Which way to the nearest waterhole?!? (Beating the heat in the not-so-Wet Tropics)

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Leaving Airlie Beach behind, our final week on the road started with the long, boring haul to Townsville almost three hours to the north. It was during this stretch that we really began to notice just how dry the countryside had become, and it wasn't pleasant to see herds of cattle picking at the dry, dusty ground that in some places appeared to offer no grass at all. With this in mind we headed straight to the tourist information centre in Townsville (Friday 27^thNovember) to ask whether it would be worth our while visiting some of the waterfalls in the region, such as Wallaman Falls which at almost 300 metres in height is reputedly Australia's highest year-round waterfall - but which is also about an hour's drive inland from the highway.

Thankfully the friendly old lady at the tourist office was as honest as she was talkative, immediately shaking her head and telling us that if there was any water at all going over the falls it would only be a trickle, and that she would not recommend visiting any of the other waterfalls in the region either until the wet season finally arrived - though of course when that would be noone could be sure. We weren't surprised when a colleague of hers mentioned that Townsville had just been declared a drought area that same day.

With that in mind we decided we might as well linger in Townsville for a while, so we first headed up to the top of Castle Hill - a 300-metre-high lump of rock that towers over the city centre - to take in the 360 degree views of Townsville and it's surrounds, including the impressive profile of Magnetic Island sitting just a short distance away across Cleveland Bay (which we had originally planned to visit before finding out that the cost of taking a car over to the island and back on the ferry is around $150). But though the coastline with Magnetic Island offshore may have looked inviting, the view in the other direction of barren fields and stark, featureless mountains only reinforced just how badly the entire region was in need of rain.

From Castle Hill we headed down to The Strand, where a stretch of foreshore is lined with shady parks, patrolled beaches and even an artificial lagoon known as the Rockpool - though with murky saltwater it can't compare to the clear freshwater lagoons in Airlie Beach or Cairns. After a late lunch and refreshing swim it was time for us to move on, so having ruled out the campground at Jourama Falls in Paluma Range National Park due to the likelihood that there wouldn't actually be a waterfall to see at all, we instead turned off the highway just half-an-hour north of Townsville to spend the night at the invitingly-named Big Crystal Creek campground (in the same national park) instead.

We immediately knew we had made the right choice. With spacious, grassy, shaded campsites complemented by bathrooms that even had showers (a rare luxury amongst national park campgrounds) we couldn't have been happier with our choice of location... until I decided to take a detour on my way to the shower to check out the nearby Paradise Waterhole, and discovered to my delight that not only was the water in Big Crystal Creek indeed crystal clear, it also formed a magnificent natural swimming pool befitting of the name 'paradise'!

The only downside to our location was that our sleep was interrupted on numerous occasions by car-loads full of bogans who would come tearing through the silence from whatever shithole little towns they called home, shouting and carrying on as only beer-fuelled country bogans on a friday night can! One four-wheel-drive even did a lap of the campground with music at full volume so as to maximise their impact. How I would have loved to have heard the sound of a car slamming into a tree; but alas, the trees (and bogans) made it safely through the night...

The perfect antidote to a restless night (the humidity having continued to increase the further north we went, with night-time temperatures by now only dropping into the mid-twenties) was a pre-breakfast wake-up swim in Paradise Waterhole. And if I thought the swimming holes at Wheel of Fire Falls or the Platypus Bush Camp west of Mackay had been impressive - and they certainly had been - then it was with great satisfaction that I was moved to declare Paradise Waterhole the most beautiful swimming spot of the trip so far! Having said that, I was only too happy to consider nominations from any other would-be contenders...

Eventually tearing ourselves away from our aquatic wonderland, we polished off breakfast and then continued up to the end of the road past the campground to check out an attraction known as the Rockslides. And though the waterfalls that are supposed to form natural waterslides in Big Crystal Creek may have been a little too short of flow for any rock-sliding activities, the plunge pool at the base of the main waterfall nevertheless offered another terrific bathing spot, complete with outdoor shower and numerous freshwater fish.

Leaving the Paluma Range behind, we headed up the coast to Cardwell for lunch (taking in the view of Hinchinbrook Island from the Cardwell Range Lookout) before setting off on the unsealed Forest Drive that heads west from the centre of town and passes a number of waterfalls and swimming holes... or at least that's what we would have seen if there had actually been some rain recently; instead we saw just the faintest trickle of water running down the face of Attie Creek Falls, no water at all in the evocatively-named Dead Horse Creek, and just a tepid puddle of stagnant water in the more appealingly-named Spa Pool. The moral of the story being: don't bother doing the Cardwell Forest Drive at the end of the dry season!

