For this walk I got up very early and was on a train at 5:16 am, and then changing to a mountains train that got into Leura at 7:15 am. Then it took me 15 minutes, brisk walking down to Olympian Rock Lookout on the escarpment for some great views of Mt Solitary and the Jamison Valley. After a camera stop, I continued along the Prince Henry Walk to Leura Cascades.
With a fair bit of rain falling the day before, I was hoping the creek would be up and provide some nice photo opportunities. The creek was up a little but not that much. But still – it was very nice, and I did stop a few times for photos of the cascades.
I then continued on the track, down to the base of Bridal Veil Falls, the upper of the two waterfalls that make up Leura Falls. Again – more photo opportunities in the small waterfalls below Bridal Veil Falls. Then, I kept on, walking along the track, towards Ferny Bower and then the descending steeply down to Leura Forest.
On the way, I stopped at Marguerite Cascades. On a previous visit, about two months earlier, I had spotted some nice specimens of Hericium coralloides, a shine fungus growing on two logs nearby. Would any still be out? Yes – and very nice ones too! Out again with the camera and tripod. On the earlier visit, it had been very wet – almost continual rain – which did make photography very trying. This time it was a lot easier.
I was hoping that the recent rain may have also brought out some other fungi. It is very nice rainforest in the vicinity of Leura Forest that should suit fungi. A few things were out – but not too much. But what was out was nice – some jelly fungi and a very nice slime mould.
Looking on the ends of logs for slime moulds, I came across an interesting bug. I think it is a type of wood inhabiting centipede. There were quite a few living in the cracks on the end of the log.
I continued on along the track to the base of the Giant Staircase and then on to Federal Pass to the base of Katoomba Falls. A little bit of fungi was out along the way.
Then up Furber Stairs and a short detour to the half way ledge at Katoomba Falls to photograph the cascades there, and then up to the top.
The last part, was the short walk back to Katoomba station. A nice day out in the mountains.
More photos are online on my website here.
Nice fungi pics David – the cool invert is not I think a centipede, but I’d guess a Lycid beetle larvae. The habitat is right as is the body shape. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen this species in photos or reallife, and have no idea about even the genus.
Thanks Andrew – you are almost certainly correct about the “bug” being a Lycid beetle larvae – it looks very much like pictures on google images (but none with this colour pattern). Interesting!