Bushwalk Australia

Here are a few photo to go with my walk down the wild section of the Mersey River.

Grail Falls


Chapter Lake


Edit: Posts edited to reattach images - because I delete an online photo gallery where they were all stored.

I do love that river walk. It's a great shot of Kia Ora falls, which I was completely unable to capture on camera both times I've been there. Very difficult with all the bush around (nice to see somebody get the real Kiaora Falls too ).

Son of a Beach wrote:It's a great shot of Kia Ora falls, which I was completely unable to capture on camera both times I've been there. Very difficult with all the bush around (nice to see somebody get the real Kiaora Falls too ).

I would have loved a better shot but thanks Nik. The conditions were terrible. Hard to climb in, hard to find a spot and endless rain. I would have loved to have had time to wait and hour or two for better conditions, but the leeches and mozzies would have devoured me in that time. Waterfalls are hard enough to photograph under ideal conditions. Most of these shots were taken under anything but.

I was particularly happy with my spot at Ferguson Falls. You probably remember the river turns sharply at the falls and you can't really see the falls from the track side. The trick was to get across the river. No mean feat. Just after the falls there is a steep ravine section where the river passes between to rock walls. I managed to find a nature land bridge where the river passes through a bit of a tunnel. The view was worth the little bit of effort.

You can see people at the end of the track in this shot.

Love those pics W T. Hopefully I can get some myself in a couple of weeks but yours give me a nice preview---Thanks
The natural rock arch would be --how far below Fergusson falls? It would be interesting to get a gps fix on it. If we find it we will get one as we have a few Garmins in our group.

FF

Not very far at all FF. Just wander back along the track a little away from the steep drop in the picture and then look for a spot where you can climb down towards the river. On the other side of the river is a long flat shelf - where you want to be - the bridge is at the end of the shelf. You'll find it easy enough.

I found that natural rock bridge over the canyon the first time I did a Mersey River walk. We'd walked (after doing the Never Never) from Hartnett Falls to the Fergusson/Dalton Falls on the east side of the river (crossed over just above Hartnett Falls). We needed to cross back at Fergusson/Dalton Falls and were stoked to find the rock wedged in the top of the canyon. It can be rather a slippery and slightly awkward crossing though, with a very long drop into the chasm below it. For this reason I'd be cautious about suggesting people actually use it.

Last time I did the full Overland Track, I was taking a novice walker who was not terribly keen. He chose exactly the wrong words just before we started out: "I won't be impressed until I see a rock bridge over a canyon!". I don't know why he chose those words, but he sure was impressed when I told him to "turn around and look at your rock bridge over there".

Son of a Beach wrote:We'd walked (after doing the Never Never) from Hartnett Falls to the Fergusson/Dalton Falls on the east side of the river (crossed over just above Hartnett Falls). We needed to cross back at Fergusson/Dalton Falls and were stoked to find the rock wedged in the top of the canyon.

That would have been a beautiful little walk. I image hard too. The east bank looked steep in places. Coming down around Hartnett and Ferguson falls must have been an effort. How long did it take?

Son of a Beach wrote:It can be rather a slippery and slightly awkward crossing though, with a very long drop into the chasm below it. For this reason I'd be cautious about suggesting people actually use it.

I agree. One slip will be your last. If you are lucky enough to survive the fall you'll drown in the river for sure because there is no way out.

walkinTas wrote:

Son of a Beach wrote:We'd walked (after doing the Never Never) from Hartnett Falls to the Fergusson/Dalton Falls on the east side of the river (crossed over just above Hartnett Falls). We needed to cross back at Fergusson/Dalton Falls and were stoked to find the rock wedged in the top of the canyon.

That would have been a beautiful little walk. I image hard too. The east bank looked steep in places. Coming down around Hartnett and Ferguson falls must have been an effort. How long did it take?

I can't remember (was a very long time ago), but I don't think it was much different to the west side in terms of time (the west side has a dead easy foot pad to follow which makes it a bit easier once you know how to get onto the pad). On the east side, it wasn't too bad, with the forest being quite open most of the way (except on the edge of the river itself). We did end up walking away from the river bank for a lot of the distance to avoid the thicker foliage, and in some places, the steep banks.