Late in the afternoon, with our white-water rafting trip on the Tully river booked for the next day, we pulled into Mission Beach and settled for an unpowered campsite at the council-run caravan park on the edge of town beside the beach. This turned out to be a mistake - for though the location was excellent and the price was good ($21), the facilities and general cleanliness were absolutely shithouse! With a water boiler that didn't work, a sink that was permanently clogged, and a rubbish bin that was overflowing when we arrived and still hadn't been emptied when we left two days later, it would be fair to say that the regional council who run the campground are happy to take money from people for the privilege of staying there, without being particularly bothered about putting any effort into keeping it clean whatsoever. It's no exaggeration to say that the free campground we stayed at the following night outside Babinda was not only nicer but also clearly better taken care of.

Still, all of this mattered not on Sunday morning when we were picked up outside the caravan park and taken all the way up to the end of the road in Tully Gorge for our 'extreme' white-water rafting trip with Raging Thunder. Having done this same trip almost eight years ago with a Dutch friend of mine, I knew that the hefty price tag ($225) would prove to be money well spent, with the 'extreme' tour offering a more adventurous variation on the standard (yet still excellent) rafting trip. Arriving at the put-in point in high spirits, Linda and I were put in a raft with two French guys, their Tunisian friend, and a Scotsman; and with a fourteen-year veteran Tully River guide named Macca at the helm.

Naturally with Linda being the only girl in the raft she soon became the focus of Macca's attention, as he set himself the task of tipping her out of the raft, whilst also taking the piss out of the Tunisian guy at every possible opportunity! Having quickly run us through the basic instructions (paddle forward, paddle back, jump right, jump left and get down being about the extent of it!) Macca then set about guiding us expertly through the grade 3 and 4 rapids, whilst also giving us plenty of opportunities to get out of the raft and indulge in some boulder-jumping or rapid-surfing.

Rarely was there a dull moment on the river, and on the rare occasions when we did encounter a flat stretch of water it gave us the opportunity to sit back and absorb the beauty of our surroundings - for the river is by no means the only attraction around these parts, as it churns and tumbles it's way through a magnificent stretch of ancient Gondwanan rainforest between the steep-sided flanks of Tully Gorge. It's no surprise that not only is the entire area protected within the confines of Tully Gorge National Park, it also forms part of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

Perhaps the highlight of the day came as we negotiated a particularly challenging set of rapids about halfway though our journey that led us into an elongated pool with a sheer cliff on one side, from the top of which plunged a waterfall that we were able to swim underneath... and all the while our barbecue lunch was being prepared on the opposite bank of the river! Another highlight was provided by Linda, who in the midst of another rapid responded to Macca's call for everyone to jump left with a panicked shout of 'which way is left?'! Thank goodness at least our guide knew what he was doing...!

By the end of the day (we actually only spent about three-and-a-half hours on the river) we had a new-found respect for not only the guides who do such a tremendous job of getting everyone safely down the challenging river - whilst ensuring they have as much fun doing so as possible - but also for the awesome natural surroundings in which these popular tours are run. Linda and I both agreed that this had been one of the most enjoyable days of our trip, and considering how much we had seen and done along the East Coast by now that could be considered quite a compliment indeed. The fact that we still had time afterwards to drop into our beloved Bingil Bay Cafe for a spot of dessert was merely the icing on the proverbial cake...!

Leaving the shambolic caravan park at Mission Beach on Monday morning, we headed up through the banana and sugar-growing heartland around Innisfail, before turning off the highway to visit Josephine Falls in Wooroonooran National Park. With the infant Russell River rushing down the slopes of Mount Bartle Frere (which at 1622 metres is Queensland's highest mountain) and carving a rounded channel in the rock as it does so, the multi-layered waterfall is not only exceedingly impressive to look at but also damn fun to slide down... though only the lower falls are able to be safely negotiated in such a manner.

After spending a most enjoyable hour or so alternating between sliding down the waterfall and swimming about in the plunge pool at it's base - whilst being entertained by the exploits of a couple of young dare-devils who performed flying backflips into the water from overhanging trees - we then continued a short way up the highway to the cute little town of Babinda, from where a side road leads six kilometres west to the town's main claim to fame: the Babinda Boulders. Once there not only were we able to indulge in another refreshing swim - this time in a beautiful rocky swimming hole formed by the confluence of two mountain streams - but we were then able to spend the night at the neighbouring council-run campground without having to pay a cent!

The fact that Babinda actively promotes itself as an RV-friendly town, and provides not one but two free campgrounds (the other being in a park nearer to the centre of town) is an excellent example of a council prepared to think outside the box, and one that they should be congratulated for. I can only assume this tourism-based initiative must have a positive flow-on effect for local businesses, so it really is a win-win situation. One can only hope that Mission Beach's regional council might one day take a leaf out of Babinda's book...

