Murray Falls

Girramay National Park / Cardwell, Queensland, Australia

About Murray Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Murray Falls was a pleasant cascade in Girramay National Park, where the Murray River tumbled over 20m on smooth and rounded bedrock that literally surrounded the falls while forming plunge pools that may feature turtles.

While this river shouldn’t be confused with the endangered Murray River that was part of the Murray-Darling River basin, which is “Australia’s breadbasket”, the waterfall was one of the easiest we’ve visited.

Murray_Falls_045_05152008 - Murray Falls
Murray Falls

Indeed, the main lookouts for the waterfall were a short 300m jaunt from the campground area, where there was actually a lookout car park right in front of the start of the walk.

That said, on one of our visits, we started from a lower day use car park where there’s a swimming hole on the river, but the campground was accessed over some steps leading up to the toilet facility there.

That only added about 400m (200m each way) to the overall walk, which was still a short and quick visit in the grand scheme of things if that’s the only way you’re experiencing Murray Falls.

We visited this waterfall twice – once in May 2008 and again in early July 2022.

Murray_Falls_030_06302022 - Murray Falls as seen from the first lookout in front of the falls on a rainy day in early July 2022
Murray Falls as seen from the first lookout in front of the falls on a rainy day in early July 2022

On that first visit, we spotted a turtle chilling out at the plunge pool near the bottom of Murray Falls, which was not accessible for swimming (that’s why they had the day use area further downstream).

We didn’t spot a turtle around here on our second visit, which happened to be during some persistently rainy weather.

One thing worth mentioning was that the mosquitoes here were quite abundant and relentless during our rainy early July 2022 visit (I didn’t recall them being that bad in May 2008).

That kind of hastened our visit as we didn’t want to be sitting ducks for them (especially at these fronta overlooks).

Murray_Falls_026_05152008 - A real pleasant surprise about our Murray Falls visit was that we chanced upon a turtle sighting as it basked by the waterfall's plunge pool
A real pleasant surprise about our Murray Falls visit was that we chanced upon a turtle sighting as it basked by the waterfall’s plunge pool

It took us around 30-45 minutes to just do the main lookouts on each of our visits – once in May 2008 and another in early July 2022.

The Optional Yalgay Ginja Bulumi Walk

One thing that struck me about our first visit to Murray Falls was that I noticed some kind of railing perched high up above the brink of the waterfall.

We didn’t have time to figure out how to get up there on that visit, and for years, it had always made me wonder where that trail was.

Well, it took us 14 years (in early July 2022) when I finally had a chance to figure that out, and it involved doing the 1.8km Yalgay Ginja Bulumi Walk.

Murray_Falls_074_06302022 - One of the interpretive signs near the start of the Yalgay Ginja Bulumi Walk on the way to the lookout above Murray Falls
One of the interpretive signs near the start of the Yalgay Ginja Bulumi Walk on the way to the lookout above Murray Falls

That walk began near the campground entrance (one of the reasons why it wasn’t obvious how to get there), but there’s an interpretive sign that made it pretty obvious that I was in the right place.

Then, the track went through the forest as it ascended moderately to the point that the vegetation started to thin out.

Eventually, once I was mostly above the rainforest canopy, the trail then eventually veered towards the Murray River where there were metal steps leading to the lookout.

At this lookout, I got a partial sideways look at Murray Falls, which wasn’t great compared to the main lookouts below.

Murray_Falls_121_06302022 - This was the view across the top of Murray Falls towards the downstream scenery though the low clouds really suppressed the view during our rainy day visit in early July 2022
This was the view across the top of Murray Falls towards the downstream scenery though the low clouds really suppressed the view during our rainy day visit in early July 2022

However, this lookout was really for the panoramas and the surrounding scenery, which actually wasn’t great on my early July 2022 visit due to the persistent rain and low clouds covering up most of the scenery.

Overall, this walk took me about 60-75 minutes (though 90 minutes was suggested), which might be something to consider if you’re looking for a little more quiet and to extend your visit to Murray Falls.

Authorities

Murray Falls resides in the Girramay National Park near Cardwell, Queensland. It is administered by the State of Queensland Department of Environment and Science. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: girramay, national park, cardwell, cassowary coast, hinchinbrook, bilyana, tully, ingham, townsville, cairns, queensland, australia, waterfall



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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