FIELD NOTES// Henrietta Creek - Nandroya Falls

5 July

HENRIETTA CREEK/NANDROYA FALLS

17.5989° S, 145.7585° E

Henrietta Creek feels like you could be miles from anywhere, despite being right next to the highway between Innisfail and Ravenshoe.

Nestled amongst the National Park, there are sounds of animals scurrying. Long tails disappear through the undergrowth. And like any good rainforest, it gets dark well before the sun goes down, the light blocked out by the canopy of trees.

Follow the paths that lead from the campground and you pass through delicious, lush rainforest. Complete with sparkling waterfalls.

Eventually you emerge around a bend and spot Nandroya Falls – a powerhouse of a waterfall. The water plummeting from high above your head. The pressure and power so fierce it causes waves in the rockpool at the bottom. The walls of the cavern are covered with green. Green moss. Green ferns.

I read the other day that the human eye can detect more shades of green than any other colour and it makes sense in this place.

It makes me conjure up all of the names of green I can think of…

Viridian. Khaki. Lime. Emerald. Fern green. Forest. Moss. Sage. Jade. Chartreuse.

A pause at the bottom of the falls covers you in a fine layer of mist.

NOTES

Smells like:

Bush, but with hints of citrus wafting through.

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Sounds like:

Little animals scurrying through the scrub. The roar of a waterfall – powerful enough to cause waves in the pool beneath.

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Looks like:

Fifty shades of green. Intriguing little black and yellow spiders shaped like triangular spaceships. Waterfalls with fern covered caverns. The kind of rich red earth that can grow anything and looks like ochre paint.

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Feels like:

You’ve gone back in time. It conjures up memories of the movie Dante’s Peak…the misty, eerie fog above the water (minus the burning volcano part).

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Tastes like:

Fresh market stall produce – passionfruit, apples, lemon, bananas, pineapple, avocadoes.