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Honor Falls 2017 May

Honor Falls bagged at last. May 29 2017.
We were actually on our way to Liffey Falls to photograph fungi, but the lure of trying to actually bag Honor Falls acted as a siren pulling me in that direction once I recognised the scenery.
“I’ll just be max thirty minutes, and then we’ll be on our way to Liffey”, I assured my husband. I mean, the falls are only about two hundred meters from the bridge where I’d just parked. I failed the first time as I couldn’t balance having just been running a fever for four days. This time I was in good health, and was ready for the bush bash. I chose gumboots so I could wade once there. Optimistic choice.


Knowing how cluttered the forest was from last time, I walked along the road for about twenty metres with Bruce and Tessa before sending them on a fifteen-out-fifteen-back walk while I dashed in, photographed, and came out to meet them. I eyed up the forest. Bruce looked askance. I caught his gaze and nodded agreement. That’s @#&%.
“Let’s stay together another twenty metres or so.” (We are, all this time, on the left of the river as it goes downstream.)
The forest thinned out a bit, so I dived in, leaving the other two to their more purposeful walk. I made good time in the bush … until I hit a cliff edge that prevented me proceeding any further. Hm. I tried various options left and right of this point, but all ended in slippery, mossy drops that even with a rope would have had me dangling in mid air rather than achieving anything. Must need to be nearer to the falls themselves. I bashed my way to there, but again, met with impassable cliffs. By this time, I am wondering about these other Honor Falls baggers. What sort of heroes are these that can get through this stuff for their photo? Now I tried back even further, but met with the same problems.


So, sigh, back out to the road and try “coming in the back door”, by going further downstream and coming back at the falls. I found a spot where I could get in the bush and make some progress, painfully aware that my time was probably running out by now. The bush was thick and steep, but eventually I forged my way down to the riverbed. But this was very, very cluttered and the ferns were thick on the ground, offering zero visibility. I decided it would take at least ten more minutes to get to the base from here – IF I could. I didn’t have time for that. I also didn’t like the way that many trunks broke when I trod on them, always dangerous when solo, as you can fall when that happens. Oh well. At least I had now been to the base, kind of, and would come with more time next occasion. Up I climbed and headed for the car. There was still plenty of time to shoot fungi at Liffey.
Bruce and Tessa were not in sight (having decided to go out-forty-back-forty instead), and I had become curious about the other side of the river. I had seen no signs at all of humans having forged a way through the forest in which I’d been. I was continually making the bash, and there were no broken branches, slip marks, or signs of wear and tear that one uses for tracking. Maybe people go on the other bank. I’ll just do a quick recce, I thought, seeing’s Bruce and Tessie were still missing.


Over the bridge, down the private road, into the bush when I decided it was a good moment to go in, follow the stream along from above. Hey, there’s an orange tape. And another, and another. Human feet have definitely trodden here. Down I went. In no time at all I was on the bottom, taking two of the most hurried photos of my life before scrambling back up to greet the duo who were now, of course, waiting at the car. Had I been privy to the information I am now giving you, I could have saved myself a great deal of time – but I would have missed out on the adventure, and the sense of victory that I now have.

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Honor Cascades 2016 Dec

Honor Cascades Dec 2016.
Apparently the Honor Falls are 30-40 metres in height. It’s a pity I didn’t read that before I left home. But then, I really didn’t do anything much right today, so why spoil a good run? I did get the parking spot right – that almost blemishes my record.

We headed south from Exton on a road that then entered Bogan territory (to become Bogan Road). I wanted a spot shortly after Bogan Gap, where the continuation crossed Bluff Creek, emanating from Quamby Bluff. However, near Quamby Corner, we came to a Road Closed sign along our southern trajectory, so changed to the A5 (Lakes Highway), heading south to take a left going towards Liffey Falls. Where this road forked left to Liffey (C513) and right to the falls was another Road Closed sign, but, WOW, not for us, only for the poor hapless tourists (quite a lot of them) trying to get to one of Tasmania’s premier tourist attractions, but cut out because no one can repair a hole. We smugly turned left.
There were no further mishaps. Down where the road divides again, with the C504 going off, there was the creek and bridge I wanted. I parked just over the bridge, where I had always intended to park, even if this journey had now taken twice the time that Google had said. Hey, this was still better than sitting in bed sick all day with a temperature, which has been my lot for the last four days. The instructions I had read said the falls were a very short distance from the bridge directly behind me. I could already hear water, so dropped down to see the lovely waterfall pictured above and below.

Not Honor Falls. These are Honor Cascades. Please excuse the American spelling, which I hate – but it’s official. Why????

Now, when I run a temperature, I get pretty dizzy and unsteady on my feet. Today, at last, I was over the temperature, but I sure didn’t feel steady once I started negotiating obstacles in the bush. I hardly had to go any distance at all (maybe fifteen metres), but felt decidedly unconfident. Down by the water’s edge, a tree had fallen. I tried to tread on its roots, but the soil held together by them came out with the pressure of my foot, which slipped to the waters below. My camera gear slumped forward, getting dusty, obscuring vision. I poked out more soil and tried again. Good; first obstacle  mastered. Now I had to walk along said tree (with a dangerous drop of at least 20 cms into the gentle waters below). I only had to take one or two balanced steps along here until there was a branch I could hold onto, but regarded this as a challenge under these circumstances. My camera, tripod and filters were swaying uncontrollably; I felt absurdly clumsy. Amazingly, I didn’t fall, and, holding onto the upward-growing branch, managed to swivel myself into a position from which I could take some shots. I set up. My dog came to join me. She fell down the unstable embankment, landing in the waters and muddying them up for me. Thanks Tessy.

Young myrtle leaves to brighten my day.
My fancy Lee circular polarising filter wouldn’t screw into its housing, but apart from that, shooting went alright. (Pity I like to shoot falls with a polariser on). I didn’t even drop my little stopper in the water.

On leaving, I saw a tiny track that continued onwards, so set about exploring it (having sent husband and dog off on a walk along the road). There was an enormous amount of flood debris along what was obviously once a pad. Inept, as with my earlier efforts, I climbed with enormous difficulty – realising I also had absolutely zero strength in my legs, a most odd feeling – over and under obstacles until I got to two other cascades. They were nice, but camouflaged by too many fallen trees and dumped logs to be at their best at present. At this point I gave up, deciding I had, indeed, seen Honor Falls. I got home to read there are three cascades before the falls, and the falls are very big. Oh well. My honour is destroyed; I did see that, but I did’t see Honor Falls.
Luckily, Upside-down berry and rhubarb cake at the Raspberry Farm was everything I expected of it. AND we have explored another little corner of Tasmania, of whose existence I had been completely unaware. In addition, we were offered all sorts of interesting angles on Quamby Bluff in our travels.