Australia

Hindmarsh Falls, South Australia

/ waterfallrecord / Leave a comment
Hindmarsh Falls in May 2023

We are now in Adelaide after being in Melbourne. I’ve been looking for waterfalls to visit in the Adelaide area, and it’s a mixed find. There are a number of waterfalls in the area, but they don’t consistently have water. It has been raining for the past few days on and off, so there might be water over some of them. I decided to search for those that more consistently had water flowing and Hindmarsh Falls fit this description.

We stayed in McLaren Vale for a few days. McLaren Vale is a popular wine-producing region in South Australia. The area isn’t far from some countryside that isn’t necessarily designated for growing grapes. Hindmarsh Falls was about 30 minutes south of McLaren Vale. Some of the waterfalls we visited near Melbourne had some winding, curvy, dizzying drives. The drive to Hindmarsh Falls seemed tame in comparison.

The final bit of the drive is on an unpaved road, but it’s a short distance. Once you reach the parking area for the falls, it’s a short hike on a paved trail to the falls. I wasn’t sure whether to rate this as a 9/10 or 10/10 for accessibility. It is a very easy trail to access, but I don’t think it was 100% accessible. There may have been a few stairs and it did have a bit of an incline. Kids should be able to handle it just fine. Someone in a wheelchair could likely do it with someone else.

The falls are taller than they appear, as seems to be the theme with the other waterfalls I’ve seen on this trip. It’s difficult to get a photograph that captures the whole falls, though. There are trees and shrubs that block certain possible viewpoints that might allow for the full waterfall. Even at the official viewpoint, there are some trees/shrubs that can block pieces of the waterfall. I was able to lean a little bit to the left to get the best view of the falls I could.

Directions:

  1. I’m assuming most people would be approaching from Adelaide or north of the falls. The A13 heads south from Adelaide.
  2. You’ll follow the A13 to the B34 to Hindmarsh Tiers Road. (I’ll let your navigation system give a clearer set of directions.)
  3. From Hindmarsh Tiers Road, you’ll turn onto Hindmarsh Falls Road. That will lead you to the parking lot, which is really the second parking lot. The first is a picnic area.
  4. From the parking lot, it’s relatively obvious where the paved trail is. You can follow that for about 100 meters down to the viewing area.

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy)
Height: ~75′
Hike: 0.12 miles round-trip

Where in the World is Hindmarsh Falls?

Advertisement

Secret Falls, Victoria

/ waterfallrecord / Leave a comment

I follow this idea that I post about the first waterfall I visit in a specific area. In this case, I’m posting about a quirky waterfall I found on Google Maps that didn’t have much water flowing when we visited yesterday.

We’re in Australia right now, in what is the Southern Hemisphere fall. It’s been rather enjoyable weather here, with a bit of rain and chilliness sprinkled in. We landed in Melbourne and stayed there for two days to adapt to the time zone changes. After two days, we obtained our rental car and headed south from Melbourne. We headed to Phillip Island, and along the way, with a short detour, there’s a waterfall labeled on Google Maps as Secret Falls. I’m guessing it’s “secret” because it’s not a widely advertised waterfall, though that may be due to the seasonality of the creek. There was a tiny bit of water flowing over the falls.

The real attraction here is not the waterfall, though I like looking for waterfalls because they can lead to other beautiful things. The waterfall is in the Kilcunda Coastal Reserve, which is really stunning. You’ll get some amazing views of the Indian Ocean. The cliffs at this location are rather impressive.

Getting to the falls isn’t very difficult, though I found that the location pinned on Google Maps wasn’t exactly accurate. The falls are about 1 kilometer to the west of the pin, at least in walking distance. The walk provides great views of the cliffs. The cliffs are the main attraction, though if you want to see the falls at more flow, visiting after a good rainfall is necessary.

Directions:

  1. Follow the M420 south outside of the Melbourne suburbs. You’ll drive a good ways on M420, essentially until it changes to B420.
  2. At the intersection of B420 and B460, you’ll turn left onto B460. You’ll continue on B460 through a few roundabouts until you reach the Kilcunda Coastal Reserve. The Shelley Beach Carpark will be the location to start at.
  3. From the Shelley Beach Carpark, you can head west along the George Bass Coastal Walk.
  4. The falls are rather easy to find if know that you’re looking for a wood bridge that crosses the seasonal creek where the falls are found. So if you haven’t reached a bridge, keep going along the coastal walk.
  5. Before you cross the bridge, you’ll see a path veer off to the left toward the ocean. You’ll see the falls from there. If there’s not much water, you may not hear the falls. I didn’t go down to see the falls at the base because the waves were pretty intense in that area.

