Chasm Falls 2017 i Dec

Chasm Falls Dec 2017

Every time I have been past Chasm Falls, I’ve been in a hurry, and have only taken hand-held shots, not wanting to hold up my companions who were keen on this or that summit. I decided it was high time to rectify this matter, and give just these falls my whole attention for an afternoon.

The walk in only took me half an hour, so I had plenty of time to devote to setting up and exploring around for a bit. The photography thus took an hour and a half. It was nice to have the leisure to explore and relax and shoot what appealed, and I felt privileged to live in a place where you can set out from home and shoot waterfalls like these in between lunch and dinner.

The route I followed was exactly the route my blog shows when I visited Mt Ironstone (www.natureloverswalks.com/mt-ironstone/). Head for Meander, try not to get worried about the fact that the council signposts Liffey Falls but not the Meander, Chasm or Smoko Falls – or Bastion Cascades, Split Rock Falls or Shower Falls, for that matter. If you have enough patience, right near the end when you no longer need a sign as you’ve sorted yourself all out, you finally get one to put you at your ease. (First you want Meander Falls Rd and then Smoko Road).

Your early task after parking at the road’s terminus is to cross the creek before you set off up the hill. There’s a kind of open area with signs – ancient wizards with lichen beards – to the left for Mt Ironstone and Chasm Falls, to the right for Smoko Falls and Mother Cummings Peak. Obviously, if your choice for the day is Chasm Falls, you head left. If that creek’s flooded, then decide for Smoko Falls instead (which are not, actually, on the Smoko  Creek, just to confuse you).

Here’s a curiosity: To get to the Chasm Falls, you follow Smoko Creek. To get to Smoko Falls, you follow the Mother Cummings Rivulet and then seek a tributary flowing into it higher up. If that’s not counter-intuitive and confusing enough, (given that it might be reasonable to expect that the falls on Smoko Creek are called Smoko Falls), further troubles arrive if you go to the bother of reading the small print on your map, for there you discover that Smoko Creek miraculously changes its name to Mother Cummings Rivulet higher up – yet, as said, Mother Cummings Rivulet is the name of the stream (so the map says) which is to the right and comes from the Mother Cummings Peak direction. One of those two entries must be wrong. Luckily there are signs to direct you left or right, and only name peepers on maps get confused. However, photographers get confused, and post images of falls that are incorrectly labelled due to the myriad other confusions to be had in this area.