Bushwalks and hikes in Tasmania and the world
Geryon Base Camp Falls
Bruce and I stumbled across this pretty little waterfall on our first trip to Geryon Base Camp in about 2014.
I have since seen it on several occasions, and have made the time to get out my tripod and photograph it. It is not easy to get at, but I like it nonetheless.
Granite Falls (Not) 2018 July.
“The mystery of the missing falls” could be a subtitle for this expedition. Feeling high in spirits as the Scamander River beside us was so very beautiful, we parked the car at a bridge over it, and set out along its northern bank in quest of our goal, through wonderfully open granite terrain, complete with moss-covered tors and burgeoning ferns. Although Tessa had covered about thirty kilometres in the morning (we’d done ten), she was out in front, pleased that her human companions were off to find more treasure.
The first half of our outward journey was particularly beautiful, although the further we went, the more regrowth appeared, but it was still pretty easy going. We stuck quite near the river so we could see the falls as soon as they appeared. But they just never did. On we went, past where they were supposed to be and beyond where they could possibly be, given the lie of the land – after which, we turned around and went higher on the rebound to a place where the going was easier than it had become. Nonetheless, we had views right down the river, and there was no sign of a waterfall anywhere , and certainly not where the map said it should be. The falls were not in the vicinity. Craig has since done research that suggests they are on nearby Beahrs Creek, accessed from Hogans Road. Looks like I’ll have to have another trip to the East Coast. Did the Coffee Shop fund this mapping error?
Having a twitchy shutter finger, and enjoying the beauty of the Scamander River with or without a proper waterfall, I insisted on stopping at the highest thing that could approximate a fall if you were an insect – with water dropping thirty centimetres or so – and photographed the pretty patterns the water made flowing over the rocks there. These gurgles didn’t even qualify as cascades, let alone a waterfall, but I am a photographer of, and responder to, beauty first, and a waterfall bagger second, so I enjoyed myself anyway.
Context map to the supposed location, and to where we went.
Here you can see where they’re supposed to be, right under (south of) Granite Knob. Looks like they’re a few kms away. (The purple line is the road we drove on; the cyan one is our walking route).
And on Wednesday I went back to explore as below, as well as investigating the length of Beahrs Creek. To no avail. It has now been established that Granite Falls do not exist. 20 or 30 cms do not constitute a waterfall. RIP Granite Falls.
Echo Falls 2018 Jul
The weather forecast was for a beautiful sunny day in the east, less endearing elsewhere. Tessa needed a gambol. I decided these factors meant that I should go to the waterfall under Mt Echo, and also to Granite Falls kind of nearby. It has been annoying me for months that I got three of the four waterfalls on or near Constable Creek, but missed these ones under Mt Echo, so now was the time to fix up this hole in my collection of falls. I invited Craig, who said he’d like to come: he had had Granite Falls on his radar for while, and was willing to humour me on the matter of also taking in “Mt Echo falls”, even though for some reason better known to himself (but not shared by me) he was not expecting anything at all of these falls. Tessie was, of course, right in there with enthusiasm. We were off.
Having a break on Mt Echo. You can see Tessa and I built a summit cairn.
I wanted a nice little workout, so parked in a position that meant we would attack the falls via the summit of Mt Echo, thus getting in two bags for our buck. The bush was open, fast and beautiful, with occasional glimpses out to the East of shining waters. However, Craig was not feeling very well, so at the top, said he’d wait there while I descended and photographed the falls. I said he’d be disappointed, and that we could return to the car via a less demanding route, and kind of shoved him onwards. He would have indeed been disappointed. He enjoyed these falls greatly – so much so he took over the naming, and changed them – with my consent – from my “Mt Echo Falls” to just “Echo Falls”. His name is less cumbersome, so I agreed. And we were certainly in agreement that the walk we did was a perfect little day hike, especially if one combined it with Ferntree Falls or with one of the other three falls attached to Constable Ck – or with Granite Falls, for that matter.
So, to describe in words what the map below tells you (sorry for the missing bit: my phone turned itself off): We just followed our noses to the summit of Mt Echo, being careful to choose the correct ride in the descent. The ridge down to the falls was shapely and interesting; the falls themselves were really attractive, and it was fun navigating around nearer to creek level for a physically easier route back to the car. The whole thing, including many, many long-exposure photographs, and several swims for Tess in a variety of pools, took around three hours. We felt very satisfied munching on our lunches in the forest near the car, and looking forward to our falls for the afternoon, Granite Falls.
As you can see from this context map, one reaches these falls by heading out of St Helens on the Argonaut Rd, and turning off it onto Trafalgar Rd. For the particulars of our route over Mt Echo, see the gps route below. This walk was so easy with respect to scrub bashing, that I highly recommend it for clubs.
Sorry about the discontinuity in the cyan line of our route. I must have bumped my phone off at the summit of Mt Echo, and didn’t realise until I was leaving the falls at the base. I didn’t need a gps once I was on the right ridge, and I think our path from summit to falls is very obvious if you can read maps, and if you can’t, then please don’t venture into untracked wilderness like this. It is beautiful indeed, but probably frightening if you don’t know how to read a map to get yourself around. I think this would make a brilliant club walk, so maybe urge to get it onto your club’s programme.
