they wanted to go before or after breakfast. They chose the Island Stack, a two-hour hike with a steep section at the beginning. The alarm was set for 6:30 am and we set off at 6:45. Tony lent me his walking poles which made walking up and over rocks so much easier, so I will be buying some. It was beautiful walking so early as we watched the sun kiss the spinifex then lighting up the red rocks.
Our last day was a hot 38°C and instead of walking the kilometre or whatever it is to the falls to swim we just went in down near the campground. As there are no rocks to stand on, you can only stay in there as long as you can tread water. We need to get some noodles.
Lindsay had good intentions of doing a sunset drone shot near where I walked that morning but the idea of drinks with friends took priority as the times clashed.
Around 9 pm the winds started up, hot and gusty. It probably lasted an hour or so. It would have been nice if we had a 12v fan near our bed. My sinuses went into overdrive. The midges that night had been ferocious, even biting Lindsay, which they normally don’t do The next morning there were thousands dead on every surface.
We were now heading into the Northern Territory. We could have gone back to Gregory Downs and up to Burketown, but it was quicker to head north through Lawn Hill station to Doomagee. The signposts in the outback aren’t exactly very informative but we had the Hema maps app. With a Garmin GPS gadget, we can turn our iPad into a moving map and see exactly where we are. Tom Tom isn’t much help out there and a paper map doesn’t tell you where you are. The track out through the station was much better than the road we had come in on. We stopped off in Doomagee and pumped up our tyres which was a waste of time because it wasn’t long before the bitumen road ran out again. Lindsay was hanging out for a meat pie as he had heard that the bakery there was pretty good. We thought we might be able to get some bread and asked if they had any wholemeal. No mate, that doesn’t sell here, only white bread. It’s an aboriginal community and it sounds like they have well and truly acclimatised to our crappy diet.
We had checked with the Northern Territory to see if it was alright to cross the border on the Savannah Way as the border crossing permit only mentioned the Barkly Highway if you were travelling from Queensland into the Northern Territory. This highway was way too south, so it was worth asking the question and the answer was yes, it’s okay. You were supposed to fill in a form online listing all the places you had been to within the last 28 days. This is a bit difficult if you can’t get any signal, but we heard that you could pick up a border crossing form at Hell’s Gate Roadhouse; the last fuel stop before going into the Territory. We were to hand the form to the police who were just over the border. They weren’t, they were a hundred kilometres down the road! We had been in Queensland for over six weeks and had taken photos with location tracking to show where we had been. Lindsay was hoping that Western Australia would open their borders soon. We were ready.
To see the route map, go back to the first post in this series (NSW)
Luminosity Trails 