Tropical North Queensland

Murray Falls – Girramay National Park

31 May – 2 June

And so begins another short adventure…..

We left home on Sunday morning, heading north this time, visiting favourite spots as well as some new ones. Our first destination was Murray Falls in the Girramay National Park. As with most Queensland National Parks, booking in advance is required. There is no mobile access in the park so visitors must do this before arrival. We had booked online before leaving home, but it can also be done over the phone. There is no self-registration at this park.

The turn off is just past Bilyana rest area, north of Cardwell, and the road from the highway is sealed until the last four kilometres. The campground is an open area with no designated sites and some picnic tables. There is a toilet block and shower shed – cold water only. Despite the expansive grounds, everyone clustered around the toilet block – I guess no-one wants a long walk in the middle of the night. We chose a spot right on the edge of the scrub that borders the creek. From the middle of the campground you can see the falls, but we were satisfied with the roar of water over rock.

Our humble camp.

A panorama of Murray Falls. No access is allowed to this area outside of the boardwalk and viewing platforms.

Once we had settled in and had lunch we walked up to the falls, a short distance along an elevated boardwalk, but with quite a few stairs to the two viewing platforms. Signage warns of the dangerous conditions and prohibits swimming at this section of the creek, but swimming is possible further down. Later in the afternoon we checked out the swimming spots, accessed from the day use area.

We had a swim here. It's very beautiful and the water was cold and refreshing.

On Monday morning we ventured off on the Yalgay Ginja Bulumi walk, through the forest to the top of the falls. This walk is 1.8km return and is estimated to take 1.5 hours, which we found to be fairly accurate. This walk is rated as requiring moderate fitness, has many stairs and is very uneven in parts. Walkers must be very careful as the path can be quite slippery, but it was worth the effort. The last section is down stairs to the lookout, and the walk back up was probably the hardest part for us. Interpretive signage describes how the local people made use of the area and resources available to them.

Grey Fantails are  common and not hard to photograph.

Golden Orb Weaving Spider

One of the few advantages of being short became apparent on this walk. Along the track just above our heads we noticed several massive webs of Golden Orb Weaving Spiders with the equally massive owners waiting menacingly at their centres. These webs can catch small birds so I would hate to bury my face in one.

Gympie Gympie stinging tree.

Occasionally, not far from the edge of the track could be seen groups of Gympie Gympie stinging trees. The clusters of ripe purple fruit stood out well in the dark green forest. I've never been stung but have been told it is very, very painful and can last for weeks.

We also saw a brown snake at the start of the waterfall boardwalk so if you weren't careful you could have an unpleasant experience in the bush here. The thing is that at no point did we feel threatened by any of mother nature's little traps except perhaps the mozzies. Keeping a respectful distance is the key. Mick.               

The top of the falls.

On return to camp we had morning tea and headed down to the swimming hole where we had found a sandy spot to enter the water. Entering the water took some time as it was very cold, but refreshing. The current was very strong further into the middle of the creek so we stayed in the shallows. Mick enjoyed it so much he ventured back for another swim later in the day.

Enjoying a dip surrounded by nature's beauty.

Downstream from the swimming hole.

The tree trunks are natural works of art.

On Tuesday morning we headed off to the Atherton Tablelands, one of our favourite parts of the country. We stopped for lunch at Malanda, near the Visitor Information Centre then stocked up on supplies for the next few days. We then drove towards the Gillies Highway to the turnoff for Danbulla State Forest and National Park. Turning off the highway at Boar Pocket Road, the road is sealed for a few kilometres, then becomes a sometimes narrow dirt road. Warning signs advise that logging trucks use the road, but we didn’t see any on the way in.

School Point Camping Area – Danbulla State Forest

2 – 4 June

We had booked to stay at SchoolPoint Campground on the banks Lake Tinaroo. Even though we are regular visitors to the Tablelands this was our first time camping out at the lake. Again booking in advance was required and this campground has designated sites so we had to select our site from the online mudmap. This is always a bit of a risk, but there is no alternative. We do use Google Maps to get a better look when we can. We chose site 3 for its proximity to the toilets and were very pleased when we arrived to find we had a great view of the lake. The campsites are scattered around a grassy area that slopes down to the lake, fairly level and generous sized. The toilet block and shower shed is positioned unobtrusively down a short path among the trees.

Part of Lake Tinaroo that the campground overlooks.

A clean and level area to set up camp is always a welcome sight. There was also a tap and fire place.

Pelicans landing on Lake Tinaroo.

