Being a Sunday morning our normal holiday ritual usually followed the pattern of; copious cups of coffee, the slow unravelling of the local Sunday paper and brunch sometime near noon. However, we were keener to search out Lake Eacham this morning and a swim was certainly high on the agenda.
So, after packing up – we didn’t unhitch from the night before – we set back down the road pulling up at the Public Access area. The lake was wide enough to run a few ski boats around it but thankfully they weren’t permitted so we joined quite a few locals and tourists basking in its refreshing waters.
We could have stayed all day but with so many other swimming holes on offer it seemed a waste to squander time here. From there we headed into the town of Malanda and onto its beautiful falls where the kids waded but we opted not to take a dip.
Then we continued on to the Theresa Creek Rd circuit which encompassed three sets of falls; the famed Millaa Millaa Falls and its less advertised sisters; Zilla Falls and Elinjaah Falls. All were magnificent but Millaa Millaa were the only ones that we stopped for a swim at. We even headed under its giant spout to experience the back of the waterfall before we became a little jittery at the number of rocks that had obviously fallen over the years and wondered what might become of us if the ledge decided to fall today. Fortunately, it wasn’t the day for more falling rocks so we lived to tell this tale.
Our final stop for the day was Henrietta Creek. The creek meandered throughout the campsite which gave a few options for swimming. However, due to the high rainfall they were running quite fast which eliminated most choices and kept us confined to one near the bridge. The lack of choice didn’t bother us as we frolicked in the waters and the kids rode their tubes over the gentle rapids.
The boys even took a hike down one of the paths, in chase of Ulysses and Cairns Birdwing butterflies, only to discover a great prize lying in their path. The lack of tourists to this area, and a brief moment of sunshine, had seduced a red-bellied black snake to leave the safety of the surrounding bush. The boys were hysterically excited when they returned and encouraged me to join them, which I did, only to lose the photos somehow in the process.
Knowing that kids were completely safe, apart from; one of the most poisonous snakes being in the vicinity, rampaging cassowaries on the prowl; and a creek that was running faster than it ever had, we decided to leave them alone for a few hours and trek to Nandroya Falls. The route was far too precarious to take the young ‘uns and Deb and I were craving some time alone so this seemed like the perfect solution.
The five kilometre walk took us almost two hours as we traversed our way through a few creek crossings, over broken branches and atop sheer cliff faces that fell more than 20 meters into the never-never. But, it was worth it. Nandroya Falls, whilst hidden from the lackadaisical tourist, was brimming with a torrent of water and created its own waves as it plummeted from its dizzying heights.
One our return trip we even came across a stunned cassowary that upon hearing our footsteps and voices, hightailed it through the bush sounding like some Jurassic monster as it stomped the fernery to bits.
The kids were happy to see us again, having contemplated a few survival strategies should we not return, and we enjoyed a peaceful dinner before sheltering under the awning from the expected night rainfall.
