Josephine Falls

Josephine Falls is a tiered cascade on Josephine Creek, a tributary of the Russell River, at the foot of the southern face of Mount Bartle Frere, at 1,622 metres the highest mountain in Queensland, in Wooroonooran National Park in the Cairns Region of Far North Queensland. The creek comes down from the Atherton Tableland, and at the popular recreation site the water runs over a large rock that forms a natural waterslide. The falls are reached by a sealed road off the Bruce Highway between Babinda and Innisfail, and the car park is also the start of the track up Bartle Frere, 15 km there and back, which normally takes 10 to 12 hours.

Background

The Josephine Falls is a tiered cascade on Josephine Creek in Wooroonooran, in the Cairns Region of Far North Queensland, Australia, below the southern face of Mount Bartle Frere, within Wooroonooran National Park. The creek comes down from the Atherton Tableland, and the falls lie at 192 metres above sea level, beside a popular recreation site where the water flows over a large rock that forms a natural waterslide; Josephine Creek feeds the Russell River. The falls are reached from the Bruce Highway, between Babinda and Innisfail, by a sealed side road.

Source: Wikipedia, "Josephine Falls"

The landscape

• The rock slide - the large rock that forms a natural waterslide.
• The falls - a tiered cascade on Josephine Creek.
• The car park - the start for both the falls and the Bartle Frere track.
• The Bartle Frere trailhead - the start of the climb to Queensland's highest peak.

When to go

May to October. Two hours.

Before you go

The natural rock slide can be dangerous, and flash floods sometimes raise the water suddenly and without warning. The Bartle Frere ascent can be treacherous: walkers have got lost there, some for several days, because of unpredictable weather, poor preparation and at times unclear track markers.

Nearby

Babinda lies to the north and Innisfail to the south along the Bruce Highway, and Mount Bartle Frere stands 51 km south of Cairns.

Key facts