Jacob and Reon, two teenage boys drenched in water, mountains and haze behind, Reon wears blue tee and looks away.

Jacob Tait (left) and Reon Namba say they huddled as waters rose at Barron Falls. (Supplied: Reon Namba)

Three teenagers have recounted how they became trapped near a pumping Far North Queensland waterfall, before a helicopter rescue crew winched them to safety.

Reon Namba and Jacob Tait, both 16, and Amber Kukulies, 14, set off for a waterfall hike and overnight camp at Barron Gorge, north-west of Cairns, on February 14.

Armed with pocketknives, torches, three days’ worth of food and equipment to boil water, the teenagers thought they were well prepared.

But they had not accounted for how quickly conditions could change in the tropical wet season.

“It was daytime, and it was beautiful and it didn’t really seem to be dangerous at the time,” Reon said.

“But things turned bad pretty quickly.”

Smiling Amber, Reon, Jacob stand arm in arm, two smiling men and woman in black behind, red and white helicopter.

Amber Kukulies and Reon Namba, (centre), and Jacob Tait have been reunited with the rescue crew. (ABC Far North: Rosanne Maloney)

As the group made their way, weather conditions worsened and the teenagers became surrounded by fast-flowing and rising water.

On Monday night, the trio was reunited with the rescue crew that flew around the misty cliffs of Barron Gorge to rescue them in the dark night.

“I found it very hard to listen to the roar of water,” Amber said.

“It was basically like death screaming at us and just watching the water rise, bit by bit.”

Fast water and a 30-metre drop

Reon organised the camping and stargazing excursion, having “eyed off the spot for a while”.

As the trio started crossing a stream, “the water started coming in faster”.

“But we didn’t turn around,” he said.

“We probably should’ve.”

Smiling Amber and serious Reon in a dark helicopter, Reon looks out of the window, both have headphones.

Amber and Reon in the rescue helicopter after they were winched from Barron Falls. (Supplied: Reon Namba)

At one point, the group managed to drag themselves onto a small rocky island surrounded by white, foamy water.

As Reon looked down, he saw the edge of a waterfall, which he described as a 30-metre drop onto flat rock.

Jacob had a close call when he went underwater, having had his vision blinded by a hat.

“Reon came in after me and basically dragged me to shore,” he said.

Jacob in a t-shirt submerged in water on a rock as water rushes past.

Jacob says he slipped from this rock and was rescued by Reon. (Supplied: Reon Namba)

“As the night progressed, the water went up faster — so it was a good call to get out of there,”

he said.

It was Amber who made the call to Triple Zero (000) for help.

She had only decided to join the boys at the last minute.

“I should’ve said no,” she laughed.

Lessons learnt on dangers

The trio, who uploaded a 39-minute video of their adventure to social media, are no strangers to exploring the wild outdoors of Far North Queensland.

But they hope their experience is a lesson for others on the dangers of fast-moving water.

Reon said when he watched the live footage of Barron Falls just two hours after being rescued, he realised the area they had been camped on was completely submerged.

A rock face near a waterfall with a pool of water below.

The teenagers say they were stuck on the large rock in the centre of this picture as the water levels rose. (Supplied: Reon Namba)

“That’s when we realised the least we could do is try and make sure [the rescuers] know we’re thankful,” he said.

Amber paid tribute to the bravery of the pilot, who rescued them one by one in the dark.

“My dad gave me a bit of a mouthful for the next two weeks, and he still does every now and then,” she said.

“My mum was just thankful I thought to call Triple Zero and not her because she couldn’t do anything.”

Rescue pilot Ben Lawler said the crew used night-vision goggles during the hour-long effort and had to contend with wind and mist from the falls.

He said the teenagers did well to call Triple Zero and take a light with them to alert the rescue crew to their location.

Air crew officer Liam Carruthers, who operated the winch, said despite being well-prepared, the young adventurers “got very lucky”.

“Considering the rate of the rising water, considering we’re a single asset covering a large footprint, if there was any reason we couldn’t get there, it could’ve been a different outcome,”

he said.