Another day, another waterfall.
There are so many around here that it’s easy to find a new one to explore. The weather here is hot! And it gets hotter by the day as we approach summer. So finding a waterfall to swim in is top of the to-do list when you’re in Cairns.
Our adventure to Windin Falls the previous day took a bit more out of us than we were expecting. So the Crystal Cascades seemed like a great idea. It’s only a twenty-minute drive from the city. And the walk up to the falls is less than a kilometer. How wrong we were.
When we arrived at the falls we met this Aussie guy and we immediately hit it off. His name is Ben. He was a bit of a thrill-seeker and he convinced me to come up to the top of the falls with him to do some cliff jumping. To be fair that’s not usually my thing. But I was in the mood to push myself so I went for it.
Don’t get me wrong. I was pretty frightened. I think it’s less about the height of the jump (maybe 6 meters or so) and more about not knowing what’s beneath the water. Are there any rocks that I can hit down there? That thought goes through your mind naturally. Self-preservation is a thing.
It didn’t help that we stood up there for a few minutes talking. It definitely added to the tension. But I jumped. And I landed right on my ass! Thankfully I didn’t have any bruises the next day. I need to work on my form for next time.
The girls and I saw that there was another waterfall nearby and Ben seemed pretty keen to get over there and check it out. We weren’t sure where it was exactly but after some walking around we found a trail out near the back of the parking lot that seemed like it went in the right direction.
We soon got to a clearing with a creek but there were no waterfalls in sight. So we went a little further and we started climbing up hill. I don’t mean walking up a hill. I mean climbing. With your hands and everything. The roots of the trees provided plenty of hand and foot holes for us to use.
When we started on the climb we figured that it would only be a short one because the waterfall was supposed to be nearby. But we continued climbing and still, we found nothing. It got to a point where we had come so far along the trail that it made no sense to turn back. So we continued climbing some more.
After 30 or 45 minutes the girls were exhausted and ready to turn back. Ben and I couldn’t accept defeat so we continued on without them. Soon after splitting up, we heard the girls calling to us from below. They had found a trail down one of the hills and it looked like it led to the waterfall we were looking for.
This climb was super steep and to be honest I was a bit nervous. We got down in one piece but unfortunately, the waterfall was not much to look at. It had a great name. Fairy Falls. But all in all, it was a bit disappointing. We had a feeling that this wasn’t the right one. That we took a wrong turn somewhere. And in fact, we did. We just didn’t figure that out until the next day.
Not every adventure is going to have a tremendous payoff. This much is true. But that shouldn’t stop you from exploring in the first place. I’d rather be disappointed some of the time than not get out there and explore all this beautiful world has to offer.
Anyway, I was totally and utterly exhausted after the trip. The walk might have been only an hour and a half long but the climbing made it so strenuous. The plan called for a simple day of swimming at the Crystal Cascades. But we got so much more than that.