Windin Falls Hike

         

Hi guys!
A month or two back we finally took a trip to the (in)famous Windin Falls, and I'll tell you now, it did not disappoint! For a relatively short and easy hike, it was such a gorgeous view and spot to swim, and I would thoroughly recommend it.

The one catch with this hike is that the start of the track can be a bit tricky to find, so I'll do my best to explain thoroughly for anyone looking to find the falls anytime soon!

THE DETAILS:
Where? The start of the track to Windin Falls can be found about 20mins drive from Malanda, on the Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland.
How far? I'm not too sure the distance in terms of kilometres, I'd estimate that it's about 4.5-5km each way, depending on where you start from. It took us just over an hour each way, plus time for snacks, swimming and enjoying the view!

HOW TO FIND THE TRACK:
1. Start on Topaz Road and take the turn off onto the Old Cairns Track towards Lamins Hill Lookout (The lookout can be found on google maps so that's a good start to input if you're using your phone or GPS). Continue past the lookout. The track curves around the hillside for a bit with stunning views of the rolling hills to the left and forest to the right for a while, before becoming a bit more enclosed. We were super lucky to see a Cassowary and two babies whilst driving through this section, so definitely keep a look out in this area!





2. Approximately 4km after the turn off, the road gets significantly more difficult to manage, so most people park the car and walk from here. The spot we parked was at road marker 487, which was lying down and quite hard to spot on the left hand side of the road while we were there, so keep your eyes peeled!

3. Follow the Old Cairns Track for about 50 minutes until you see a pink ribbon tied to a tree on the right hand side, from here it is only about 15mins down to the falls. Early in the track you will come across a large metal gate, this threw us off a bit but just carry on through it!

The falls itself is absolutely gorgeous, with a stunning outlook over the valley and rolling hills beyond. The water was rather cold but so refreshing for a swim after all that walking!

We set off from home quite early, and started hiking about 7.30 in the morning. We carried some fruit and a flask of coffee and had breakfast overlooking the falls after our swim, which I'd thoroughly recommend!

My advice for anyone looking to do this hike would be to go when the weather is dry, as it would be a nightmare both driving and walking when it's been really wet. We went when the weather had been pretty dry, and you can see that there was still plenty of mud in places! It's also much safer to swim in the falls when the weather has been a bit sunnier, as it's a bit too dangerous when the water is flowing fast after the rains!
I'd also recommend taking some insect repellant, as the march flies (horse flies) were pretty bad when we were there and gave us a few annoying bites!

We met some other people on the track who mentioned that there is another falls further along the track called Caribou Falls, so we'll definitely have to check that one out next time!

Have you discovered any new hiking spots recently? Have you been to Windin or Caribou Falls?
Happy Hiking!
Kate x

P.S. For anyone looking to do this hike, Tableland Adventure Guides did this post which shows some of the landmarks for finding the track better than I managed to, so check that out if you need any more guidance!