| Type: | protected |
| Boulders Scenic Reserve | |
| State: | qld |
| Managing Authorities: | Cairns Regional Council |
| Url: | https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/region/things-to-do/babinda-boulders |
Babinda Boulders, officially called the Boulders Scenic Reserve but known locally as Babinda Boulders or simply the Boulders, is a public recreation reserve alongside Babinda Creek, managed by the Cairns Regional Council and adjacent to the Wooroonooran National Park in far north Queensland, Australia.
The Boulders Scenic Reserve encompasses a section of Babinda Creek where several smaller tributaries join it. Most of the site, apart from the picnic and play areas adjacent to the main swimming hole, is covered by dense tropical rainforest. It lies in the foothills between Queensland's highest and second-highest mountain peaks – Mount Bartle Frere and Mount Bellenden Ker respectively. This high coastal mountain range, the tropical location and the moist south-easterly trade winds are responsible for making the coastal strip between Tully and Cape Tribulation the wettest area in all of Australia, and as a result a constant supply of cool mountain water flows through all the creeks of the reserve.
Access to the Boulders Scenic Reserve is via the town of Babinda which is about 60km (40miles) south of Cairns and about 30km (20miles) north of Innisfail on the Bruce Highway. The reserve is located about 6km (04miles) to the west of the town.
The site is well suited for families, boasting spacious and calm swimming holes with clear cool water year round, a picnic area with tables and free gas barbeques, toilets and showers, swings, grassed areas, viewing platforms, and walking tracks. There is also a free camping ground close by.
There are three walking tracks within the Boulders Reserve:
In the language of the local indigenous Yidinji people the area is called Bunna Binda meaning "waterfall" or "water over your shoulder". The town name "Babinda" is derived from the indigenous one. Wonga is a local indigenous family name. The original Yidinji name for Mt Bartle Frere is Chooreechillum.
See main article: Devil's Pool. The Devil's Pool is at the top of a perilous section of Babinda Creek. Approximately 700m (2,300feet) downstream from the main swimming hole, the river valley narrows considerably and the creek channel is filled with massive boulders and lined with bedrock, polished smooth by the water flow over millennia. In the dry season, the water in Babinda Creek passes over and under these rocks, sometimes disappearing from view altogether. In the wet season, the boulders are often completely covered.
Regardless of the season, the rocks are slippery when wet. Many casual visitors have slipped into the stream and been dragged by the strong current to their deaths. Others have drowned while attempting to swim in the Devil's Pool. Approximately 20 people have drowned at the pools since 1959.[1] [2] [3] Many victims drown after being wedged in an underwater rock "chute". The force of the moving water is too strong for people to swim against, pinning them underwater, and drowning them.[4]