Graham and I met up for some bush-bashing with two objectives in mind: First, we generally wish to encourage other club members to develop ideas for a wider range of activities, hikes, car-based camping, overnight camping and other micro-adventures for which significant prior research may be needed. Second, we wanted to refresh our abilities of navigating in difficult and unfamiliar terrain during adverse weather conditions. Therefore, we challenged ourselves to find two waterfalls that Google and some other mapping services have seemingly forgotten. We cannot allow this to happen, can we? Surely we should endeavour to know more than Google? The significant rainfall over the last few weeks and the Bureau of Meteorology’s weather warning for Tuesday, 30 August provided an interesting context, as waterfalls currently carry more water than on any of the old photographs we had seen on the internet. An admission right here: We DID NOT manage to find the two ‘forgotten waterfalls’ as road access to our intended staging point is currently blocked due to logging activity in the area. We only managed to explore the Albert River Falls, which are known to Google and have apparently been visited recently by some other hikers (we found some footprints in the wet mud as well as trail marker ribbon at the beginning of our hike).
Finding the two ‘forgotten waterfalls’ will require an additional full-day recce from another staging point to the north. An even bigger challenge will be to establish a circular route connecting these elusive falls with the Albert River Falls through the bush, which had been our original idea. Realistically, that will be impossible without very different weather conditions: The point-to-point distance is only about 4km, but bush-bashing progress in this terrain will be slow.
However, even our bush-bashing at the Albert River Falls was an interesting exercise. Visibility in the dense bushland is often limited to less than 10 meters. Luminous mushrooms on decaying logs are among the brightest features in the otherwise astoundingly dark bush. The vegetation is reminiscent of Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain area. We utilised our prior analysis of aerial photography and geo-mapping data from VicPlan, as well as a 1:25,000 scale topographical map uploaded into the Avenza App (Map Store Product 1256538). We also had full bush-bashing attire and tools, first-aid kits, and the club’s PLB. In an abundance of caution, we carried security blankets and light overnight tents. We DO NOT RECOMMEND anyone attempt to hike in this area in poor weather conditions without such equipment.
We knew from the contour lines on our maps that the terrain is steep near the Albert River Falls. Rockfall and landslides are a danger. We went on all four much of the time, up and down near vertical slopes, grabbing branches and ferns to hoist ourselves up, as our boots were scrambling for traction on the unstable loose-rock-and-mud-and-logs-and-debris. The rain was light in the morning and became steadier throughout the day. By the end of our 3.5 hour exploration we were leech-infested and soaked to the bone. In short: We had great fun!
Some more information for future consideration:
- There are toilets and car camping facilities at the nearby Minne Ha Ha Falls, Hiawatha. This campground would be a pleasant area for a multi-day base camp right by the Albert River that all club members may enjoy.
- The entire Albert River Catchment warrants further exploration. Multiple half-day, full-day and overnight walks are to be had.
- Gravel and mountain bike excursions could be developed (e.g. fording the Albert River just south of the campground, then connecting Henry Road, Staircase Track, Jackson Road and Albert River Road back to the campground).
- As a negative: Logging activity in this region is concerning as road conditions and the entire landscape may be changing as a result.
So what about the ‘forgotten waterfalls’? Well, they actually do have names even though Google and many maps may not know them. Our prior research had identified them as Love Falls and Nicholls Falls (Map Store Product 1256553). We can therefore locate them and will ultimately use our now refreshed navigation skills to visit them. Thank you, Graham, for your pleasant company on this somewhat different Tuesday walk!
Written by: Frithjof Arp
Distance and Duration: 2.8km - 3.5hrs (bush-bashing component)
Difficulty: Medium