G’day all,
We woke up around 7am and all got stuck into schooling immediately after breakfast. Done by about 10:15 we decided to head back to Silver and Nondroya Falls. Amy and Lovely Lynda (LL) hadn’t viewed these magnificent falls yet and I just knew we couldn’t leave our camp at Henrietta before they had done so.
We headed off at 10:30am towards the falls and at last were blessed with a beautiful sunny day with a few clouds overhead. The rainforest along the way was alive with excitement of the better weather and the birds sang heartily as if jevounated and ready to play.
Jess & Amy road their bikes along the first part of the track down to the intersection of the long and short loop track to Nondroya Falls. The shorter track takes in Silver Falls and that was the way we headed.
We reached Silver Falls basking in full sunlight and the waterfall sparkling with the rays of the sun. The pool at the bottom of the falls had cleared and we spent about 15 minutes just relaxing, throwing rocks and the kids playing around near the water. This place was relaxing and LL thought that this place was in fact the Falls that Jess and I had come across the day before. Little did LL know of the magnificent falls that awaited her. In fact I let her believe we were at the falls I had raved about. LL noted that these falls were good but not better than the Millaa Millaa Falls I had noted the day before. LL was therefore surprised when I broke up the party crossed Silver Creek and continued up a path on the far bank.
Another 500 to 600m and you hear the deafening roar of the Douglas Creek with its flow dropping ever so regularly along this stretch of path. As you close in more the roar becomes thunderous as the lower falls of the Nondroya Falls comes into view. Once spotted and another 30m down the track reveals the true awe inspiring magnificence of the Falls and natures creation.
LL was transfixed by the Falls and declared it one of her favourite and a place of breath taking beauty. It is certainly that! Today with the weather sunny and somewhat warmer I decided to take a swim out to the Falls and see them up close and personal. Strangely the beautiful pool beneath the falls was much wider than expected and with the power of the Falls sending waves at you that splash and break into your face, the swim is a lot tougher than what it looks. As you approach the falls, where I would expect the water to be deep, the water is just over waist height on a sandy bottom. This allows you to turn your back on the falls and push backwards towards them as far as you can. What you soon realise is that any hope of reaching the falls is near on impossible. The shear energy pushing out from the falls pushes you constantly away and if this doesn’t beat you the constant weight of the water and needle like spray on your back will stop you before long. The other thing you don’t anticipate is how tough it is to breath close up to the falls. As the water hits the base of the falls air filled with water rushes past you. It is like trying to breath with your window stuck out of a moving car travelling along at 100 kph or so. You get as close as you can and then dive into the water and let the natural flow of water push you away. What is awesome is to lay on your back drifting backwards just staring 50m into the air and watching the water fall at your feet. What an awesome place this is…just get here if you can, have a swim and enjoy the true brilliance and magnificence of this place. You will not be disappointed.
We left this special place with relunctance but also in the knowledge that we would be back some day. Back at camp we ate a well earned lunch with the plan of walking to Crowley Falls in the afternoon. Just about ready to go, the kids were enjoying playing on their bikes and enjoying the sum too much. We felt a little for them because they had not been able to stretch their legs properly for several days. Besides it was a great excuse to kick back in a chair, have a beer and read my latest book. A perfect day with a perfect ending.
Cooking my long awaited beef and mushroom pie tonight so lets hope it is a cracker…good day all!
Bushman Bud…Enjoying Australia