Turtle Rock Walk, Davies Creek National Park - April 2022

Very nice walking on the Turtle Rock Walk.

After climbing Walsh's Pyramid yesterday I was looking for an easier stroll today. So after a little bit of searching I decided to head out to Davies Creek National Park and have a go at the Turtle Rock Circuit. To get to this walk meant climbing back up onto the Great Dividing Range along the Kennedy Highway from Cairns and then following the dirt Davies Creek Road deeper into the hills for 10 kilometres. By the time I arrived at the start of the track I was ready to get out of the drivers seat and start walking. I actually started the walk on the side of Davies Creek Road between some camping nodes, I guess I could of parked at the camping nodes however I wasn't 100% sure on what the people are paying for when they book these sites - obviously they are paying for exclusive camping rights, however does that include car parking, long drop (and swimming holes) as well? Anyway, with the walk actually following this section of Davies Creek Road for a few hundred metres I figured that parking beside the road would be the best bet.

My route actually utilised this section of road.

After walking the road for a few minutes I crossed Davies Creek on a concrete road bridge.

Setting off I followed Davies Creek Road back down over the low level concrete bridge across the creek, before swinging south along some camping nodes access track, before picking up the walking track heading into the bush behind the long drop. Once on the well defined and clear walking track the walking was really good as I climbed south before swinging south-westerly up a more pronounced spur. It wasn't always sweetness and light this morning though as the bugs were out in force today, there were clouds of insects (I'm not exactly sure of the species of these bugs, initially I thought they were mozzies or midges however they didn't appear to bite?), it was only as I climbed higher and picked up a bit of a breeze that the insects backed off.

Once on the walking track the going was very good.

The bush in Davies National Park was looking pretty good at the back end of the wet season.

While the climb to Turtle Rock started off easy it got progressively steeper until I reached the crux of the climb at a rock chute. This chute required me to throw my walking poles up ahead of me and then haul my fat arse up utilising both hands, it was only 4 or 5 metres however I was definitely scrambling. Once above this chute there was a nice informal rock lookout a few metres to the west looking down over the Atherton Tablelands which made for a good spot to get my breath back - I'd also climbed high enough to pick up a breeze now so the bugs weren't too bad. Turtle Rock was only a fairly short climb from here and within ten minutes I was standing on the 944 metre summit Mt Turtle trying to find the turtle.

The climb to turtle rock got progressively steeper.

 

The Turtle Rock Climb.

This rock chute was the crux of the climb.

This was one of those throw the trekking poles up ahead of me and then climb up after them jobs.

Once above the scramble I got some nice views across the Atherton Tablelands.

Not having much luck visualising the turtle I concentrated on the views instead, the view south to the rugged country in Dinden National Park drawing my eye. After moving around the rocky summit for awhile taking in the different vistas I started descending steeply in a south easterly direction and whilst I stopped to check my navigation I looked back up towards the summit and there was the turtle! Initially the descent was steep, however that only lasted for a few minutes and then I started a fairly long and gently undulating ridge walk through some beautiful open forest that was no doubt looking its best after the summer rains.

The view from Mt Turtle.

I'm thinking that this is Dinden National Park.

Dinden National Park.

I was struggling to visualize a turtle...

... until I dropped down my track a bit and all became clear.

Even though the walking was pretty easy I was still sweating bullets today, the temperature was only in the high 20˚s however the humidity was right up there. Less than thirty minutes after leaving the summit the track dropped off the ridge and I started descending a broad spur more or less north. Like my ridge walk this descent was along a beautifully graded track and I was easily able to take in the view without worrying about going arse up. With the track swinging north west I dropped the last few metres down to Davies Creek and sussed out somewhere to ford the creek. There has been a lot of rain up here over the previous week so while my ford was pretty short length wise, it was reasonably deep at the same time. Wading in the water was mid thigh deep in one spot, not that it mattered as as soon as I was across safely I dropped my gear on dry land and waded back in for a swim! Once across the creek my walk was pretty well over, all that was left to do was to walk past another camping node up to Davies Creek Road and follow it for a few minutes back to the ute.

After leaving Turtle Rock the walking was good...

... as I followed a ridge line for awhile...

... before dropping down a spur.

Arriving back down at Davies Creek I had a bit of a ford to negotiate.

It wasn't a wide crossing, however it was pretty deep and fast flowing.

The Dirt.

According to my GPS I walked around 7.2 kilometres and climbed about 382 metres on what I'd call a medium grade stroll (although with one reasonable scramble). This was a really good walk I thought, the forest was in good nick, there were great views, a bit of a challenge with the scramble, clear and obvious tracks and to top it off the walk finished off with a swim in a beautiful, crystal clear tropical mountain stream. I found this walk in the Woodlsane book Best Walk around Cairns & the Tablelands and used my Alltrails App and my GPS topos on the stroll. 

Relevant Posts.

Walsh's Pyramid Walk, 2022.

Once I'd got everything safely across I stripped off and jumped back in for a refreshing swim.

After following a camping node access track for a few minutes...

... I re-joined the Davies Creek Road and walked the last few metres back up to the ute.