JoelPART SIX
September 2021
The final part in this series brings us to the legendary Devils Thumb which is just north of Cairns. I don’t remember if someone told me about this hike, or if I had read about it online – but regardless, I knew it had to be done!
In all honesty, I tried nicely to convince my wife that I would just go alone because to looked pretty brutal, but she decided to come along – and I’m glad she did. It’s even more meaningful that we completed it together. And after this hike, I personally feel like I’m getting the hang of it and have a good understanding of the elements of hiking.
After usual preparations the day before, we tried for an early night – but typical… I was pretty excited and had nerves because of the upcoming hike to Devils Thumb… so I didn’t sleep much.
Getting up early, we had a coffee and breakfast, then leaving from the caravan park at Newell, it was only a short drive to the start of the hike. When we were driving thought the fields, we could actually see the Devils Thumb protruding out of the mountain tops – it already looked ferocious!
The start of the hike begins at the entrance to a private property on Karnak Road, Whyanbeel. We spent the next ten minutes or so meandering through the track that snaked through the private property, before walking on the edge of the owners lawn (it’s a beautiful place – please respect their privacy and grounds) and down to the creek.
As with all the other parts in this series, SOMETHING always has to happen.. and it only took this short amount of time before I decided something was a “good” idea. Instead of finding a place to rock hop across the creek, or just take my shoes off – I decided it would be fun to climb across on the underside of a fallen tree – just like a sloth. It was not a graceful sight to see… and then about half way I hear “SPLASH”…
I thought my backpack had opened up and dropped everything into the water, but my wife yelled out to me that I had dropped my phone into the creek. Oh no! This can’t be good… I knew phones had a little resistance to being in water, but my screen was already cracked. Surely it would be ruined! After about 30 seconds, I had swung down onto a rock and found it lodge on a rock ni the creek. After getting it out, my wife and I were both surprised to find it still working! My camera was a bit foggy for a day or two, but other than that, it’s a miracle that it was okay. (And of course, this whole time my wife was filming haha – it’s like she knew something would happen).
So after all that, we just took our shoes off and headed to the other side of the creek. Here you will find a couple of signs introducing the hike and warning of the hard trek ahead. After heading off we felt pretty excited, but at the same time realised that this was going to be tough. There was no paved track – it was just a goat track.
There was nothing easy about this hike at all. There were vines that have hooks on them which will latch onto clothes and skin, there were tree roots and rocks and it was basically all uphill. Initially, it was the prospect of reaching Karnak Falls that motivated us to push on.
One thing you’ll need to be prepared for (depending on when you do the hike) is the sheer number of leeches that you’ll accumulate along the way. We checked pretty often and most of the time we flicked them off our shoes before they got far, but at other times I had one attached to my neck and arm – no idea how they even get there! We had a fair bit of rain the days before, so maybe that’s why?
At roughly the 1.25km mark, we found the lightly trodden path that veered off for Karnak Falls (right before the large fall tree that blocks the main path). It was a steep descent down there, but the sound of the cascades and waterfall gave us the motivation we needed.
Karnak Falls and the cascades above it were amazing. We took our shoes off and explored the boulders before eventually sitting on the monolithic rock that the water rushed down on. It was magical – and a perfect place to replenish the energy and take a dip with the resident yabbies.
It was just tempting to stay there for a few hours and then go back to the car park. It was at this point my wife and considering it – I think she would have been happy waiting for me haha.
Back up the goat track, we found our way back to the main track, where only a few hundred meters on, it look like there was more of an “official” track that headed down to the creek. We explored it, just in case we missed something, but found it led to the same place we were before once you headed downstream.
Onward! We continued to slog up the main track towards our next stage – the Coral Fern Patch. It was a long, long, long way to get there, and both so if were huffing and puffing. My wife’s knee was hurting pretty bad on the way up. At one point I tried carrying her up for a bit, but after a while we realised it wasn’t a practical idea.