Much of the work on the campground appeared to have been done recently. This included a new shower structure (BYO water and shower) and steel fireplaces (BYO wood). Signs warned that native White-tailed Rats were likely to chew their way into any food containers left out at night. Like all rodents, they need to do lots of gnawing to wear their teeth down. We saw one checking out our camp from the branches of a bottlebrush and managed to get a shot despite my flash being dead.

White-tailed Rat.

There were a variety of birds around the campground despite the fact that it's in a small degraded remnant of rainforest rather than the real thing. Much of the surrounding country is under commercial pine plantations. Little bush birds such as Grey and Rufous Fantail, Rufous Shrike-thrush, Fairy and Brown Gerygone, Lewin's Honeyeater and Yellow-breasted Boatbill were, more often than not, found feeding together in a loose group. A small family of Bush Stone-curlews made the campground their home and their mournful calls could be heard close by throughout the night. Mick.

Bush Stone-curlew.

Brown Gerygone.

Fairy Gerygone

Lewin's Honeyeater

Rufous Fantail

Yellow-breasted Boatbill

Pacific Black Ducks looking for a handout.

Australian Wood Duck, male.

There are no walks at this campground but it was very nice for a relaxing few days, and we did find the neighbours to be good company. When we left there we drove down to have a look at the other campgrounds on the way to Kairi, and the neighbours who told us School Point was the best were right. The best views, designated campsites and peace and quiet – no generators allowed.

Eastern Great Egret, non-breeding.

Little Egret in breeding plumage.

Malanda

4 – 6 June
 

Sarus Cranes feeding in a paddock near Kairi.

We made our usual stop at The Humpy, between Tolga and Atherton to buy vegetables, snacks and local jam. We also did the op-shops in Atherton before lunch at the pub in Malanda. We checked into a villa (a bit of an overstatement but still OK for the price) at the Malanda Caravan Park, right beside Malanda Falls. After unpacking we went for a walk on the Tulip Oak track, a very pleasant and easy walk through the rainforest. We discovered that despite being less than 1 kilometre from the middle of town there is no Telstra mobile or internet access in the park and nearby visitor centre. Apparently there is a bit of a hollow that is out of range of the tower. So much for “connecting the bush”.

On Friday morning we drove out to the Nerada Tea Centre for a promised “guaranteed” tree kangaroo sighting. We were amazed to find that we did indeed spot our very first Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo as we were driving to the car park! On closer inspection Mick discovered there were actually four tree kangaroos, including a mother with her young one. A bonus was the lovely Devonshire tea available at the café.

Lumholtz Tree Kangaroo.

Being the centre of attention is quite tiring!

Days are for just kicking back when you're a Tree Roo.

Seeing the Tree Kangaroos was a highlight for me. I have been visiting the Atherton Tablelands regularly for around 50 years and this is my first sighting. The word is spreading fast about the presence of this rare little family in the tea factory grounds. From what I could gather all of the visitors while we were there, were there to see the Kangaroos. The business would benefit significantly from the presence of the Roos. This is a valuable lesson, that preserving habitat and biodiversity has both economic and ecological benefits. Mick.

Distant tea crop seen from the prescribed spot.

Patrons come for the Roos and stay for the tea & scones.

From Nerada we drove over to Yungaburra for a look around the shops and then back to Malanda for lunch. We then drove over to the Hypipamee Crater. From Malanda take the road to Atherton and turn off to Bromfield Swamp (Crater). When you get to the Kennedy Highway, turn left and travel for a few kilometres to the turn off. The walk from the carpark to the crater is easy, but the side track walk to Dinner Falls is steep and uneven, but not too difficult. Good walking shoes are necessary for this part of the walk. There is a swimming hole, but despite large numbers of visitors on organised tours, no-one had braved the water. On the way back we stopped at Bromfield Crater to observe the Sarus cranes, but they were too far away to photograph.

Hypipamee Crater

Dinner Falls

Noah Beach Campground – Daintree National Park

6 – 8 June

We headed off on Saturday morning bound for Cape Tribulation. First stop was Atherton, where the markets were being held at Platypus Park. There is now a café open in the old railway building so, with a take away coffee in hand we set off for Mount Molloy and more markets. We had to stop at Abattoir Swamp, but Mick was disappointed to find that the boardwalk to the bird hide was closed for repairs, as it was when we last visited at least 6 months ago. Evidently birdwatchers are not high on the council’s list of priorities. We did enjoy a nice picnic lunch there – but there are no toilets or water.

