Cape York - To The Tip and Back - Eliot Falls

Eliot Falls (Jardine River National Park)

7 – 10 July 2016

We had pre-booked our campsite, as required, and set off with the neighbours who were also heading to Eliot Falls. There was an alert on the National Parks website about the amount of water at the Scrubby Creek crossing and they (and we) were keen not to tackle it alone. We stopped at Bramwell Junction Roadhouse and then set off for the Southern Bypass Road. We had no desire to tangle with the rough conditions of the Old Telegraph Track. If the Bypass Road is supposed to be better we were very glad we didn’t try the OTT. At the start the road wasn’t too bad, but it deteriorated significantly to the point where the corrugations were so severe, it was better to drive in the gutter!

We reached the end of the Southern Bypass Road and continued on the Old Telegraph Track until we reached the turn-off to Fruitbat Falls. This is a popular spot to stop and we arrived in time to have lunch and a swim. What beautiful spot!

Fruitbat Falls was quite crowded when we arrived but nearly deserted when we left.

A refreshing swim was just what we needed after the long bumpy ride.

Back on the road and we arrived at Scrubby Creek after about 1 kilometre. It looked way worse than we had imagined – steep sides and about 1 metre deep. After being given advice by some who had just driven through successfully, and watching some others, our travelling companions went first and we followed. It was a bit heart stopping at one point but we reached the other side without incident, but well aware we would have to do it again in a few days’ time. I wasn’t looking forward to that.

Boyd psyches himself up before attempting the difficult Scrubby Creek crossing.

We continued on along the OTT – and it is little more than a track – until we reached the turnoff for Eliot Falls. Once again we found ourselves in a most beautiful spot. Three days of swimming and relaxing followed. There wasn’t much birdlife about, but Mick was happy taking photos of other wildlife, plants and the magnificent swimming holes – Twin Falls, The Saucepan and Eliot Falls. Twin Falls was our favourite and we visited several times each day. We really had found paradise.

The main swimming area at Twin Falls.

The top pool at Twin Falls became our favourite swimming spot.

Twin Falls is paradise.

An early morning dip before breakfast.

Eliot Falls

Tropical Pitcher Plants. Carnivorous plants found on the banks of the creeks.

Downstream from Twin Falls.

The only down side of staying in this paradise was the way other people treat it. We saw discarded rubbish in the bush and by the creeks. In the campground someone had left rubbish in the fire pits and even a bag of rubbish in the Gents toilets. Unbelievable! How can people be so ignorant? There are no rubbish bins so that means take your rubbish with you. The other amazing sight was the young woman who washed her hair in the river while we swam downstream. Places like this are precious and people who don’t respect that shouldn’t be there.

On our last day we made bread in the camp oven and it was good.

There were very few birds around and I didn't take one bird pic at Twin Falls. This skink caught my eye though. It's possibly a female Long-tailed Rainbow Skink.

Possibly a Long-tailed Rainbow Skink, male.

The campground is quite spread out, with designated campsites, some for tents only and some which will accommodate camper trailers. Some are big enough for up to three camper trailers and vehicles, and there is a separate area for commercial operators. There are multiple toilet blocks with hybrid toilets and a few taps with clear water (presumably from the creek). Some sites have picnic tables and many have fire pits.

Early morning in our spacious camping spot.

A brightly coloured sand wasp.

We left our part of paradise in the morning and drove back down the track to Scrubby Creek. When we arrived there were a number of vehicles preparing to make the crossing. We watched as one drove across and the water didn’t seem as high this time, but we were wrong. It was higher and this time we did get water into the car. Mick also noticed a red light on the dashboard when he was half way across, but he had to just keep on going. We made it safely to the other side and onto the Northern Bypass Road.