Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Malanda Falls

During our short trip up to FNQ last November, we spent a number of hours in the town of Malanda on the Atherton Tableland. My last post was about the Malanda Dairy Museum and Café and this post will be about our stop at the Malanda Falls.
 It's another lovely peaceful spot. I took the next 2 photos standing on the lower level.


DH took the next photos from the upper level. As waterfalls go, the Malanda Falls are not very high or exceptionally wide, but nevertheless this place has got some very interesting history...

The carpark is on the upper level and as you walk from the car, this large picnic shelter shed is in front of you...
Did you notice that sign on the shed??? Yep, in the 1967 floods the water rose to that level! I tried to take photos that would give some idea of the distance from this upper level to the river (the Johnstone River); it's hard to really see but the steps go down in 2 stages and it's a fair way down.


Closer to the falls (and the road) is another set of stairs to access the lower level,  with a steep rise climb hidden by the shrubbery and trees in the photo.
In February 2015 the area received over 280 mm ( nearly 12 inches) of rain in a short space of time and the Johnstone River flooded. Reports suggested it was the worst flooding since 1967. The water again rose to the level of the rails on the bridge which features in my first 2 lots of photos...that's a lot of water. The area DH and I visited had been badly damaged by the 2015 flood but it was all pristine again after the local council had worked hard to restore it.  
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9 comments:

  1. margaretFebruary 1, 2017 at 8:59 PM

    what a beautifulplace to visit and looks like you picked a time when there were not many people etc hard to believe the floods could reach so high up on the shelter must have been frightening when that happened for the loacals

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  2. MegFebruary 1, 2017 at 9:55 PM

    Hello, Maria. I grew up on the Atherton Tablelands. For a while, my family lived in Malanda and my grandparents lived there for many, many years. I swam at these falls as a child, it was lovely swimming there in the Summer. Lovely memories! Meg:)

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  3. angelaFebruary 1, 2017 at 10:29 PM

    Looks like a magical place.
    And yes. You can tell just how high that would be. A massive amount of water

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  4. Nanna ChelFebruary 1, 2017 at 10:30 PM

    Maria, if I am not wrong the Johnstone River runs through Innisfail as well doesn't it? It gets very wet up there in the north.

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  5. creations.1February 2, 2017 at 5:02 AM

    Beautiful place to visit - those steps to waterfalls can do you in very quickly!!

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  6. Sue (this n that)February 2, 2017 at 1:14 PM

    It looks to be a very peaceful place as well as beautiful. Those flood levels are incredible - so much water. Cheers now :D)

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  7. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2017 at 1:42 PM

    Hi Maria what a beautiful place,thanks for sharing.xx

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  8. JackieFebruary 2, 2017 at 4:36 PM

    It looks so nice and peaceful.

    Wow, that amount of rain in a few hours is amazing. I am glad they got everything repaired so people could once again enjoy the area.

    God bless.

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  9. CynthiaFebruary 4, 2017 at 3:12 AM

    Wow, that is a lot of water. My favorite thing about waterfalls is the sound of the water. We used to camp near one and those were the best nights of sleep of my life.

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