One of the waterfalls at Fairyland, aka Wrights Creek
One thing about hot days is all the popular swimming spots are even more overcrowded. This isn't much fun for these who like to enjoy a peaceful swim under the rainforest canopy. We found such a place at Wrights Creek, affectionately called Fairyland by the local who came with us on our trip.
Wrights Creek Road is easy enough to find, it is the first left turn-off on Lake Eacham Road going towards Lake Eacham from The Roadhouse.
We parked the ute just after the bridge and walked back to the bridge for photos. Admittedly it didn't look like much at all from the bridge. Furthermore the paths going down into the rainforest aren't marked by any signs.
The perfect hideaway off the beaten track for locals who like to avoid all the crowded touristy spots like Lake Eacham – so perfect that most locals don't know about it. The local we were with didn't even know the name of the creek at the time. Look hard and you will spot two paths, one on either side of the road just before the bridge.
The swimming spot from the wooden platform bridge above.
We took the wider entrance, which was an easy walk to a small wooden platform bridge overlooking Wrights Creek.
As I reached the bridge, I saw the local telling my children "Shhhh. Quietly now and you'll see the fairies!" This was met with much delight from the children. More photo opportunities followed before we continued down to the banks of the creek.
A natural staircase of tree roots and dirt.
Much of the path was narrow, twisty and much like traversing a natural staircase made of tree roots and dirt. It was pretty cool to say the least. Coolness factor increased by ten when the path took us under a large fallen tree trunk and we had to crouch to get under it!
Mossy rocks around one of the waterfalls
On the other side was Fairyland. There was no other word to describe the scene before us. Mossy boulders with fallen branches outlined a pool at the base of a misty waterfall. The way the water fell off the rocks was something I had only ever seen in pretty postcards.
Photos can't do the area justice, it is something you'll have to experience for yourself. It is not just the sights that make the experience, it is also the delicate smell of earth, water spray and rain that drifts around you; the feel of mist on your skin and the sounds of water hitting water.
Unfortunately this wasn't a good swimming spot, so after a brief soaking in of Fairyland, we headed back down the other path, following the creek to the spot just under the wooden bridge.
There was another waterfall there, this one falling from tree roots instead of over stone. The water was a bit murky to swim in after all the recent rains, but that didn't deter us. We had a lovely refreshing swim and it wasn't long before we were freezing cold on an impossibly hot day!
Most of the path is narrow like this.
When it was time to go we followed the creek to under the road bridge, where there were more beautiful rocks and yet another pretty fairy-like waterfall that we didn't quite see from the bridge. Talk about a concealed beauty indeed!
The local was about to scramble up to the bridge as he didn't think there was a way up other than back the way we came.
However as we had seen the other path leading down from the road, we mentioned it to him and off we went to follow the creek a
The path entrances can be difficult to spot.
bit further. Sure enough, we found a path going up and came out on the road opposite to where we went down.
On a final note, there are leeches – it is Far North Queensland after all!
Walking through the rainforest, and swimming in rainforest creeks, it is likely you'll pick up some passengers so have a check over before you hop back in the car.
One of the many waterfalls we saw.
