Inside Looking Out

Horseshoe Falls

Hazelbrook, Blue Mountains.

 

4 shot pano stitched in PTGui Pro & processed in LR4.

 

Mid Blue Mountains bushwalks/waterfalls.

 

The waterfalls in the mid-Blue Mountains don’t receive as much publicity as the better known waterfalls in the upper Blue Mountains.

Certainly, the waterfalls around Katoomba, Blackheath & Wentworth Falls are larger & more spectacular.

Also, these areas are home to awe-inspiring views, imposing clifflines, and majestic valleys like the Jamison & the Grose Valleys.

The mid mountains landscape is more intimate, but there are some hidden gems to be found around the rainforests of Lawson & Hazelbrook.

Note: If you’re a keen photographer you should visit these waterfalls after decent rain.

Warning: some of these are rough tracks with slippery rocks so watch your footing & wear decent walking shoes or boots.

 

Hazelbrook is home to the well-known & much photographed Terrace Falls on the south side of the township.

The Terrace Falls reserve is a short walk of a few kms through lovely rainforest & contains three waterfalls.

It’s possible to make this into a more interesting circuit walk by turning left at the junction with Bedford Creek.

From there a short walk brings you to Bedford Pool - here you turn left & follow an un-named creek up a gully.

This track contains a few cascades and brings you to Pyramid Falls & an ‘orphan’ pagoda at the head of the gully.

It’s quite unusual to find rock pagodas in this area. From here you follow one of a couple of fire-trails back to where you started from.

 

For experienced walkers only:

The Terrace Falls track can be combined with the South Lawson waterfall walk to provide a feast of waterfalls.

Turn right at the bottom of the Terrace Falls track, follow Bedford Creek to Willawong Pool, then turn right into Lawson Creek.

From there its approx. a 1.5km off-track bush-bash to reach the Sth Lawson reserve with lots of rock-hopping involved & creek crossings.

Allow half a day for this circuit (or a full day if you’re a serious photographer).

Note: There is a fire-trail that can be used to combine these two walks, but its quite boring walking in my opinion, though much quicker.

 

The South Lawson waterfall reserve is an easy 3km walk that contains four waterfalls & takes you through some varied vegetation.

This reserve features: Junction, Cataract, Adelina & Federal Falls.

 

On the north side of Lawson is the pretty Dante’s Glen, Lucy’s Glen, & Empire Pass tracks which are among the best walks in this area.

Dante’s Glen has a certain ambience to it with lovely rainforest & is home to three waterfalls including Fairy Falls.

It’s possible to combine Dante’s Glen with Empire Pass to make a great circuit walk of around 7-8kms, through a quite pristine area.

 

Northern Hazelbrook has a short walk of a couple of kms that features six waterfalls including Oaklands, Burgess & Horseshoe Falls.

This track runs between Oaklands Rd & Winbourne Rd. Along the way is a rough overgrown track that leads to an amphitheatre area.

 

So around 20 waterfalls can found in several bushwalks within a few kms drive of each other in the Hazlebrook-Lawson area.

Here you’ll find lovely patches of rainforest, impressive trees, wildflowers, colourful fungi, glow-worms, lizards, & yabbies. Enjoy!

 

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