Atherton’s Waterfalls, Queensland 🇦🇺 2021

Date: 7th May 2021

Travelled: 110 kilometres from Nandroya Falls to Rocky Creek (Atherton) 

Visited: Millaa Millaa Falls Circuit and Millstream Falls and Hypipamee NP, far North Queensland.  

Stayed: Rocky Creek Memorial Campsite, free, toilet bin.  S17.18202, E145.45547 

Budget: 27 days @ $139 per day.

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The Henrietta campsite provided a quiet nights sleep at our preferred price. There is no point lingering as we have walked the Nandroya Falls and we hope to see several more today. After coffee and some fruit we ready the Jayco and continue west along the Palmerston Way.

It’s only 25 kms on to our first stop, Millaa Millaa. As we leave the national park, we find ourselves driving though rolling hills and dairy farms. Our guide book recommends the Millaa Millaa Waterfall Circuit as a start to touring the Atherton Tablelands.

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Map of Millaa Millaa.

Millaa Millaa is more a village than a town but it‘s a pretty little place all the same. We park the Jayco and walk what there is, for 20 minutes. There are two coffee shops almost opposite each other and both have customers, locals heading off to work by the look of the vehicles.

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Our first stop on the 15 kms circuit is surprisingly Millaa Millaa Falls.

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Our next stop on the circuit is Zillie Falls.

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So we continue on to the last set of falls in the circuit, Ellinjaa.

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The last of the falls in the circuit completed we return to Millaa Millaa and turn for Ravenshoe. The sign said not suitable for caravans but it was a challenge in the Jayco as well. Whilst it was sealed, the road was rough, narrow but scenic.

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Map of Ravenshoe, the icon on the rail museum campsite, we parked there.

We use Ravenshoe’s dump point and walk the rail museum. Everyone loves a steam engine and so do we. The museum also run a low cost campsite which appears popular as they are queueing to get in. It’s a nice town with an excellent pie shop. Pam has a Sao for lunch and I tuck into a pie with sauce.

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From Ravenshoe we drive west 6 kms to Millstream Falls. The country here is dry eucalyptus forest, the temperature is now 30 degrees. The walk is only a few hundred metres but it’s steep and we know it will be a hard walk back.

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Hot and a little tired we fire up the Jayco and its air-conditioning heading back through Ravenshoe before turning north on the Kennedy Highway. Forty plus kms later we turn for Mount Hypipamee National Park. We manage to squeeze into the small carpark and have a 20 minute break before heading off to explore the Crater Walk and Dinner falls.

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The crater is only a few hundred metres from the carpark, the walk mostly level. The crater (the remains of a volcanic pipe) itself is interesting but not particularly impressive. The Dinner Falls are another km or so further down the gully. It’s a more difficult walk and we notice most people stop at the crater.

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The Dinner Falls and cascades make the Hypipamee NP stop and walk worthwhile. The walk back up to the Jayco isn’t too bad as the rainforest provides some shade and we catch some views of the Barron River cascading which gives us the opportunity to catch our breath.

It’s been a long day and this a long blog. We continue on the Kennedy Highway north to Atherton, there is no free stop and both the campsites well away from the town’s centre. So we continue on past Atherton, 10 kms to the Rocky Creek Memorial Campsite. It’s a long way from anywhere but free and quiet as it’s well set back from the highway and we have several others campers to keep us company.

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That was our day.

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Michael + Pam

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