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Tuesday 24 April 2012

Three Views Trails Australia

On our recent trip to Australa we went on a few walks and one was the Three Views Trail that is in the Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales. The day we did this, March 9th, was the best day of the three we had at this camping/caravan site as there had been a lot of rain. In fact prior to this day we had 36hours of heavy rain that near flooded the site!!! This day though was a bright warm sunny blue sky day O0 the walk was 3 there and back bushwalks that took you to three rocky outcrops overlooking the Shoalhaven River, Tallowa Dam and the Yarrunga Lake. The whole walk took just over 4 hours along easy, flat and sometimes wet trails. An awesome day with superb views that are straight out of the films and holiday brochure. The photo's don't really do the place justice and I have some video footage that I'll upload t a later date when I replace this slow PC. In the mean time enjoy the photo's.
The flooded site the day before




The start of the trail


and the easy to follow path






that leads to the Shoalhaven River lookout


Then on to the next one along the tracks


The Yarrunga Lake lookout


A pano of the river & lake


Back along the track


Dodging the water






Admiring the view


One for the Brucie fans with the dam in the background




We had the most awesome time despite the weather over the last 2 weeks. It was the worst summer for 125 years with a lot of rain covering all of New South Wales but we fortunately missed the worst of it but still had about 10 days of rain.
Here's a video of the three views.

Cheers
Andy

Monday 23 April 2012

The Fitzroy Waterfalls, Morton National Park, NSW, Australia

Well this was a great little walk that we decided to do after a bit of rain!! We were staying in the Kangaroo Valley at a camp/caravan site for 3 nights and it had rained for a continuous 36hours so the falls should be OK, we thought. So on Tuesday March 8th 2012 we decided to go to the Famous Fitzroy Waterfalls
The day we went was a dry start, warm but cloudy. Will it stay that way??hhhmmmmmm  We got parked up, had a look round the excellent visitor centre and then set off on one of the trails along the boardwalk
 

 we soon found out that this would be quite impressive and maybe a little shorter than planned as we came to the first hurdle of a fallen tree across the path
 

 and then a closed trail due to the danger of being washed away
 

 We carried on down the main boardwalk that took us through the damp rain forest
 

 and eventually bought us out at the viewing platform above the main Fitzroy waterfall
 

 

 

 It was certainly powerfull and the noise was tremendous. It didn't need to rain as the spray certainly gave us a soaking. We decided that we'd go on all the trails to get a good feel for the place as we had plenty of time on our hands so off we went to the Jersey lookout
 

 This gave us a great view back to the falls
 

 

 

 and one that looked straight down the valley
 

 by which time what we thought was mist was rolling in ::)
 

 We carried on toward the Twin Falls and by this time we were on proper walking tracks as the mist turned to drizzle and the tracks turned to streams, again
 

 The views down to the valley floor were still there though, just
 

 and back to the main falls
 

 The twin falls were just as spectacular, loud and wet
 

 

 

 We found out that we couldn't go any further as the rain had flooded the bridge
 

 and the track that lay behind!!
 

 By this time it was getting quite wet so we had to turn back and head for the safety of the bridge which was getting a drenching from below
 

 

 and above
 

 After a change of clothes, again, and a brew,
 

 we got talking to the ranger and he told us he'd not seen the falls like this for quite a long time and that the paths had not been closed for as long as he can remember!! It did make the falls very spectacular though and worth the rain just to experience the sheer power of the water. As well as us getting wet, our cameras got a bit wet and jill's packed in but thankfully mine was OK 8)
 It did rain quite a bit and we were sat in the van when we got back to camp watching the paths turn to rivers. Eventually it did stop and it's amazing how fast the paths clear up. The rain did provide a bit of water in the other waterfalls surrounding the valley and you could see one or two tumbling down in the distance
 

 

 That night we were treated to a fantastic full moon and the day after was the most perfect day for the 3 trails walk O0
 
 Here's a video I took showing just how spectacular the falls are

   Another fantastic day on a fantastic tour 8)

 Cheers
 Andy