Tuesday saw us continuing up the coast to within twenty kilometres of Cairns to tackle the steep hike to the top of Walsh's Pyramid, which at 922 metres (and starting from near sea level) involves an altitude gain of around nine hundred metres in the space of just three kilometres... not exactly the sort of hike you want to be attempting on the first day of summer, much less during the hottest part of the day! But that's exactly what we did, setting out from the bottom at 10am just as the owner of the only other vehicle in the car park returned from his climb... with a faithful (but clearly buggered) dog by his side!

Onwards and upwards we trudged (there being no switchbacks whatsoever on the trail, which just heads straight up a ridgeline all the way to the summit), pausing every ten minutes or so to try and recover our energy - which was easier said than done in the sapping 30 degree-plus heat and high humidity. But while Linda found the going particularly difficult for the first hour or so, it was me who struggled the most on the second half of the climb, as what had been a challenging but enjoyable hour-and-a-half climb when I had previously hiked up Walsh's Pyramid two years ago turned into an almighty test of will this time around... though whether this was because I was carrying a few extra kilos and was not in as good a shape as last time, or because my previous effort had taken place earlier in the day and during the relative comfort of the dry season, I could not be quite sure.

Eventually though, after two-and-a-half hours (at least an hour of which was spent resting and recovering our breath) we made it to the summit of Walsh's Pyramid, almost a vertical kilometre above where we had started, and were able to enjoy the awesome views that stretch in every direction - from the massive bulk of Bellenden Kerr (which at 1593 metres is Queensland's second highest mountain) to the south; through the broad, flat agricultural haven of the Mulgrave River valley that parallels the coast to the east; and up to the city of Cairns - our final destination on the trip - sitting between the silvery ribbon of Trinity Inlet and the broad curve of Trinity Bay to the north.

After spending half-an-hour on the top of Walsh's Pyramid enjoying the breathtaking panoramas from numerous rocky viewpoints, we were finally ready to tackle the steep descent back to the car park, which tested out our knees as much as our concentration. Ninety minutes later, having passed another guy walking his dog up the mountain near the top, and then a group of seven backpackers apparently searching in vain for a camping spot on the lower slopes of the mountain, we finally made it back down to the comfort of the campervan - having taken four-and-a-half hours to complete the hike that I had previously done in just three hours! But though we were both proud of ourselves for having completed such an arduous undertaking, we couldn't help feeling that the satisfaction gained wasn't worth the amount of effort (and perspiration) we had invested. And worse still, there was nowhere for us to go for a swim nearby to cool off afterwards!

Back in the campervan we tackled the long, steep and incredibly winding climb from Gordonvale up and over the Gillies Range to the agricultural heartland of the Atherton Tablelands, where fertile farmlands are interspersed with patches of rainforest that harbour numerous waterfalls, a pair of volcanic crater lakes and some truly gargantuan trees, and all in a patchwork quilt of rolling green hills dotted with laid-back country towns. After checking into the Lake Eacham Tourist Van Park (which at $22 per night was the cheapest privately-run caravan park we had stayed in for the whole trip, yet had everything we could have wished for in a caravan park - and thus was the exact opposite of the council-run garbage dump in Mission Beach) we made a beeline straight back to the lake for a belated but nevertheless invigorating swim.

Occupying an almost-perfectly circular volcanic crater that measures 750 metres across, filled with water to a depth of around 65 metres, and with no inlet or outlet streams, Lake Eacham is a truly stunning sight. With deep blue waters surrounded by lush green rainforest, it would have to be one of the more beautiful lakes I have ever laid eyes upon; and despite the lack of a sandy beach would still be the equal of anything found on Fraser Island - and I don't say that lightly! As with most of the natural attractions in the Tablelands, Lake Eacham is protected in a national park - in this case forming one half of Crater Lakes National Park, with nearby Lake Barrine making up the other half.

Back at the caravan park we were 'serenaded' by a horde of giant cicadas, whose evening chorus reached such deafening levels that I was forced to dig out my headphones and wear them as makeshift ear muffs! Thankfully it only lasted about half-an-hour, so for the rest of the evening we were left in peace to enjoy the tranquility of our surroundings, where it seemed that every chicken, duck and goose on the property had a brood of youngsters following along at close quarters! And with the Tablelands sitting many hundreds of metres above the coastal plain, the night brought a pleasant drop in temperature that made sleeping in the tight confines of our campervan an unusually easy and enjoyable experience - even if the night-time fog caught us by surprise and left all of the towels and freshly-washed clothes we had hung out to dry soaking wet by the time we woke the next morning!

Unsurprisingly our proximity to Lake Eacham made it impossible to resist going for an early morning swim on Wednesday, though we did also manage to find the energy to walk the 3km loop trail that circumnavigates the lake through the surrounding rainforest. Driving south to the town of Millaa Millaa, we then followed the 15km Waterfall Loop that took us past Millaa Millaa Falls, Zillie Falls, and Elinjaa Falls where we stopped for lunch; before returning to Millaa Millaa Falls (undoubtedly the star attraction in the Tablelands) for what turned out to be a very brief swim indeed, as the sun refused to emerge from behind it's blanket of clouds.