If you ever ask anyone is this hike difficult, and you get the classic response – “nah it’s actually not that bad” – don’t believe them. It’s a tough hike!
We finally reached the Coral Fern Patch and we were blown away. As you’re trekking up this goat track in the rainforest, it just suddenly opens up and you’re in a field of this beautifully coloured fern- in some places it will be up to your neck! We found an opening and took the opportunity to rest before we made the final journey to the Devils Thumb. In this area you’ll see some random giant boulders that protrude out of the ferns, and also a metal staircase to help you up one section.
At this point in time, it wasn’t the hiking that worried us, it was the fear of snakes being out and about on such a sunny day. Walking through a narrow path with areas of zero ground visibility – it was a little nerve racking. Thankfully that section ended and it was into the boulder fields and forest again.
It was actually in this area that we came face to face with our first snake! I was completely oblivious to it and almost stood on it – lucky my wife yelled out and I hopscotched all over the place as the snake started to panic. It rushed down towards my wife (who bolted quick smart) and then waited and watched from the side of the path. It slithered around for a while and then we were off again – now with the paranoia of stepping on a snake. Lucky for us, it was only the occasional spider web that gave us any troubles.
This section from the ferns to the Devils Thumb seemed to go on forever. It was now around 2:00pm, and we knew that we would get back by dark! But there was no way I was turning around!
There it is! The base of the Devils Thumb emerged as we came around a corner and then it finding a path that led to the top. There’s a small clearing right before the final 5 meter climb. This is where my wife decided she didn’t want to do it… she was exhausted and climbing up on to the rock required some balance or climbing skills. Thankfully there was another rock on the northern side that provided her with a view.
As I climbed up onto Devils Thumb, a massive rush had came over me and I felt like I was on top of the world! The feeling was exhilarating – what a rush! The view spanned from the Daintree, along the coast and all the way down to the Atherton Tablelands. Absolute satisfaction in that.
It was very windy at the top, but I knew I had to take the risk and fly the drone. It was sitting on a 15 degree angle trying to compensate for the wind – so a lot of my photos there were heavily angled haha. But it was such a special moment, I’d want the photo to look back on every now and then and reflect on he experience.
After reaching this point I told myself that I had finally pushed through a barrier and came out on the other side physically and mentally stronger. Have you ever had a single moment in anything in life that completely changed your attitude toward something? This was one of those moments.
But we all know, what goes up, must come down… and we still had to get down. We only spent about 30 minutes up there, then the hustle began to get back before it was too dark. Thankfully the way back was much faster… but at the cost of our knees being on fire. It was a painful descent – we moved at a decent pace (for us), and tried to limit ourselves to short breaks. What a slog… those hours that pass by and it just keeps going down and down with now relief in sight.
After passing the turn off for Karnak Falls, we knew there was roughly 1.25km back to the creek, and another 1km or so to get to the van. On the way up, we had 25 leeches between us, but on the way down, we only had 2. We were definitely sick of them by the end of this hike.
Finally! We reached the creek crossing – oh the relief was next level. The relentless downhill was finally over… the path to the van was pretty flat, so we knew we were going to make it. By this point, it was starting to get dark. As we wandered down the track we heard something large in the bushes. I didn’t catch a glimpse of it, but we suspected it was a wild pig!
Seeing the van appear through the forest was such a relief. As we approached the van we high fived and celebrated. The first thing we did was open up the fridge and inhale the cold juice that was waiting for us.
Total trip was 11 hours and 19 minutes. This included the trip to the falls and also rest breaks. There’s no denying this was challenging – and it challenged us as a couple. There were quite a few points where my wife wanted to stop and wait for me, but she kept pushing on and persevered. It was a priceless experience for us and was a massive growth tool for us personally and physically.
People usually do this hike much faster, but it’s worth starting early to enjoy Karnak Falls, the Coral Fern Patch and the view from Devils Thumb without a hectic rush. Definitely put this on your Ultimate Aussie Bucketlist!