Hardings Falls 2018 July
I decided for Hardings Falls on this day, as my dog needed to spend time with me, and Hardings Falls is suitable for that. Meanwhile, I hoped that the recent rain would give them a good flow. My house and garden seem to be underwater and in a state of flood, so surely the falls would be flowing well. My friend Craig (Doumauras) doubted they would, and, unfortunately, he was right. The Swan River, with its eastern catchment, hasn’t heard of the rain just a bit further west.
I had actually tried to get to these falls once before, but found the road blocked due to the flood the previous year. This year, I could get all the way to the carpark. There are some sharp-looking rocks on the road, and I drove very slowly, but is manageable.
It took a full two hours’ driving to get there from Launceston (a bit less on the rebound, when I was more confident), and the walk down took twenty minutes. There are some very loose stones on the final descent, which worried Tess somewhat, and some very slippery rocks down the bottom that caused her to slow her pace. It’s nice to see her being cautious for a change.
Happy little waterfall bagger
The river in general – and the pool below the falls themselves – was a very beautiful blue. It must be lovely for a swim in summer, although I can’t imagine the falls having any flow at all in the summer months. I want to return some time when I know she is pumping.
To get to the falls, drive to Avoca in the Fingal Valley. Turn right (S) towards Royal George. One passes through this cluster of buildings, and changes direction a bit. Eventually there is an X intersection. To the left (E) is Hardings Falls (signposted; McKays Rd)); to the right (W), Meetus and Lost Falls (also signed). The road straight ahead, which you don’t want, seems to be the main one.
Weld Angel Falls 2018 May
I loved climbing Mt Weld a few years ago, remembering the forest as being particularly lush and green, and full of beautiful fungi. I was really looking forward to visiting the Angel Falls, or, the Weld Angel Falls as Craig Doumauras of the Waterfalls of Tasmania website likes to call them, to distinguish them from the Angel Falls that are below Mt Sarah Jane near Mt Anne. It’s good to have two different names to avoid confusion. Besides, the Weld Angel wasn’t just any old angel: she was specific to the Weld area, and to the battle to preserve it from the axe, so why not call her by her full name. The falls are just a nameless line on the map, so there is no official name at this stage. The creek they are on is also nameless – an anonymous tributary of the beautiful Weld River running at right angles below. Imagine being that beautiful and still lying in anonymity.
I had read Dennis’s blog in https://hikinginsetasmania.blogspot.com/ and marked waypoints on my phone map in readiness for when I would go one day. The big drive put me off. It’s a long way from Launceston. Eventually, Craig and I agreed to go to coincide with a conference he had in Hobart. That way, I would only have to do the Launie to Hobart section of the drive. Yippee. And Craig and I always have fun when we waterfall bag together. Meanwhile, a new ingredient was to be added to the stew: southern waterfall bagger extraordinaire, Caedence Kueper, was to join us as well. Three waterfall maniacs in the one car. Would it cope? It belonged to Craig, so it had to be used to it.
We turned off at Geeveston (having become a trio at Huonville – following coffee stop number two within the confines of an hour), travelling towards the Tahune Airwalk on C632, Arve Rd. However, we didn’t continue left down Arve Rd near the Walk, but went straight ahead on a road, Southward Rd, that seems to go forever, and turned around many times. We crossed the Huon River while still on this road, but not too long thereafter, turned left onto Eddy Rd, Next turn was a left again, this time onto Fletcher Rd, and we were on this to cross the Weld River. Fletcher Rd eventually comes to a T-intersection, where we turned right onto South Weld Rd, which takes you eventually, if you are very patient, to a collapsed bridge and whopping hole in the road. Do not even think about following these instructions without a gps device. You won’t find cute road names out there. I’ve given you names to help you read the map.
There’s a little shelf that you can walk along to get past the humongous hole that stopped you driving any further. I like looking down and seeing the creek (Isabella Creek) rushing far below.
This walking part is the same as the route to climb Mt Weld. After 1.3 kms, however, we diverge right off this forestry road, in favour of a different one, now heading NNE (see map below). Where that path does a dogleg to the left (after maybe 1 km) on the map below, there is a clearing made of piles of felled timber, surrounded by regrowth – but it’s not too hard to get through. If you go over some of the logs until a path comes in off the right, and head left (W), then you’ll pick up some faded tapes that lead you through the mess until you get back to unfelled, unrefined rainforest, when you can take a deep breath and start to enjoy yourself again. You are now in heaven. As you can see from the map, you stay roughly on contour, cross a creek, go to the turning point of the spur and head down steeply north to the falls. You are now at the top. Good luck if you want to go to the bottom. It’s very steep and enormous care needs to be taken if you don’t want to ruin the forest or your own body. My rule (apart from the regulation not to go destroying moss, ferns or other aspects of beauty) is to never go down what you can’t get up. Sliding and hoping can lead to trouble. It can also cause a mini destructive landslide as you lose control.
I actually loved the top of the falls more than the base, but both were well worth the visit. It was hard, however, to get an angle on the angel down the bottom, as there is a lot of debris at the base, and the fact that it was raining lightly, and that everything was wet and slippery didn’t help our cause. We had lunch in the forest back up the top, eating and chatting before moving on to our next waterfall for the day, Reuben Falls, a much easier one than Weld Angel Falls: it has a track. I like to do the harder one first; I find the harder ones more interesting anyway. Challenges are more fun than ease.
