We Will, We Will Waterfall

Today is an official waterfall day. Here in the Atherton Tablelands, there is a waterfall trail, all nicely signposted. So, with the sun shining and camera to hand, we hit the road. We check out Mungalli Falls first, that involved a stretching walk down the hill (and an even more stetching walk up the hill later). Then off to the most photographed one on the circuit at Millaa Millaa; here, two couples were swimming in the water, which was fresh, to say the least. Next, on to Zillie and Ellinjaa Falls, where we saw a Dad and his two sons swimming in the pool under the rain curtain. Having had our fill of waterfalls for now, we thought we'd find the Curtain Fig Tree at Yungaburra. This strangler fig tree is estimated to be 500 years old and 160 feet high with a trunk circumference of 128 feet. Certainly, an amazing sight, given that the actual host tree itself has rotted away and you can now only see the freestanding fig.

For brunch, we stop off at Yungaburra it self, that is a really picturesque town with many heritage listed buildings, dating back 130 years. We sit outside the Mad Hatter cafe to have ginger snap tea and share a chicken and vegetable pie, that was delicious. The female owner of the cafe was probably a descendant of one of the characters of the Lewis Carrol story, as for most of our visit there, all we heard was this manic cackle of a laugh from inside! Our last sight seeing visit of the day was to Malanda Falls where, again, you could swim in the pool created by lava flow that formed into basalt rock. On the way back, we stopped off at Mungalli Creek Dairy, to taste the wonderful cheese and yoghurt and, of course, purchase some to have later.

Back at the camp site, we take a stroll along a mainly rocky footpath up towards Yabi Mountain. Dusk was beginning to set in and we wondered if we could get to the top and back before it got dark. Halfway there we speak to a lady who regularly walked the trail and suggested that we do the walk in the morning for two reasons; firstly, as the trail is rocky, we could stumble if it gets dark and secondly, at dusk, the snakes like to come alive! Funny enough, we decide to take her advice and turn round to head back to the sanctuary of our motorhome!