''Babinda Boulders'', officially called the Boulders Scenic Reserve
[ but known locally as Babinda Boulders or simply the Boulders, is a public recreation reserve alongside Babinda Creek, managed by the ]Cairns Regional Council
The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, centred on the regional city of Cairns. It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shires of Douglas and Mulgrave. ...
and adjacent to the Wooroonooran National Park
Wooroonooran National Park (Aboriginal for "Black Rock") is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1,367 km northwest of Brisbane, between Innisfail, Queensland, Innisfail and Cairns.
The park is one of the Wet Tropics of Queensland, Wet ...
in far north Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia.
Description
The Boulders Scenic Reserve encompasses a section of Babinda Creek where several smaller tributaries
A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...
join it. Most of the site, apart from the picnic and play areas adjacent to the main swimming hole, is covered by dense tropical rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
. It lies in the foothills between Queensland's highest and second-highest mountain peaks – Mount Bartle Frere
Mount Bartle Frere (pronunciation �mæɔnt̥ ˈbɐːɾəɫ ˈfɹɪə Ngajanji: Choorechillum) is the highest mountain in Queensland at an elevation of . The mountain was named after Sir Henry Bartle Frere, 1st Baronet, Sir Henry Bartle Frere ...
and Mount Bellenden Ker
Mount Bellenden Ker is the second-highest mountain in Queensland, Australia, with a height of . It is named after the botanist John Bellenden Ker Gawler. Located south of Cairns, and near Babinda, it is adjacent to Mount Bartle Frere, the s ...
respectively.[ This high coastal mountain range, the tropical location and the moist south-easterly trade winds are responsible for making the coastal strip between Tully and ]Cape Tribulation
Cape Tribulation is a headland and coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas in northern Queensland, Australia. In the , Cape Tribulation had a population of 123 people.
Geography
The locality is north of Cairns. It is within the Daintree N ...
the wettest area in all of Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,[ and as a result a constant supply of cool mountain water flows through all the creeks of the reserve.
]
Location
Access to the Boulders Scenic Reserve is via the town of Babinda
Babinda is a rural town and locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. Babinda and Tully annually compete for the Golden Gumboot, an award for Australia's wettest town. Babinda is usually the winner, recording an annual average rain ...
which is about south of Cairns
Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people.
The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...
and about north of Innisfail on the Bruce Highway
The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Natio ...
. The reserve is located about to the west of the town.[
]
Facilities
The site is well suited for families, boasting spacious and calm swimming holes with clear cool water year round, a picnic area with tables and free gas barbeques, toilets and showers, swings, grassed areas, viewing platforms, and walking tracks. There is also a free camping ground close by.[
]
Walks
There are three walking tracks within the Boulders Reserve:
* Wonga Circuit Track: an easy loop walk which takes one through rainforest alongside both North Babinda Creek and Babinda Creek.
* Devil's Pool Walk: this return walk takes the visitor alongside a lower section of Babinda Creek. There are two viewing platforms where the spectacular and dangerous rock formations may be observed.
* Goldfield Trail: a track for more serious walkers, it begins from the reserve and leads north west approximately over a saddle in the Bellenden Ker Range
The Bellenden Ker Range, also known as the Wooroonooran Range is a coastal mountain range in Far North Queensland, Australia. Part of the Great Dividing Range it is located between Gordonvale and Babinda.
The whole of the range falls within t ...
to the Goldsborough Valley.[
]
Indigenous names
In the language of the local indigenous Yidinji people
The Yidiny (also spelt Yidindj, Yidinji or Yidiñ), are an Aboriginal Australian people in Far North Queensland. Their language is the Yidiny language.
Language
The last fluent speakers of Yidiny were Tilly Fuller (d. October 1974), George Dav ...
the area is called Bunna Binda meaning "waterfall" or "water over your shoulder". The town name "Babinda" is derived from the indigenous one. Wonga is a local indigenous family name. The original Yidinji name for Mt Bartle Frere is Chooreechillum.[
]
Devil's Pool
The Devil's Pool is at the top of a perilous section of Babinda Creek. Approximately downstream from the main swimming hole, the river valley narrows considerably and the creek channel is filled with massive boulders and lined with bedrock, polished smooth by the water flow over millennia
A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting p ...
. In the dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
, the water in Babinda Creek passes over and under these rocks, sometimes disappearing from view altogether. In the wet season
The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...
