Up at 6:00AM. Slept well apart from being woken up by Ollie giggling in his sleep, he couldn’t remember what he was dreaming about.
Quick breakfast then off down the 4.2km hiking track to Mitchell Falls. Thankfully it was still overcast and quite cool; the signs at the start of the track warn hikers about the heat and provide advice on what to carry – particularly the amount of water. The trail was well marked but there were some very rocky sections and some clambering over large boulders.
Emily and Oliver at top of Big Merten’s Waterfall, we hiked across from the far bank.
The trail crosses the top of Big Merten’s Falls; from there we could look down Merten’s Gorge which finishes below the Mitchell Falls. Upstream the river had formed a large pool carpeted with blue water lilies, Dragon Flies skimmed the surface and the trees around the pool were alive with birds.
Successful River Crossing at Top of Mitchell Falls
We arrived at the Mitchell River just above the top waterfall (there are four main falls). The path crosses the river here so we took off our walking boots and followed the marker poles that indicate the safest crossing point. Once on the other side it was a short walk to the Lookout with a view of all four waterfalls. “OMG!” said Emily. “Whooaa!” said Ollie. Yep, “OMG!” and “Whooaa!” sum the sight up pretty well. By the way, “G” is “Gosh” in the Mawle family. From our vantage point we could see all four waterfall inline.
Mitchell Falls, OMG indeed!
We had lunch at the Lookout then walked back to the crossing point above the top waterfall and had a swim.
Lilies At Top of Mitchell Falls… and a couple of scruffy urchins.
We found a fast flowing section and had great fun riding the rapids:
At mid-afternoon we headed back up the trail to the campground, we were glad we’d carried the recommended water supplies as it was hard going and very hot. Ollie was very tired by the time we reached the little creek just below the campground so we stopped for a dip in the cool water, Charlotte found some snacks in one of the backpacks so all was well.
Cooling Off After Hike Back from Mitchell Falls
Sausage Hotpot (tinned) with Noodles for dinner. It was actually quite good! Or perhaps we were just happy to eat after the long day. After dinner the Ranger did a video and slide show presentation on the Mitchell Plateau. It was really interesting, he told us about the geography, flora and fauna, the seasons and the rock art – some of which is over 30,000 years old. There are good examples behind Little Merten’s Waterfall so we’re going to have a look tomorrow.