Big Crystal Creek Paddle
The paddle is of excellent quality, fast-paced and continuous. It is a bang for your buck and so close to Townsville. However, it only runs after a lot of heavy rain, so once or twice a year.
Location - Paluma Range National Park, North Queensland, Australia
Difficulty - Class 3
Distance - ~10 km one-way
Duration - Can be done in one day (13-15 hours), but best done overnight
Put in - Ethel/Cloudy causeway
Take out - Nolan's Gully Causeway or Paradise Waterhole
Gauge - None, just need to look at the surrounding creeks & rainfall
This creek is bang for your buck and so close to Townsville, however it only runs after a lot of heavy rain so once or twice a year.
Put In
Park at the Mango Tree car park (a.k.a. the Rock Slides car park) and hike along the road. The first causeway you come across (after ~100 meters) is the recommended takeout point.
Continue along the bitumen road to the Ethel Creek / Cloudy Creek causeway. From the causeway downstream of Ethel Creek, you will encounter a beautiful, tucked-away waterfall before reaching Crystal Creek.
The put-in is at the junction of Ethel Creek and Crystal Creek.
The Paddle
The paddle is of excellent quality, fast-paced and continuous. Note you'll need to master eddying out as there are not many long pools. There are a few hazards in this section, namely sieves.
Take Out
Take out at either the small stream near Mango Tree car park (Nolan's Gully) or Paradise Waterhole. You can paddle downstream of Paradise Waterhole, but it's pretty relaxed paddling and no decent white water; see the Tubing Crystal Creek article.
Interactive Map
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