Devils Throat – a unique waterfall and swimming hole

This very unusual waterfall is formed by Camp Creek eroding a circular, 2 to 4m diameter shaft as it drops about 15m, before pouring out through a horizontal slot at its base…

…Camp Creek then cascades down another series of smaller waterfalls.

Devils Throat forms the bottom part of Alcatraz Canyon, which can be accessed from the top via an abseil (photos by John Graham).

Crawling in through the slot at the bottom of the waterfall provides access to small, but deep swimming hole.

It was named by Michael Keats on a Bush Club walk in 2007, who described it “as if the devil’s head is upside down and water pours down its throat and out of its mouth.”

The Devils Throat is a challenge to describe. It is part canyon at the top; however, near the cliff edge, a very deep sinkhole has been cut through the rock by Camp Creek into a vertical cylinder to a depth of about 15m. At the base, the force of the falling and swirling water has found a zone of weakness in some horizontal strata and removed this, creating a ‘mouth’ from which water flows out onto a sloping apron. The force of water has also over deepened the sinkhole below the mouth, creating a pool estimated at more than 3m deep. Up close, the noise of the falling water is an assault to the ears. The feature has an aura, making it a world class example of its kind.

Bush Explorers

Getting to Devils Throat

Access to the base of the Devils Throat waterfall is from the end of Firetrail Number 2, which is off Glow Worm Tunnel Road. You can part-way down the firetrail in an SUV, or the entire way in a 4WD – or walk down from Glow Worm Tunnel Road. The walk is entirely off-track from the firetrail, with some scrambling as you follow Camp Creek upstream. I visited the waterfall as part of a longer Carne Creek bushwalk.

More information

• Bush Explorers – Devils Throat