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| The view from Fitzroy
Falls |
Fitzroy Falls
Spectacular Falls with good bushwalks and excellent
facilities in the Southern Highlands
Fitzroy Falls, 142 km south-west of Sydney, are located at
the north-eastern end of 162 000-ha Morton National Park.
One of the state's largest national parks it contains a
sizeable portion of the Southern Highlands. The waterfall
was originally called Throsby's Waterfall, after Charles
Throsby, who was one of the first explorers and settlers of
the Southern Highlands (see entry on
Moss Vale). He passed near the falls in 1818 en route to
Jervis Bay. They were renamed in 1850 during a visit by Sir
Charles Fitzroy, governor of NSW (1846-51) and
governor-general of the colonies (1851-55). 4000 acres were
reserved in 1882 and the road to the site was improved.
Morton National Park's features include rugged sandstone
cliffs, deep and well-forested valleys, and the Clyde,
Shoalhaven, Endrick, and Kangaroo Rivers - the waterways
which supplied the water races of the old goldfields in the
west of the park. The initial land was set aside in 1938 due
to the work of Mark Morton.
Due to its size the park features a number of landforms,
climatic circumstances and habitats - sedgeland, woodland,
heath and rainforests. The transition from one to another
can be quite dramatic. There is a diversity of flora and
fauna. There are wildflowers in abundance on the plateaux,
giant turpentine trees below the major cliffs, coachwood and
black ash in abundance and true rainforest canopy where the
soil is richest. The park has numerous birds of prey,
including hawks, wedge-tailed and other eagles, plus
parrots, honeyeaters, lorikeets, crimson rosellas, cuckoos,
cormorants, grebes, lyrebirds and two threatened species -
the swamp parrot and eastern bristle bird. There are also
macropods, bandicoots, the dunnart, possums, echidnae and
dingoes, plus the marsupial mice, snakes and lizards upon
which the predators feed.
Around Fitzroy Falls are sandstone plateaux populated by
forest, woodland and light scrub. The trees are
predominantly stringybark, peppermint, scribbly gum and old
man banksia. The many shrubs along the paths include curly
sedge, sunshine wattle, broad-leaved hakea, trigger plant
and mountain devil.
Things to see:
Fitzroy Falls Information Centre
The park's information centre is located at Fitzroy Falls
and there are cafe, picnic and barbecue facilities beside
Yarrunga Creek. The stillness of the stream and the
attractiveness of the setting make this an ideal place to
eat before heading off on one of the two excellent walking
paths which run along the ridge on either side of the
Yarrunga Creek Valley.
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| The view from Fitzroy
Falls |
Fitzroy Falls Walking Tracks
Called imaginatively the East Rim Walking Track and the West
Rim Walking Track they are described in detail in a free
handout at the Information Centre. Before you start either
walk go to the lookout. The falls tumble 82 metres to the
floor of the ravine and the view, on a clear day, is both
dramatic and beautiful. However, if the weather is adverse,
the sight of a massive gorge full of mist is at least as
spellbinding.
The East Rim Walking Track is approximately 3.5
kilometres long and, while an easy walk, takes about two
hours to complete - thatıs about three hours to Valley View
Lookout and back. Of course you donıt have to go all the
way. There are plenty of good vantage points along the
track.
The sheet provided by the Information Centre says: 'The
track starts at the footbridge on the eastern side of the
falls and follows the escarpment to May Lookout (10 minutes)
where the visitor can seen the lower Grotto Falls and the
bottom of the Twin Falls. The track then leaves the
escarpment in an easterly direction and gradually winds down
to Fern Tree Gully (25 minutes)...From Fern Tree Gully the
track winds up to Warragong Lookout (40 minutes) where the
side view of Fitzroy Falls can be seen. The track then
follows the cliff face to Valley View Lookout (70 minutes)
where superb views of the top of Twin Falls and the plateau
of Mount Carrialoo can be seen. West of Mount Carrialoo is
the volcanic extrusion Mount Moollatoo or the Grassy
Mountain and the Yarrunga Valley.'
There are a number of further lookout points along the
escarpment. The walk is easy and passes through an
interesting diversity of vegetation from the eucalypts
around Fitzroy Falls to the rainforest in the gullies. There
is also a self-guided wildflower walk.
Perhaps the easiest and most interesting of the walks is
the first section of the West Rim Walking Track. An easy
walk of 15 minutes from the falls is the Jersey Lookout
which offers an excellent view back on the falls and the
dense rainforest which grows around the creek below. This is
the location of most of the photographs taken of the falls.
The track continues north-west to the fire trail, which
it follows for twenty metres, before branching to the west
to Twin Falls which takes about 12-15 minutes. The two
lookouts on the eastern side of Twin Falls give some good
views of Yarrunga Creek, Twin Falls, and further south, the
lower Grotto Falls. On the western side of the stream Paines
Lookout allows walkers an excellent close view of Twin
Falls. The track then continues to Starkeyıs Lookout which
is an ideal vantage point for viewing the Lady Hordern
Falls, which cascade 76 metres to the foot of the crevasse.
Beyond Starkeyıs Lookout the track continues on to Renown
Lookout which, as a suitable conclusion to the path, the
bushwalker gets a superb view of all the major falls in the
upper Yarrunga Creek system. This walk takes about one hour
each way.
Other Lookouts in the Area
Returning to the Fitzroy Falls car park leave the area
crossing the Yarrunga Creek and head south on the Nowra Rd.
On your left is the Fitzroy Falls Dam. At the bottom of the
dam is a left turn into Myra Vale Rd, which leads towards
Robertson. For the moment continue south along the Nowra
Rd for 1 km and turn right into the signposted turnoff to
Manning Lookout. Follow it to the car park. The easy-going
track leads to three lookouts which afford excellent views
of the Kangaroo Valley.
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| The edge of Belmore Falls
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Belmore Falls
Return north along Nowra Rd and turn right into Myra Vale Rd
and wind through the bush for 7.7 km until you reach a sign
directing you to take a right to Belmore Falls. After 5.3 km
you will come to a turnoff to the right which will take you
to Hindmarsh Lookout where there are spectacular views over
Belmore Falls into Morton National Park and Kangaroo Valley.
They were named after then-governor of NSW, the Earl of
Belmore. This isolated and undeveloped site has been a
drawcard since a road was established in 1887, although
there are rarely many people about at any one time.The
Fitzroy Falls Visitors' Centre has a pamphlet on the history
of the area and the lookouts. The water that drops
dramatically for over 100 m from two of the falls into the
Barrengarry Creek Valley joins the Kangaroo Creek and
becomes part of the upper reaches of the Shoalhaven River
catchment area.
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Fitzroy Falls