Accessibility: 9/10 (easy)
Height: 15′
Length of Hike: 1 mile round-trip

Not much water flowing over Secret Falls in May 2023

Where in the World is Secret Falls?

Witch’s Leap, New South Wales

/ waterfallrecord / Leave a comment

The lower portion of Witch’s Leap (May 2011)

Even though Witch’s Leap is not the largest or tallest waterfall, it might go down as the most creatively named waterfall in the Blue Mountains National Park. I don’t usually provide much history behind a name, but this one is intriguing enough. Apparently, to early explorers, it looked like there was a witch’s face in lower portion of the falls. I’m not sure I notice it.

If I have the positioning correct, there are two visible portions of Witch’s Leap, but they can’t be viewed at the same location. I don’t remember the exact location I viewed the upper portion of the waterfall, but it was along the cliff walk near Katoomba Falls. If you decide to hike down to the base (or the base of one of the drops!) of Katoomba Falls, you’ll see the lower portion of Witch’s Leap. You walk directly past it on your way to that viewpoint. There isn’t much water flowing over the falls, though it would likely increase after a heavy rain. Other waterfalls in the park were flowing more even though it hadn’t rained in the day or two before.

Directions:

  1. Head to Katoomba. You can actually walk to the falls from Katoomba, though it is easier to purchase an Explorer Bus pass that gets you to the falls. The falls are found at stops 10, 11, or 12.
  2. Find the trail on the left (west) side of Katoomba Falls. Along the way down this trail, you’ll pass the lower portion of Witch’s Leap

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy, from the cliff trail), 6/10 (moderate, to get to the lower portion)
Height: 20′ (lower portion)
Hike: 0.4 miles round-trip

The upper portion of Witch’s Leap

Where in the World is Witch’s Leap?

Unnamed Falls, Blue Mountains NP, New South Wales

/ waterfallrecord / 4 Comments

A waterfall in the Blue Mountains National Park (May 2011)

I’m guessing that most people headed to Wentworth Falls aren’t going to intentionally try and find this waterfall, but if you’re on the Charles Darwin Walk, you might find this smaller waterfall. The walk is actually very beautiful. It was really enjoyable on this early May morning. There was some frost on the plants as I started.

The falls themselves are pretty close to Wentworth Falls. The trail starts in the town, and then ends at Wentworth Falls. Right before reaching the crest of Wentworth Falls, you’ll find this waterfall.

Directions:

  1. From the Wentworth Falls train platform, climb up the stairs and head left into the town.
  2. This got a little bit confusing.  You’ll see a number of shops in front of you.  Head down any of the streets to the right of you that run perpendicular to these shops.  You should end up at the main highway 32.
  3. From there, look for a sign indicating the trail that leads to Wentworth Falls.  It’s called the Charles Darwin Walk, and once you find it (near a children’s park), it’s a pretty easy and enjoyable walk.
  4. As you get near the falls, you do begin to descend toward the falls.  Follow the many different signs to see the different viewpoints available.
  5. Head back the way you came.  There’s another way to get back, but it led me more out of the way than I expected.  Overall, it’s about a 3 hour hike, and it’s about 3.5 miles, I think.

Accessibility: 7/10 (easy/moderate)
Height: 15′
Hike: 3.5 miles or so round-trip

Where in the World is the Blue Mountains Waterfall?

Leura Cascades, New South Wales

/ waterfallrecord / Leave a comment

About 2 hours outside of Sydney (by train) is Blue Mountains National Park. It is nearby the towns of Katoomba and Leura. If you have the time, it is definitely worth it to visit the park.  In addition to it being stunningly beautiful, there are also a number of waterfalls. Many of them are very easily accessed, and the Blue Mountains Explorer Bus can help with this.