Continuing on our tour of the Tablelands we then came to Mount Hypipamee National Park, where we first checked out the sinkhole-like crater - which despite being no more than fifty metres wide plunges almost-vertically over sixty metres to the undisturbed surface of it's crater lake, which in turn is a further seventy metres deep! From there a short walk took us down to the banks of the infant Barron River, where a series of cascades culminating in Dinner Falls offer a sign of things to come, as the river surges it's way towards the impending tumult of the Barron River Falls many miles downstream at Kuranda - which we would visit the following day.

After stopping off in the town of Atherton so I could stock up on cold and flu medicine (so as to tackle the illness that was threatening to derail our upcoming multi-day dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef later in the week) we then continued on to Yungaburra to check out the massive Curtain Fig Tree just outside town - which is apparently so impressive that it now has it's own national park - before finishing off our day with a visit to Lake Barrine and the twin giant Bull Kauri trees that soar skyward just a short distance from the edge of the lake.

After a final swim in Lake Eacham we returned to the nearby caravan park for what would be our last night in the campervan, again having to endure an ear-splitting chorus from the resident cicadas as Linda cooked up her final feast of the road-trip. Another cool, comfortable night was then followed by an overcast morning, as we made our way north past the artificial aquatic playground of Lake Tinaroo and then stopped off in Kuranda (the heavily-touristed 'village in the rainforest') to check out the spectacular amphitheatre of Barron Gorge and it's multi-layered waterfall; before tackling the steep, winding descent to Smithfield on the coastal plain below, and then knocking off the final few kilometres to Cairns - where the blow of having to return our mobile home and tour bus for the past two months was softened by the fact that we would be staying once more at the Dreamtime hostel where Linda and I had met shortly after she arrived in Australia two years ago.

In 60 days we had driven 8245 kilometres, and followed one of the most scenic stretches of coastline anywhere in the world. We had swum with seals, dined with possums, camped with kangaroos, walked amongst wombats, been enthralled by platypus and captivated by koalas, and encountered an almost endless array of other furry, scaly and feathered native animals; whilst hiking epic coastal tracks, spectacular cliff-top trails, gravity-defying mountain climbs and unforgettable rainforest walks; and had swum at stunning beaches, immersed ourselves in picture perfect lakes, cooled off in crystal clear creeks and paddled in pristine plunge pools under wonderful waterfalls - and all without suffering any unexpected breakdowns or break-ups!

And though I couldn't escape the feeling that the East Coast hadn't been quite as spectacular as the West Coast the year before, I couldn't be sure whether this was due to the fact that so much of what we had seen had already been familiar to me - both through my solo travels along the Queensland coast and from childhood visits to New South Wales with my family. But is it really necessary to compare the two anyway? My advice to anyone else thinking of doing a road-trip either along the East Coast or West Coast of Australia would be this - do both, then decide for yourself! You certainly won't regret it. And now that we've travelled both sides of the country, what comes next?!? Well, we have already booked another campervan for the first two-and-a-half months of 2017 in New Zealand... but that's a story that's still yet to be written!

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Photos

Keeping Cool
Linda cooling off under the waterfall at The Rockslides

Curved Bay; Magnetic Island
View from the top of Castle Hill in Townsville

Paradise Waterhole
The name says it all really...

All Smiles
Loving life at The Rockslides in Paluma Range NP

Hinchinbrook Island Views
View from the Cardwell Range Lookout

The faintest trickle
Attie Creek Falls on the Cardwell Forest Drive

Palm Trees and Offshore Islands
Mission Beach, with Dunk Island in the background

Sunshine and Shadow
Behind Mission Beach

Matching Colours
The Afro Van outside Bingil Bay Cafe

Natural Waterslide
Getting re-acquainted with Josephine Falls in Wooroonooran NP

Secluded Splendour
The swimming hole at Babinda Boulders

Rocky Outcrop
Linda taking a break near the top of Walsh's Pyramid

On top at last
Celebrating a successful - if strenuous - hike up Walsh's Pyramid

Natural Swimming Pool
Lake Eacham in the Atherton Tablelands

Lakeside Viewpoint
View from the Lakeside Trail around Lake Eacham

Picture Perfect Plunge Pool
Millaa Millaa Falls

Dwarfed by a Giant
Linda in front of the Curtain Fig Tree

Sunset Silhouette
Palm trees near the shore of Lake Barrine

Natural Amphitheatre
Barron Gorge and Falls in Kuranda

Fond Farewell
Linda saying goodbye to the Afro Van in Cairns

Back where it all began...
Dreamtime Travellers Rest hostel in Cairns - where Linda and I met two years ago

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Australia
Nice snapshot. Wow factor