, the boulders are often completely covered.[
Regardless of the season, the rocks are slippery when wet. Many casual visitors have slipped into the stream and been dragged by the strong current to their deaths. Others have drowned while attempting to swim in the Devil's Pool.][ Approximately 20 people have drowned at the pools since 1959.]
Gallery
File:Babinda boulders main swimming hole SF20355.jpg, The main swimming hole at the Boulders Scenic Reserve, Babinda, Queensland
File:Babinda boulders picnic area SF20355.jpg, Babinda boulders picnic area
File:Babinda boulders one of the picnic shelters SF20355.jpg, A picnic shelter at Babinda Boulders
File:Babinda boulders barbeque SF20355.jpg, One of the public barbeques at Babinda Boulders Scenic Reserve
File:Swiming-babinda-creek.jpg, Swimming in Babinda Creek, upstream from the main recreation area
File:Babinda Swimming Hole-1and (4194243193).jpg, The Boulders main swimming hole
File:BabindaCreek11.jpg, The main swimming hole
File:Babinda Boulders - top of the treacherous chute.jpg, Water rushing between boulders from the Devil's Pool
File:Babinda Boulders-09and (4201339870).jpg, Babinda Creek below the Devil's Pool
References
{{Reflist, refs=
[
{{cite web
, url=https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/region/things-to-do/babinda-boulders
, title=The Boulders, Babinda
, website=Cairns Regional Council
, access-date=12 December 2020
]
[{{cite web
, url=https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/community-environment/first-people/culture-history
, title=indigenous Culture and History
, website=Cairns Regional Council
, access-date=16 December 2020
, archive-date=9 April 2020
, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409215848/https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/community-environment/first-people/culture-history
, url-status=dead
]
[
{{cite web
, url=https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/wooroonooran-goldfield/about/culture
, title=Nature, culture and history – Goldfield Trail – Wooroonooran National Park
, publisher=Department of Environment and Science, Queensland Government
, access-date=16 December 2020
]
[
{{cite web
, url=https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/region/things-to-do/find-a-park/wonga-park
, title=Wonga Park
, publisher=Cairns Regional Council
, access-date=16 December 2020
]
[
{{cite web
, url=https://smartjobs.qld.gov.au/jobs/QLD-FNQ-BABINDA-EOI
, title=Job Search – Employment and jobs
, publisher=Queensland Government
, access-date=16 December 2020
, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216032712/https://smartjobs.qld.gov.au/jobs/QLD-FNQ-BABINDA-EOI
, archive-date=16 December 2020
]
[
{{cite web
, url=http://www.babindainfocentre.com.au/what-to-see/attractions/babinda-boulders/
, title=Babinda Information Centre
, access-date=16 December 2020
]
[
{{cite web
, url=https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/babinda-qld
, title=Babinda, QLD – Aussie Towns
, access-date=16 December 2020
]
[
{{cite web
, url=https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/dimensions/climatic-extremes
, title=Climatic Extremes – Geoscience Australia
, publisher=Australian Government
, access-date=16 December 2020
]
[
{{cite web
, url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-22/australias-wettest-rain-gauge/9568176
, title='It can be freaky': Meet the man who checks Australia's wettest rain gauge
, website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation
, access-date=16 December 2020
]
[
{{cite web
, url=https://www.9news.com.au/national/australias-official-wettest-place-was-mount-bellenden-ker-in-2017/b421cdac-d8fe-4067-a464-ef007a9c5c37
, title=Welcome to the wettest place in Australia – 9News
, access-date=16 December 2020
]
[
{{cite web
, url=https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/wooroonooran-goldfield/journeys
, title=Goldfield Trail, Wooroonooran National Park
, website=Department of Environment and Science, Queensland Government
, access-date=16 December 2020
]
[
{{cite web
, url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-20/qld-search-brisbane-man-missing-cairns-waterhole-babinda-boulder/12786140
, title=Search underway for missing Brisbane man who disappeared while swimming at notorious Babinda Boulders waterhole in Far North Queensland
, publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation
, access-date=10 December 2020
]
[
{{cite web
, url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/search-expanded-for-teen-missing-at-notorious-far-north-qld-swimming-spot-20200409-p54ir2.html
, title=Search expanded for teen missing at notorious far north Qld swimming spot
, publisher=Brisbane Times
, access-date=9 January 2021
]
Babinda
Rainforests
Protected areas of Queensland