I decided to try and find the Leura Cascades and Bridal Veil Falls, and in the end, this was not that difficult to achieve. I think on the way there, I just walked to the start of the trail, though I didn’t exactly realized that it was leading to the falls and the cascades. I think I visited Bridal Veil Falls first, because I then remember hiking uphill and stumbling upon the Leura Cascades. Both are along the same creek.  It was rather dark at the time, so it was somewhat difficult to capture the falls.  Sunset was quickly approaching.  It was an easy hop back onto the bus, and then a short walk to my lodging for the night.

Directions:

  1. If in Katoomba, I would suggest taking the Blue Mountain ExplorerLink bus to stop 16 or 17. Both will lead you to the Leura Cascades and Bridal Veil Falls. If you start at 16, you can loop around to 17, and vice-versa.

Accessibility: 6/10 (moderate, there are some slippery parts here, though there are stairs, especially if you start at stop 17)
Height: ~45′
Hike: 0.6 miles round-trip

Leura Cascades in May 2011

Where in the World is Leura Cascades?

Gordon Falls, New South Wales

/ waterfallrecord / Leave a comment

Gordon Falls in May 2011

If you have the chance to visit the Blue Mountains while in the Sydney area, I would suggest taking the Blue Mountains Explorer Bus for most of your explorations in the area. The bus stops at most of the interesting scenic sites in the park. You can essentially hit a number of different places all with the setup.

One of the stops that isn’t as busy is the stop leading to Gordon Falls, though that may be because I went later in the day. The hike is very short, and you get an interesting view of a tall, but narrow, falls. They aren’t nearly as impressive as Wentworth Falls or Katoomba Falls, but you should still check it out because it’s so easy to visit…and the scenery is stunning. The falls you see are likely to be highly dependent on recent rainfall.

Directions:

  1. You can access the falls from either Katoomba or Leura.  If you’re driving, Leura would be the better choice, as then it’s a straight drive south on Leura Mall to Gordon Rd.  You would then veer right on Lone Pine Ave to the parking area at the end.
  2. If you’re taking the Blue Mountain Explorer Bus, you’ll get off at Stop #18.  This will be helpful even if your driving, as you can look for the sign.
  3. From the parking area, follow the short trail to the falls.  I didn’t explore whether hiking further on the trail led to better views since I had limited time.

Accessibility: 9/10 (easy)
Height: ~660′
Hike: 0.1 miles or so round-trip

Where in the World is Gordon Falls?

Katoomba Falls, New South Wales

/ waterfallrecord / Leave a comment

Katoomba Falls in May 2011

Of the many waterfalls in the Blue Mountains National Park, Katoomba Falls might just be the most impressive! At around 800′ tall, it’s really a truly spectacular view.

Katoomba Falls can be easily accessed by the Blue Mountains Explorer Bus. Look at the map to determine the stop. Once you get there, you can view the falls from numerous different vantage points. I believe there is one to the right of the falls, but it doesn’t necessary lead to the best view. If you head west, you’ll end up seeing the Katoomba Cascades, and then you’ll come out to the left of the falls. A trail leads to the base of the first drop, and if you zoom in on the picture, you might notice the very brave people standing at the base. There is a rope to prevent people from going too far, at least in theory. Nobody really seemed to heed the rope.

Continue down the trail on your left, and you’ll end up at another viewpoint of the falls that I liked the most. This one seemed to best reveal the true magnitude of the falls. While you’re further away, you realize that this is one tall waterfall. There are two major drops, and it seemed like the falls might just continue on a ways further “downstream.”

Directions:

  1. Head to Katoomba. You can actually walk to the falls from Katoomba, though it is easier to purchase an Explorer Bus pass that gets you to the falls. The falls are found at stops 10, 11, or 12.
  2. Explore around the area for your favorite vantage point. A trail on the left side of the falls is really fun, and I believe you pass by an interesting, but much smaller, second waterfall.

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy, from the viewpoint near stop 10), 6/10 (moderate, to get to the other viewpoints)
Height: ~800′
Hike: 0.2 miles or so round-trip

Where in the World is Katoomba Falls?

Wentworth Falls, New South Wales

/ waterfallrecord / Leave a comment

Lower portion of Wentworth Falls (in May 2011)

Because of the transportation decisions I had made, I got to take the more roundabout method of getting to Wentworth Falls. If you have a car, it’s pretty easy. Just head to the parking area for the falls, and then you’ve got a short hike to the falls themselves.

