Rating: 7/10
Most recent visit: 21 March 2021
This 70-metre-tall beauty is located in the Misty Mountains (fitting as each time we visit there is a layer of mist and rain about). The trailhead is accessed near Palmerston via Suttie’s Gap Road, approximately 2 hours’ drive from Cairns. The road to the trailhead is not sealed, although most vehicles should be able to handle it (unless of course you do what Sarah and I did the first time, which is drive past the trailhead and into the 4WD section of the road and hit a tree).
Sarah: Whilst I have only done this hike once, Rochelle went back a second time to get some better photos. My first trip here resulted in a trip to the local hospital following an encounter with the infamous stinging tree (more on the incident later), before we had a chance to take some pictures or explore the area.
What you need to know:
The track is around 13.6 km return, it shouldn’t take longer than 4 hours return
The trail is pretty well worn and marked
Most of the track is relatively flat, easy to moderate
There is one steep section as you descend to the falls themselves, this section is not very long, however it is extremely steep, and you will need to be assisted by tree roots and branches. The ground is soft in this section so be careful where you are placing your weight.
When you get to the base of this steep section, the prime spot to view the falls requires that you cross the creek. Be careful crossing if the water levels are high and flowing quickly.
Overall, this is a nice trail for most fitness levels, and a good one for new hikers who are building up to steeper walks.
There are a couple of creek crossings where you will have to choose between wet boots or taking your shoes and socks off. We often just submit to wet shoes, but luckily its North Queensland so they dry quick!
Because the area is damp, there are leeches, it can be slippery and a little muddy. I recommend wearing shoes with good grip and high socks.
There are stinging trees in the area but providing you don’t go mountain goat climbing through rainforest at the falls (like Sarah did) you should avoid it. We didn’t spot any of the bushes on the main track, so it is very avoidable. Sarah: I was attempting to get to the top of the falls where I would have a better advantage point of where the falls drop. As I was making my way back I walked into a stinging tree. For those of you lucky enough not to have the unfortunate experience, it has about a 10 second delay and then it hits you… hard. Imagine the worse sunburn of your life and someone is continuously stabbing the area with needles, and in-between stings you have electric shock-like waves radiating up your leg. There is no escaping it. First aid recommends waxing the area to remove the little hairs that carry the neurotoxin, if you are prepared enough to have wax strips (which I was not). I can be stubborn and headstrong, so I was determined to walk the 8km back to our car. We drove about 50min to Atherton where we went to the local Woollies for some wax strips. I proceeded to wax my leg in the carpark before admitting defeat and asking Rochelle to take me to Atherton hospital. I have nothing but gratitude and thankfulness for the doctors and nurses who attended to me and assisted in alleviating the pain-> still not an experience that I want to repeat again! Rumour has it however, that there are berries that grow near the plant which if applied can treat the pain (in the heat of the moment we forgot to look for the berries so cannot verify this old wives tale).
The reward it good taking into consideration a decent length walk, without a lot of elevation. Unfortunately, on this particular trail you end up at the top of the falls so you don’t get to see the entire falls. Luckily, I had a drone and was able to capture the entire falls in all their glory.
I am told that if you continue up the creek, you will reach a nice swimming hole and a secondary waterfall. We haven’t done this yet but will check it out the next time we are in the area.
Tully Gorge National Park also have hiking trails that lead to the bottom of Cannabullen. We haven’t done this hike but it is on our list so we will keep you informed when we do it. In the meantime, we have added a map with the highlighted route if anyone is interested. And please let us know how you found it!
Our trail notes:
The start of the trail is located at 17°39’23.4″S 145°38’27.0″E (keep in mind there is no reception at the trailhead so you will need to plug the route into maps before heading off). There is no big sign stating ‘Cannabullen Falls Hike’ to indicate the start of the hike-> there is however a board with some information about the Misty Mountains Trails. We didn’t realise this was the start of the hike initially and we drove past it and ended up on a 4WD track, where I miscalculated my car’s ability to drive over a fallen tree branch (it was pretty big to be fair) and caused a dent in my car (bugger!).
The start of the trail looks like this:
Not long into the trail you will come across a steep downward section with black plastic grip. Beware, this is a complete death trap and very slippery. I stuck to the edges, off the plastic, until it got too steep, then I went crab crawling the rest of the way.
You will arrive at a fork not long into the trail, go left, this will take you straight to the first creek crossing
Continue along the trail after the creek crossing and you will come to a T-Junction, take a right:
Continue to follow the trail until you reach the second creek crossing. You will need to duck under the tree as the trail continues behind it to the right :
Keep following the trail, you will come to another fork with a sign to the falls, take a left:
Keep following the track, you shouldn’t get lost past this point. Keep in mind the access to the falls gets quite steep but it is well worth the reward at the bottom:
I did take some photos of the sign at the start of the trail which might be of use, you will see the trail markers start at blue, switch to red, before returning back to blue.
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