Floras Falls – Silver Falls
Tuesday 15 May 2018
Following information that identified where
floras Falls were, the incentive to make a visit was strong. The official name
is Silver Falls and when we were last looking for Floras we had the intention
of going to Silver Falls to check, but lost enthusiasm. It was just a short distance from where we
had parked the car below Collins Cap.
Prior to our walk the area had been subject to
very heavy rain, causing flooding in Hobart. Now four days later there was a
good flow in the creeks and Silver Falls Creek could be heard as we started to descend
the steep slope of the reserve, then cascading water came into view. After 25
minutes the top of the falls and it was obvious that this was a significant waterfall,
with plenty of water flowing it was in fact quite stunning.
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| Upper section |
The falls are in an amphitheatre and in 3
sections totalling some 45 metres in overall height drop. He first drop has a
sizeable overhang making it very easy to walk behind, whilst the second is on
bands of sloping benches. It is a bit
more of a descent to reach the bottom as some cliffs have to be skirted, but
here the drop is the biggest and large pool lies at the base.
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| Top taken from north bank |
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| Under top fall from Jon Marsden-Smedley |
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| Middle falls |
We were all most impressed by the scenic nature
of the waterfall and felt that it was deserving of more visitors. The slope in
and out is quite steep, but by taking a slightly wider path to the north it
would be not that difficult to create a track, although some rock would need to
be used for steps in parts. The route could
also be made easier by contouring more towards the cascades and crossing below
them.
The walk was a mere 3.2k and took a little over
2 hours.
Thanks to Martin Stone for the the location of the falls.
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| Top and bottom of falls |
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| Silver Falls from Bruce Champion |
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| Pool at the bottom |
There is a photo album from the walk which includes the 1905 photos
Floras- Silver Falls
It's great that you found the falls but is there any need to post such detailed directions? It's hardly a safe area for people to be bush bashing and the risk of someone coming unstuck and not found for a period of time is high. It would also be nice to keep things quiet and let people stumble across this gem on their own.
ReplyDeleteHave you been there and if so where did you learn about it?
DeleteHi Peter,
DeleteI've been visiting the falls for the last five years. I found out about them by chance after spotting some falls on a map. After my initial visit I did some research online and found the same information you have. It's great to see other people getting out and exploring and I guess its inevitable that word was eventually going to spread.
Cheers,
Paul
Thanks so much for this interesting blog Peter. Unlike Paul Hutchins who complained above, I tend not to spend hour upon hour stumbling through the bush wondering if I might find a waterfall gem. I go through the bush with the intention of finding something. This looks like a wonderful place to spend a while in contemplation of the beauty of nature, and people like me can only know about it if people like you are willing to share rather than storing the treasure for your own personal and exclusive use. I can't imagine people who are not comfortable bushbashing or who are not competent at this activity would dare begin to follow the adumbrated directions.
ReplyDelete