The following is an account of my hike on the Toolona Creek Circuit while based at O’reillys rainforest retreat. We had arrived the previous evening having departed Heron Island that morning. We had spent the previous evening watching a storm roll over the area from our balcony. Starting from either the campground or accommodation, the hike is just under 20km with a gentle 350m elevation in total. Give yourself plenty of time to experience the amazing rainforest and if you are interested in photography, start early before the light becomes too harsh. Now, on to the blog!
It’s 3am and I lie awake to the sound of steady rain. Nothing dramatic, just loud enough to keep me awake in anticipation of the morning’s upcoming adventure. I sneak out of bed and skulk around trying not to wake anyone up, especially Marianne since she’s the light sleeper of the family. I’ve prepared a light breakfast and my bags for the hike and scoff down some dry cereal while checking for further weather updates on my phone. Since spending a refreshing three days on Heron Island with no internet connection, it seems like I’m overcompensating by using the phone’s connection at far more opportunities than I actually need to. Our accommodation at O’Reillys rainforest retreat, though remote, brings us a step closer to the comforts and routines of home that we so desperately need a break from every so often. I reassure myself that preparing for a 7-hour hike starting at 4am is definitely not something I would ordinarily contemplate from the comfort of our suburban Adelaide home.
I run through a last check of my gear: Camera, lenses, filters and batteries: check. EPIRB, torch, map, compass, GPS maps: check. Waterproof outers, spikes, gaiters, water and snacks: check. After donning wet boots from the previous evening’s walk at Moran’s falls, I manage to sneak out at 4:20am to clear skies and the smell of abated rain. I also stop for a moment to appreciate a well oiled front door that doesn’t squeak and force me into a decision of rapid opening, or gentle slow creakiness ; ah the old band aid removal dilemma!
The walk from our accommodation to the trail head is well lit and damp. I’m starting my pace at 12-13minutes a kilometre with the hope of reaching the Albert River Track turnoff just after dawn at 5:45am. The plan from there is to make my way off trail down to the ‘black canyon’ along a steep and likely slippery descent. With any luck, I hope to reach ‘Lightning and Thunder falls’ by 8am, take my time photographing and appreciating the surrounds before making my way out of the canyon. If I’m back on the trail by 10am, I’m even contemplating photographing some of the smaller falls along the Albert River circuit itself.
I know how grand the scenery is along the Border Track from my previous visit in 2016 (also done in somewhat rushed circumstances as part of a dawn venture from the Gold Coast). However, in the dark, the only part of the environment I can really see is the mud below my feet and I’m interrupted from time to time by large spider webs which have brushed across my face, escaping the slow frequency of hand waving. I don’t need to stop for anything as the track is broad and well defined. I maintain my projected pace up a slow incline without getting clammy; a mistake I’ve made in the past by pushing too hard and being uncomfortably sweaty for the rest of the hike. Since there’s little else to do while tramping in the dark, I count my steps and figure I take about 1400 a kilometre. Ah, boring maths, you’re a saviour! First light starts to illuminate the rainforest at about 5:20 and I can tell that it’s going to be a burning dawn. As sunrise approaches, true enough, the sky ahead of me lights up all colours in the red spectrum as I approach the Albert River Circuit trailhead. There’s only one problem: the track is closed! Of all the research I had done, I forgot to actually check the Queensland parks website. Since I’m going to end up off track, I venture a little way up the closed track to examine its condition. Unfortunately, after only a few hundred meters, the trail damage is evident and even in improving light, I can see that this would a long scrub bash simply to get the descent point into the canyon.
It’s time for plan B. Fortunately, plan B is more like an alternative plan A in this environment! I push my way to the point where the Border track runs along an escarpment with amazing views into neighbouring New South Wales and pause a few times for some images; particularly at Toolona lookout. It’s well after dawn now and the light is becoming harsh but I imagine how wonderful it would have been to have made it here at dawn to photograph the scene of rolling hills, mists and epic lighting.
Soon, I’m at the turnoff to head back to O’reillys via Toolona Creek and make my way along a smaller but distinct path that switches back frequently to avoid sharp descents. It’s not long before I start to hear the trickle of flowing water and within 10 minutes, I’m at the first of many waterfalls on this track. ‘Poojabinya’ falls is a great start to the many waterfalls I’m anticipating visiting and photographing today. The skies above look clear and from my previous experience, this would make photographing some of the downstream waterfalls quite difficult after 9:30am or so. For this reason, I make my objective one of simply visiting each fall and not lingering too long in the search of photographic perfection.
There seem to be several sets of cascades on the track according to my map. On the first set of four, I look each way off the side of the track and listen out for approaching falls. My GPS resolution doesn’t tell me exactly whether the path will zag back a waterfall I seem to be walking away from and most of the time it does. By the time I’ve visited three small but gorgeous falls, I’m well on my way to Toolona Falls having somehow missed one of the named cascades.