Down the Rex Range Road and we stumbled on more markets at Mossman. These were the biggest of the three we visited. We made our way to the Daintree River ferry. The cost is $24 per car, return and the line-up was long, thanks to the long weekend. We had booked our campsite at Noah Beach, within the Daintree National Park, so made our way straight there. The campground was well set up, with toilets and (non-potable) water. There isn’t a shower though. Our campsite had a tent pad, as do many of the 15 sites. There was also plenty of room to unroll the awning. Three tracks lead from the campground to the beach.

Our very shady camp at Noah Beach.

We spent the afternoon exploring on the beach and found our way to Noah Creek, to the south, where we took photos of the dark, rainy looking clouds. Back to camp and we were relieved that the clouds did not deliver the threatened rain – until Sunday night.

As they scour the sand for organic material, Sand Bubbler Crabs discard neat balls of sand radiating out from their burrows.

Taken by Christie on her phone, pretty good shot!

Taking the next shot.

To my delight, shafts of sunlight burst through the clouds as I set up my tripod..

We spent Sunday at camp and on the beach, venturing north and south. In addition to Noah Creek, we found a couple of dry creeks and evidence of an old campsite. The place is very peaceful with stunning scenery.

A pair of Sacred Kingfishers have found a rewarding niche on the beach here. They watch and wait on branches at the top of the beach then pounce on small Sand Bubbler crabs as they leave the safety of their burrows. We also encountered four Whimbrels and two Red-capped Plovers while strolling along the beach. 

Around the camp I caught glimpses of Black Butcherbird and Yellow-spotted Honeyeater. Late on both afternoons, a pair of Orange-footed Scrubfowl scratched through the leaf litter around us. Their raucous calls could be heard throughout the night. Sadly, I missed out on all of the species I intended to photograph this trip with them all staying hidden, high up or just too far away. It is a quiet time for birds up here in winter and I should have more luck in Spring. Mick.

Sacred Kingfisher

Whimbrel

The work of Sand Bubbler Crabs.

Part of a Mangrove seed.

On Monday morning we packed up and headed north towards Cape Tribulation and the Dujubi Walk. There is a large picnic area with sheltered tables as well as toilets. We spent a while around the picnic area trying to photograph birds then drove south to the Marrja Boardwalk. We ventured onto the boardwalk which takes visitors through the mangroves – and realised we should have been wearing heavy duty insect repellent. The sand-flies were voracious! It was very unpleasant, but entirely of own doing. We will remember next time we visit mangroves.

I had tantalizing glimpses of Lovely Fairywren at the Dujubi Walk but could not get a satisfactory shot. The picnic area was alive with birds but we could not stay long. I've resolved to spend some more time there in the future. Further down the road at the Marrja Boardwalk, it was great to be entertained by a pair of Shining Flycatchers as they fed amongst the Mangroves, unconcerned by our presence or by the clicking of cameras. The sand-flies were maddening and the light very low taking the gloss off an otherwise wonderful experience. A flash and insect repellent will be coming next time. Mick.

Spectacled Monarch

Shining Flycatcher, female.

Shining Flycatcher, male.

We made our way back to the ferry crossing, just in time to drive on without any waiting, then stopped for lunch in Mossman. Next stop, Cairns and a quick look down at the Esplanade to see the shorebirds and waders.

Eastern Curlew flies past at the Cairns Esplanade.

Caspian Tern with Godwit in the background.

Bar-tailed Godwit and Great Knot.

Kurrimine Beach

8 – 9 June

We decided to stop for the night at Kurrimine Beach and chose the King Reef Resort Hotel and Caravan Park. We’ve stayed there a number of times before and opted for a motel room and dinner at the pub. This hotel has absolute beach frontage, as do cabins in the caravan park. It is a nice spot for a short stay.

In the morning we went for a walk along the Paddy Illich Track in the Kurrimine Beach Conservation Park. This short and easy loop walk starts from opposite the back of the hotel. We also drove down to the boat ramp to see if there were any birds about – there wasn’t. Back on the road and home, but not without a picnic lunch at Jourama Falls, in the Paluma Range National Park. The picnic area is only 6 kilometres off the highway and is a popular spot.

Purple Crow

Blue Tiger, missing a leg.

A White-browed Robin at Jourama Falls.

If someone told you they had been for a walk and seen lots of blue tigers and purple crows, you would probably think they were barking mad or on drugs... unless you knew something about butterflies of course. We encountered many butterflies on this walk through coastal vine scrub and came across a large mound nest of an Orange-footed Scrubfowl. Mick.

Now, where will we go next?

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