About Zillie Falls
Zillie Falls was the second of three waterfalls (the other two being Millaa Millaa Falls and Ellinjaa Falls on the popular 17km Waterfall Circuit on the looping Theresa Creek Road.
With this particular 30m waterfall (making it the tallest one in the Waterfall Circuit), there were a couple of different ways to experience it – from the top and the bottom.
To experience the waterfall from its top, it was a mere short jaunt from the car park (see directions below) to an overlook yielding a view across the brink of its plunge.
Unfortunately with this viewpoint, it seemed to have become increasingly overgrown so the views have become more obstructed over the years.
Therefore, it made sense to look for a way to get to the bottom of this waterfall, but we wouldn’t be able to do that until we came back to this falls in late June 2022 (over 14 years after our first visit in May 2008).
The key to finding the trail of use leading to the bottom of Zillie Falls was to look for it on your right as you start to head back to the car park from the overlook.
That’s where there’s an unsigned trail-of-use that was surprisingly well-used as it weaved between trees (which themselves concealed the path if looking back towards it from the overlook).
As the trail descended further, the descent became steeper, but there were surprisingly rock steps, which suggested that there was some degree of trail maintenance here and that it wasn’t as unsanctioned as I previously thought.
Towards the bottom of the trail, there was a more satisfying view of Zillie Falls (albeit still partial), but any further scrambling to improve the views would have to come at a risk.
That’s because he rocks were very slippery, there was a lot of mud, and there were hazardous dropoffs to contend with during our rainy visit in June 2022 so I didn’t bother scrambling all the way to the waterfall’s mist zone.
I’d imagine that this scramble would still be risky but much more doable under drier conditions, but I certainly wouldn’t recommend risking it when it’s wet.
Nevertheless, this was still a short little hike and scramble, and I ultimately spent about 30 minutes away from the car, which included both the overlook and the experience from the bottom.
Authorities
Zillie Falls resides in the Atherton Tablelands Region near Millaa Millaa, Queensland. It is administered by the Tablelands Regional Council. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website or Facebook page.
Zillie Falls sits within the Waterfall Circuit Scenic Drive in the heart of the Atherton Tablelands near the rural town of Millaa Millaa.
The eastern turnoff for the 17km Waterfalls Circuit (along Theresa Creek Rd) was roughly 54km west along the Palmerston Hwy (Hwy 25) from its start as it left the Bruce Hwy (A1) in Innisfail.
The other (western) end of the loop drive was about another kilometre west along the Palmerston Hwy of the first turnoff for Theresa Creek Rd.
Zillie Falls was about 2.4km north of the Ellinjaa Falls car park along the looping Theresa Creek Rd or about 8km east of Millaa Millaa Falls going in the other direction.
There was a signed car park on the right (if going clockwise) or on the left (if going anticlockwise) right across from the signposted short jaunt to the Zillie Falls Lookout.
For geographical context, Innisfail was 59km (less than an hour drive) west of Millaa Millaa, 88km (over an hour drive) south of Cairns, 148km (over 90 minutes drive) north of Ingham, and 260km (3 hours drive) north of Townsville.
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Short partial view from the official lookout of Zillie Falls in the rain
Back and forth sweep from the base of Zillie Falls before a brief zoom-in panning on its partial look
Fixated on the falls
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