The Blue Mountains Conservation Society were having a special meeting on the Wollangambe River. My friend Wendy was going to the meeting and asked if I wanted to join her. I suggested a short walk before the meeting. Recent rain, the first decent rain for a while, would mean that local waterfalls would be worth visiting.
We started down the track to Fairy Falls and Dantes Glen north of Lawson. The rain had just stopped – conditions were nice. Its a only a few minutes walk down to Fairy Falls. These falls are delightful after rain.
Quite a few wildflowers were out – and added bonus. After Fairy Falls, we defended down the steep steps into Dantes Glen. The waterfall here was in good condition, as well as the creek downstream. More photos. Then off to the nearby St Michaels Falls. These are a short side trip from the main track and are lower down in the same creek as Fairy Falls.
We then continued through Dantes Glen. The track here is high on the side of a steep gorge. We could hear the flooded creek below. We continue until the track drops down to the creek and then crosses the creek. We didn’t cross the creek and instead turned back and took a link track that goes back to Fairy Falls.
These falls, and nearby Empire Pass and Fredericka Falls are in a really nice area, Easy to get to and linked by well marked and maintained tracks. After, or during rain, is a good time to see the waterfalls.
We then headed back to Lawson and had a nice lunch at the Lawson Cake Shop.
The meeting at Wentworth Falls was very interesting. The major presentations were by Andy Macqueen and Ian Wright (together with Nakia Belmer).
Andy Macqueen spoke about the history of the Wollangambe Area. One interesting recent finding by Andy, that he reported was the origin of the name “Wollangambe”. It looks like this may have been an aboriginal name for what is now called Mt Irvine (and perhaps Mt Wilson) rather than the river. The name’s placement on early maps close to the river however may have led to later cartographers assuming the name was for the river.
Ian Wright is an academic who with his student Nakia Belmer have recently been measuring water quality in the Wollangambe River, both upstream and downstream of a discharge site from the Clarence Colliery. This colliery lies in the very headwaters of the Wollangambe River. The Wollangambe River then flows through Blue Mountains and Wollemi National Parks. It is a Wild River in a World Heritage Area. Their findings were very disturbing indeed. Even 20 kms below the discharge site, the river has an unnaturally high pH level and high levels of nickel and zinc. There was also a major decline in freshwater invertebrates found in the river below the discharge points.
After the meeting, Wendy and myself headed off to the waterfalls at Wentworth Falls while there was a bit of light around. Even some sun was trying to peek out from the clouds.
We first went to Princess Rock Lookout, and then to Fletchers Lookout and to Weeping Rock Waterfall. Everything was nice after the rain.
More photos can be viewed on my website. The Lawson Waterfalls here, and Wentworth Falls here.