At this stage, I start to notice a pain in my left foot. Sometimes when I don’t cut my nails, the side of my fourth toe can be gouged by an adjacent sharp toenail. This sensation feels like the former but lower down toward my webbing. As I pass the top of Toolona Falls, which seem very impressive from above, I zig and zag my way down to its base and take off my sodden boots and socks. It’s then that I realise that I’ve been leeched! My left foot’s a bit of a bloody mess and I cannot figure out how this full and soppy leech managed to penetrate my boots and gaiters to latch on to my toe before releasing itself. Lucky the first aid kit’s in the bag and a band aid patch up job seems to do the trick of containing mess and preventing pain from abrasion. I regret not packing a small salt shaker which I have planned for this trip. Since I’ve stopped, I take the opportunity to have a quick breakfast of K time bars and photograph the impressive Toolona Falls. Since I’ll be photographing in around waterfalls while tramping on muddy paths for the rest of the day, I figure I’ll don the spikes and just leave them on. Overall, I’d say Toolona and Gwongurai falls are probably the highest falls of the circuit. I haven’t been including myself in images lately as I’ve been trying to avoid the social media trend of making the image somehow about the individual rather than the environment. I figure on this occasion; I might be able to give some sense of scale to the waterfall though shooting up with a wide-angle perspective makes that difficult.
Downstream from Toolona Falls, there are some lovely cascades that I cannot resist photographing though I can see the sun slowly start to rise as I’m walking. A short distance later, I can hear the cascades of Chalahn Falls and make my way excitedly down the switchbacks toward the base of the falls. Along the way, I almost step on a spiny crayfish that had been on the track! I wonder if I’ll be seeing more of these curious but magnificent creatures. Since I had photographed Chalahn Falls a few years ago in almost identical conditions, I make it a point not to reproduce a carbon copy of my previous images. I switch out to the 15mm lens for a wider perspective and shoot two or three compositions before moving on. I only walk for 1 minute before being interrupted by more crayfish on the trail and decide to photograph them in the safety of their makeshift dugouts. On this track, there has been the opportunity to photograph so much more than landscapes but I’ve artificially put myself on some time pressure to get back to Marianne and the girls before lunch time.
The last set of waterfalls before Toolona Creek drops into the Box Forest Circuit are really pumping. The crayfish are also seemingly in abundance whenever I’m in the stream. Perhaps the most impressive of these downstream cascades is Gwongurai Falls. This waterfall is the culmination of several cascades (which aren’t easily accessible) into a green bowl of swirling wind and water. There is a steep but manageable path down to its base where you can soak yourself in its majesty, literally! I spend some moments down there battling to take a usable image without blurry foliage and spray on my lenses but it’s worth it just being down there.
Other falls that I decide photograph include Triplet Falls which requires some scrambling to get down to. The top section is thriving with several crayfish. By now the sun is pretty high up making dynamic range an issue and my kim wipes are all starting to get a bit sodden making clean images harder to come by. I take one look at the two lower cascades and decide that that’s a mission for ropes and assistance, not today. The next fall I come across is Burraboomba falls. This is another beautiful multi-tier waterfall but its base is separated by a deep and long splash pool. Some branches have also fallen across its base. This is perhaps the only waterfall I made the scramble up to which I did not photograph as I had photographed it in similar conditions in 2016 without much variety on offer in terms of unique compositions – at least not in the time that I have afforded myself. The final fall of this section is the small but idyllic Dwandarra Falls. I choose to photograph this waterfall framed by a wall of roots for a side-on perspective. The sun us now high and illuminates the falls’ surrounds in a fairy like golden-green.
From here it’s a short distance to Elabana Falls and the late morning sun is blazing overhead. As I had suspected, the falls were in full sunshine and flowing gloriously but not ideally for photographs. Marianne and I had talked about bringing the kids to Elabana the following day, so I opt to head back up to the Border Track and for lunch. I take pause at Picnic Rock and assess how suitable the track is for the kids tomorrow. There are some members of a photographic tour who comment on my gaiters and spikes. I tell them that I like photograph in as much safety and with as little discomfort as possible. The temperature is starting to rise and for the first time this morning, I’m now in just a T shirt and hiking pants. As I start to climb out of the valley, the sound of rushing water departs and makes way for a much quieter rustle of leaves in a light breeze, interrupted by intermittent bird calls. This is the only section of the walk where I’ve worked up a sweat given the cool post-storm conditions of the early morning. After all the glory of the waterfalls below, the last section of the Border track, though beautiful, takes on a monotonous appearance. Most probably as my body anticipates replenishment within the hour.
As I arrive back at O’reillys just after 1130am, I receive a message from Marianne that the she and the girls have finished their walks for the morning are in the cafeteria having lunch. We meet and reflect about our mornings’ experiences over some hot food. On the walls of the cafeteria are many images of the waterfalls that I have just walked past. I can appreciate these scenes all the more after having seen them first hand. I find nothing makes me appreciate an image more thoroughly than having experienced the same location as a fellow hiker/photographer. It doesn’t matter how artistically competent the image is, the very scenes evoke a memory and emotion that will stay with me until I can no longer embark on these kinds of walks. Marianne and the girls meanwhile, had explored the wishing tree and the tree top walk which sounded like a great experience in itself. As we leave for our accommodation, I look forward to getting clean and possibly spending some time in the beautiful infinity pool 5 minutes walk from our room. Stay tuned for our family adventure on the Box Forest Circuit!