Tablelands region - waterfalls and rainforests

[Tue 11/22 - Wed 11/23]

Slept surprisingly well Monday night. It's hot and sweaty in the rainforest and our bungalow doesn't have air conditioning, but it does have a couple great ceiling fans and all the windows are screened, so we slept with the windows open, listening to the sounds of the forest and waking to the songs of various tropical birds. Pretty cool - literally and figuratively.

The main lodge at Chambers Wildlife Rainforest Lodges

Our bungalow in the rainforest

We had a light breakfast in the room before heading out to explore the Tablelands waterfalls around 9. There are apparently 10 falls in the area and Karri had mapped out a route to see 4 of them - all within an hour radius of our lodge. First stop was 60-foot tall Millaa Millaa Waterfall, then Zillie (99'), Ellinjaa (40') and, after a lunch stop, Nandroya (164'). The first 3 were a short walk from the parking area, while Nandroya was on a 4.5mi loop trail through the forest. We swam at Millaa Millaa, Ellinjaa and Nandroya.

Swimming under Millaa Milla

My lovely travel companions

Zillie - we opted not to hike to the bottom of this one

Shower time at Ellinjaa

The hike to Nandroya

Spectacular Nandroya

There were a few people at each of the first 3 falls, but we had Nandroya to ourselves - likely because it involved a longer hike to get there. The hike back - we opted for the longer, loop route instead of retracing our steps - was a bit challenging at times. Clearly most people opt for the shorter out-and-back route as the trail didn't appear to be well traveled. At times it would have been helpful to have a machete.

Downed tree blocking the path back from Nandroya

We made it back to the car around 4pm, exhausted and exhilarated. On the way back to the lodge, we stopped briefly at nearby Lake Eachum, a beautiful crater lake with a trail around it and swimming areas.

Lake Eachum

"Take care if swimming" - we saw several undaunted souls, including families with small children

We got back to the lodge around 6, relaxed, showered then headed out for (very good) pizza and pasta at nearby Nick's. Back to the lodge around 9 and all in bed by 9:30, tired after a great day!

I was up at 6:00 and am currently enjoying a cup of coffee in the main lodge and writing this post while the girls sleep in a bit. Today we drive about 3hrs north to Daintree, a rainforest and eco-park near the ocean, with a couple stops along the way - including a crocodile-viewing boat ride (if I don't post again, you'll know why)! We're staying in Daintree for the next 2 nights.