Babinda

Babinda 7th - 12th September 2013

Babinda is a great spot for a bit of free camping and the Babinda council are going to great length's to keep travellers happy. They have built a new shower block and a new toilet block is being planned. Babinda is said to be the second wettest place in Australia with Tully being the wettest. Babinda's average rain fall is some 160 inches (4 meters) a year with some years reaching 250 inches. Babinda is in the Belenden Ker Range and is part of the Australian Great Dividing range. The two peaks within the range are Bartle Frere and Belenden Ker itself, both just short of a mile in height (5287 feet for Bartle Frere (1622 meters), highest in Queensland. The highest rainfall ever recorded on Belenden Ker was a staggering 440 inches (11 meters) and often exceeds a yearly dousing of 6 meters.

Well it can certainly rain at Babinda and we are not even in the wet season yet, we had a couple of wet days where it poured down. It didn't last too long and once again the sun shone and we were back to the heat.

Babinda creek (which was more like a river) with the camp site to the left. The creek was probably the cleanest flowing water we have ever seen. It was a delight to swim in on a hot day.

 Very lush (It's all that damn rain) and very very inviting. No crocs have been sighted in the creek so we didn't hesitate to cool down.

Camp Babinda! The bus is still doing very well, even with a dodgy gearbox, but with some tender care when changing gears she seems to oblige.

We took a trip to the Babinda boulders which look all very civilised, however these waters are not always calm and have claimed many lives.

It seemed very odd to me that such tranquil waters could be lethal to the unwary! That was till i viewed the Devils pool!

According to legend a beautiful girl named Oolana, from the Yidinji people, married a respected elder from her tribe named Waroonoo. Shortly after their union another tribe moved into the area and a handsome young man came into her life. His name was Dyga and the pair soon fell in love. Realising the adulterous crime they were committing, the young lovers escaped their tribes and fled into the valleys. The elders captured them, but Oolana broke free from her captors and threw herself into the still waters of what is now known as Babinda Boulders, calling for Dyga to follow her. As Dyga hit the waters, her anguished cries for her lost lover turned the still waters into a rushing torrent and the land shook with sorrow. Huge boulders were scattered around the creek and the crying Oolana disappeared among them.

Aboriginal legend says her spirit still guards the boulders and that her calls for her lost lover can still be heard.

There is also a believe that her spirt is now calling young men to come and join her in her watery grave.

The photographs do not do justice to the power of Mother nature, the Boulders were something else. It was easy to see how it had claimed many peoples lives. When we visited the river was actually calm and nothing like it can be when in flood,  AWESOME!

I believe that the area shown in the photograph below is known as the 'Chute' and it is here that 17 young men have lost their lives.

 The smoothing of the rocks gives a better indication of the power that is just waiting for the unwary!

 A sad reminder that actually Mother nature, can sometimes be a proper bitch!

Another trip out and we find ourselves at Josephine falls, which again can be very hazardous however the short walk to the falls from the car park was well worth it. Had we realised how nice the falls were we would have taken our swimmers. Getting a little older and wrinklier now for the skinny dipping!

We found some very strange fungi within the falls that resembled miniature (only about an inch across) highly polished wooden tables. Sunlight and water had a lot to do with how they looked.
They are Yellow footed polypore (Microporus Xanthopus) I have since found out.

You see Mother nature is not always a bitch she sometimes has a softer, prettier side. 

We really enjoyed our stay at Babinda and would come back again.

Babinda rest area

Latitude -17 20 28S   Longitude 145 52 09E

Dump-point - Yes Toilets - Yes Water - Yes Pets - Yes Shower - Yes (cost)

Length - 11 Mtrs Level - Ish Noise - No Grassed - Yes Cost - Free Time Limit - 2 nights?