How to spend 48 hours around Wallaman Falls

Wallaman Falls is already on your bucket-list; we get it, its Australia’s tallest single-drop waterfall after all, and is pretty good at puffing out rainbows from its mist on bright sunny days. But take your time, there’s no need to rush; this natural slice of paradise known as North Queensland has plenty of other things to discover too. Let’s show you around with a guide to spending 48 hours ‘in’ and around Wallaman Falls.

Day one

Wet Tropics - Paluma - Platypus

The Wet Tropics Rainforest is a World Heritage-listed icon, stretching 450 km to Cooktown and spanning almost 900,000 hectares of lush rambling bliss. And it begins right here, a little over 80 km north of Townsville in Paluma Range National Park.

Take the turn off to Little Crystal Creek to reel your way through a postcard-like drive beside ancient Wet Tropics rainforest. You’ll find waterfalls cascading beside the road and deep natural pools where you can float in blissful serenity surrounded by lush rainforest. As you do, cast your gaze towards the heritage-listed stone arch bridge, built by hand in the 1930s and perhaps the prettiest hand-hewn bridge you might ever see.

Feeling refreshed? We thought you would. Now wind down the windows to let nature’s soundtrack infuse the journey as you continue your ascent to Paluma. When you reach the quaint village known as ‘misty mountain’ by the traditional owners of this country, the Nywaigi people, you’ll be hovering 800 metres above the sea. Take your time wandering, pick up some locally made pottery, or take one of the 100 km or walks that can be as short as 20 minutes or as long as days.

A short drive from Paluma township you’ll find camping grounds at Paluma Dam, a calm water oasis perfect for non-motorised water activities if you carry a kayak or a canoe. Walking and mountain biking are also popular pastimes here, so pack your runners or your wheels to explore multiple trails to suit all levels of fitness and skill.

If you’re not into roughing it, take yourself a little further west where the rainforest meets the bush at Hidden Valley Cabins for the night. Australia’s first eco-friendly resort ticks an impressive list of sustainability boxes, but also offers a Platypus Safari tour said to have a 98% success rate of spotting the elusive platypus in the wild!

Day two

Start early

Rise early to catch the sunrise, or enjoy the serenity of a bush sleep-in before breakfast.  Weave your way back slowly down Mount Spec to the Frosty Mango for a tour of the tropical fruit orchard and a reward afterwards of an ice-cream. If you can’t decide on a flavour, try the lime and basil (our favourite) or dream up your own exotic fruit combination.

Following the Bruce Highway, plan your lunch stop for the pretty town of Ingham, to feast on a range of European inspired delights. Stop into Lou’s Deli to fill up your esky with over 90 choices of cheese, North Queensland’s largest range of salamis and over 60 marinated selections to prepare the perfect antipasto platter for later on.

Ingham’s Italian heritage harks back to hard-working immigrants who moved to Australia to harvest sugar cane. This rich Italian heritage gives Ingham its reputation for being the north's ‘Little Italy’ and with sugar farming still in full swing, the norths sweetest tropical town too.

This is what you came for

An hour’s drive west of Ingham in Girringun National Park, mighty Wallaman Falls thunders over 268 metres from Stony Creek down the escarpment making it the highest permanent single-drop waterfall in Australia. Wallaman Falls is part of the traditional lands of the Warrgamaygan Aboriginal people and 'Nginba Warrgamaygan Ngarji’ is a place of great cultural and spiritual significance.

The view from a choice of two lookouts at the top of the falls is awe-inspiring. Clouds of mist rise throwing kaleidoscopic colours into the sunlight and if you take the 3.2 km return Divinda Track to the base, expect an absolute drenching as the mist wraps its cloak right around you. Allow approximately two hours return and enjoy a really good leg workout - the track (in parts) is pretty steep.

Myriad animals and plants call Girringun National Park home too, so keep a lookout for platypus, saw-shelled turtles and eastern sea dragons in the water, and on land, crimson rosellas, agile wallabies and the endangered Southern Cassowary who can often be seen foraging roadside. 

Hit the road for more

Returning via Ingham, the afternoon is a perfect time to visit TYTO Wetlands, a 90-hectare natural wetlands site where over 200 species of birds, wildlife and tropical plant species reside. You can easily spend a few hours wildlife spotting here, or arrive close to dusk for the chance to see the endangered Eastern Grass Owl heading off for the night to hunt.

There is ample choice of places to stay. Consider enjoying more of the delicious Italian inspired cuisine by staying in Ingham, or follow The Hinchinbrook Way from Ingham to the coast and meet the southern gateway to Tropical North Queensland. Fishing villages dot the drive and there’s a choice from humble coastal caravan parks and fishing shacks to family-friendly resorts and sprawling private holiday homes.

Once you have found your spot to drop anchor, pull out that antipasto platter you prepared earlier alongside a crisp glass of chianti and watch the sun sink behind the hills. But for a different sunset perspective, consider sitting in view of the southern hemisphere’s longest service jetty at Lucinda, regarded as a photographer’s dream in all its symmetrical glory against skies aglow.

Yep - life’s pretty perfect whichever way you look at it in North Queensland.