Murray Falls

Tues 15 September… Today we decided to revisit the Murray Falls, are round trip of 90K up into them hills that are a backdrop to this part of Northern Queensland. Once again we travelled through very good growing country and passed by the aborigine settlement of Jumbon, a very tidy village compared to some we have seen with no drunks wandering about or squatting beneath the trees. We came to the conclusion that this community actually does the farming around the area as there was farm equipment evident in the village. To reach the Murray Falls the last 5k’s of the road are bone shaking, corrugated dirt leading into a small free camp ground with just half a dozen campers still there from last night. There is a short boardwalk to the base of the falls and although water only flowed over one third of the fall it was pretty spectacular. We then went for a 2K scramble up a steep hill and through fairly dense rainforest to a lookout at the top of the falls. More fabulous views. After scrambling back down, we carried further on downstream to a couple of swimming holes, which, though freezing cold was really welcome after our hike through the forest. We had a great time in the water with just one other person to share with. The water is crystal clear with lots of freshwater fish swimming about, they look like catfish, the biggest probably about one pound in weight. There was a warning sign to look out for snakes but we didn’t see any. The afternoon we spent at Hull Heads just down the road from Tully Heads, in fact the same beach but just a few minutes drive apart. We took a short walk along a deserted beach before Peter just had to throw himself in the briny. What a difference in water temperature, the sea must be about 24/25 degrees.