If you decide to take the train from Sydney, like I did, then you have to figure out an alternative. I had stayed in Katoomba the night before, and since it was my first full night in Australia, I woke up very, very early. I finally was able to determine that a train was going from Katoomba to Wentworth Falls soon (about every hour), so I went to the train station, and headed to Wentworth Falls. After getting off at Wentworth Falls, I got myself confused.

The signs to the falls were clear, except there could be a few more. I started walking in the direction of the sign, but that seemed to lead to the highway. It turned out (finding this out later) that I was heading in the right direction. I finally found the Charles Darwin Walk, and from there it was a very enjoyable, but early, hike to the falls. Frost covered many of the plants in the area.

Once at the falls, I started exploring to find the best view. On the left side of the falls, you get pretty good views of the upper portion of the falls, but you don’t get to see the lower portion. The upper portion is impressive, but seeing the lower portion makes you realize just how large Wentworth Falls is. To see the lower portion better, cross the river above the crest of the falls, and then climb a ways to get to a viewpoint above the falls. The sun was very bright at that point, and I thought I wasn’t going to be able to get any good views, but I covered the camera, and the pictures weren’t nearly as washed out. At 614′, it’s impressive!

Directions:

  1. From the Wentworth Falls train platform, climb up the stairs and head left into the town.
  2. This got a little bit confusing.  You’ll see a number of shops in front of you.  Head down any of the streets to the right of you that run perpendicular to these shops.  You should end up at the main highway 32.
  3. From there, look for a sign indicating the trail that leads to Wentworth Falls.  It’s called the Charles Darwin Walk, and once you find it (near a children’s park), it’s a pretty easy and enjoyable walk.
  4. As you get near the falls, you do begin to descend toward the falls.  Follow the many different signs to see the different viewpoints available.
  5. Head back the way you came.  There’s another way to get back, but it led me more out of the way than I expected.  Overall, it’s about a 3 hour hike, and it’s 3.5 miles, I think.

Accessibility: 7/10 (easy/moderate)
Height: 614′
Hike: 3.5 miles round-trip

Upper portion of Wentworth Falls

Where in the World is Wentworth Falls?

Katoomba Cascades, New South Wales

/ waterfallrecord / Leave a comment

The Katoomba Cascades aren’t the biggest attraction in the Blue Mountains National Park, but it’s still a pretty cascades nonetheless. It’s just upstream of Katoomba Falls, and the cascades are very easily accessed. If you want to play around in a waterfall, this might be the better option when compared to the more dangerous Katoomba Falls.

You can’t see the cascades from the road or any viewpoint right away, but just a short hike from the bus stop leads to these falls. I can’t remember if you had to rock-hop or cross a bridge to get over the creek. There were a number of people playing in the shallow water below the falls, though.

Directions:

  1.  Using the Blue Mountain bus, go to stop 10.
  2. From there, you will be face with two options.  Take the right path that leads into a wooded area.  From there it’s a very short hike to the falls.

Accessibility: 10/10 (easy)
Height: ~30′
Hike: 0.15 miles round-trip

 

Katoomba Cascades in May 2011

Where in the World is Katoomba Cascades?

Unnamed Falls, Blue Mountains NP, New South Wales

/ waterfallrecord / Leave a comment

The likely ephemeral waterfall in May 2011

Obviously there are a number of much larger and more impressive waterfalls in the Blue Mountains of Australia, but if you’re visiting at the right time of year, I’d expect that you’ll be able to see this smaller waterfall just to the left of Katoomba Falls. It can really only be seen when you are standing at the Cliff View Lookout, which is most easily accessed at stop 9 on the Blue Mountain ExplorerLink Bus. From there, look to the left of Katoomba Falls (not the best view for the falls), and you might just see this smaller falls.

Directions:

  1. In Katoomba, take the Blue Mountain ExplorerLink bus to stop 9. Walk down the stairs to the Cliff View Lookout. You can also access this from stop 10.

Accessibility: 10/10 to the viewpoint (easy)
Height: Unsure (hundreds of feet)
Hike: 0.35 miles round-trip

Where in the World is Unnamed Falls?: