Apsley Gorge (Oxley Wild Rivers NP)

Disabled from our more favoured longer trips, we are undertaking a wee little venture in the first few weeks of November.

First port of call was Apsley Gorge - part of the extensive Oxley Wild Rivers NP which stretches through a system of dramatic gorges from Hilgrove in the north to almost the Oxley Highway in the south and from the Northern Tablelands east of Walcha, all the way to the deep eastern forests. Its title comes from the fact explorer John Oxley traversed much of the territory and viewed the falls in September 1818, naming them Bathurst Falls. In 1902, with Walcha well and truly settled, three local men - Ted Baker, Jim McMillan and "Wattie" Joiner, built a wooden staircase which zig zagged down to the water's edge, without the use of anything but had swung equipment. There are pictures of gentlemen and ladies enjoying the water in the first thirty years of the 20th century until authorities declared the ladder unsafe.

Apsley Falls has been a favourite spot for us over the years, often visited for day trips from home to picnic by the Apsley River, which seems to wandering benignly past in the sunshine ... until you leave the picnic area. Beyond, the gorge opens up to reveal a dramatic 65 metre drop to the first of two splash pools. Whilst it was little more than an enthusiastic trickle while we were there, when the Apsley system has lavished on rain, the full face of the sheer drop is a stunning cascade. There are three platforms from which to observe the first drop, which many mistakenly believe is the extent of the falls. If it were, it would be enough. The first is wheel chair accessible, as is the Rim Walk, which starts from this point and returns via the top of the gorge, with three viewing stations offering spectacular views of what is an even deeper gorge than it first appears.

The 65m drop of the first falls

Back at the first falls, the fitter among you may like to descend to two further platforms, the course of the stairs tracking some of the path of the original wooden staircase. The platforms give slightly different but equally impressive options to view the rapidly tumbling Apsley River.

For those with a littler more time and energy, the Oxley Walk is a wise investment. The 2.7km return walk crosses the Apsley on a modern suspension footbridge which replaced a series of steel grid narrow walkways which were hinged to flip over during floods and therefore not be damaged. Most floods damaged them. Nature 1. NPWS 0. The bridge floats well above the river now and should it ever be reached by flood water, keep an eye open for Noah. The Oxley Walk continues around the northern end of the gorge, initially offering views back to the falls and viewing platforms. Soon after it climbs steeply but thankfully, not for long and the full extent of the gorge, especially here on the high side, starts to stagger you. Here the vertical drops are in the order of 180 metres from edge to splash down.

About then, with the falls off to the west, and this huge rut cut vertically down slate walls, you discover the second set of falls, which don't seem as high because they are so far below you, but they are 58 meters in height. The splash pool below them is enormous and is added to by the casual run off from the step slopes above the walk, such that during rain, the walls cascade with a curtain of water.

We spent three nights in the very tidy Falls Campground. The toilets - flushing not long drop - were clean and keep that way by daily visits from park staff. The camping spots for wheeled visitors are individual and asphalted. There a few level sites but most have some sort of tilt. Camping fees are reasonable, especially considering the toilets and the gas bbq's, although in fairness of reporting, they bbq's didn't get very hot.

It rained each day, but the sloped site means it got away quickly, even in the two hour thunderstorm we had on the last afternoon. Some lovely birdies were spotted and we were befriended (because we don't want to say pestered) by a family of Magpies. Kangaroos, wallabies and even a brush-tailed possum and her back-riding infant were spotted during various parts of the day and night.

Click to see today's photos

Day visitors are well catered for in a separate area nearer to the top falls lookout.

The Apsley Falls section of Oxley Wild Rivers is 18 kms east of Walcha on the Oxley highway and all roadways are bitumen.

TOD Tour, Day 13 - Drive To Tamworth

The for the first time in almost two weeks, we set an alarm for the early departure and our drive back to Tamworth. The repairer finally had all the parts and it was time to take the Forester back home. We left our soaked little Avan behind at 7:30am and took to the road.

Soon after leaving, the weather returned to its foulest and remained our travelling companion all the way up the Bellinger Valley, the climb up Dorrigo Mountain and a well known path to the Ebor store.

There were compensations.

It wasn't hard to see why the Bellinger River had been under scrutiny and placed under a moderate flood warning for the past few days. Before we even saw the river, the valley leading to Bellingen was wet, with heavy rain still falling as we headed west. The road surface was pitted with potholes, some of them deep and inconvenient and the conditions tricky, especially when trapped behind an overly cautious Queenslander who crawled along at hardly more than 60kms/hour. In such circumstances, even when unencumbered by the van, you have no option but to play the waiting game ... unless you are impatient to die and driving a BMW. As experience has taught, its always some other idiot you have to watch out for. My defensive driving skills, taught to me b my father all those years ago when I was a hot-headed twenty year old, stood me in good stead.

Bellingen looked pretty in the rain and the Kombi looking for a hippy park in the main street gave us plenty of time to see it.

The climb up Dorrigo Mountain was free of traffic but I remember it as being more difficult and steeper. Its remarkable the difference a good vehicle makes.

Compensation two came near the top.

Newell Falls

The Newell Falls, only a few kilometres from the crest of the mountain, were running with great vivacity, covering the road with a thick spray despite filling the big culvert under it. We had seen them in good voice before but never before calling this loudly, running down the mountain at the top of its volume like boys escaping from school at home time. It made a spectacular sight but was a mere taste of what was to come.

We made two more stops at Dorrigo. The first, at Dorrigo National Park, was ostensibly for toilets - all that rushing water was inspiring - but we took advantage of the stop for a short stroll along a fog-bound Skywalk. The platform, jutting out as it does above the canopy of the rainforest, may have been short on views but the bird life was active. We saw a brush turkey, could hear a pair of Eastern Whip-birds and watched a Yellow-Faced Honeyeater flitting about in the high leaves, at times less than a metre away. Back in the car as the rain returned, a family of Superb Fairy Wrens were working the grassy areas; the male on a branch watching for danger and the females and young scouring the ground. It was one of those times when the inexperienced eye might complain that there was nothing to see.

The second stop was in Dorrigo itself, as I tried to sort out the hire car we would be picking up in Tamworth. GIO's only disappointment for us in an otherwise efficient and comforting treatment of the situation with our car, was to book us a Corolla Hatchback as the replacement vehicle, after assuring us of a similar vehicle as our own. There was no way our gear would fit into a Corolla! Wait time on the phone was too great and the internet proved slow, so we pressed on to Ebor. Once there, we had the usual surprisingly good coffee/tea at the Ebor Store and a delicious slice of gluten-free almond cake, while I sorted out the hire car. Unfortunately, it would involve taking what was booked, staying in Tamworth for two nights and then changing to a larger vehicle.

I find shrugs useful under such continuing circumstances.

Upper Falls, Ebor

We had anticipated the twin falls at Ebor since leaving Dorrigo and they weren't to disappoint. From the moment we opened the car doors, the roar coming from the closer Upper Falls was enough to peak our expectations but even that was no preparation. Having lived close enough - for many years in Armidale and then in a bush work setting at Wongwibinda - to come here for picnics, we have seen these falls often but never in such robust and opulent form. The cascade was enormous and the rush of megalitres over the edge was broad and thick and characterised by the tans and deep browns of river beds and banks being scoured from place by the pace and power of the increased flow. A huge boulder halfway down was suffering a fearful pounding, as water collided with it and then splintered of in all directions, catching the sunlight which was beginning to appear and sparkling highlights like intermittent Christmas lights. Capturing it in the camera was a fools errand, even with all the tricks I know. It was too wild to tame with digital images which wouldn't have the noise or the presence it exerted over us.

Inspired, we walked the track which follows the edge of the gorge as it begins to open out into the Guy Fawkes National Park. The bush, soaked from days of rain, was all shades of green, offset by the orange and browns of peeling bark on the Snow Gums and Mountain Gums which stood dominant among so many other smaller species. Some old wooden yards and a cattle race still stood, covered in lichen and moss which were slowly taking the timber back into the fold of the colours from which they came.

The track emerged onto the picnic area and two viewing platforms. One looks to the west across the expanse of what is still largely the hundred thousand hectare wildness of Guy Fawkes NP. The Guy Fawkes River, fresh and invigorated from its double fall off the narrow spur of the Northern Tablelands that the Ebor area represents, has cut a winding path and created huge spurs above it, taking advantage of an old fault line. Its joined along the way by other side gorges where the Aberfoyle, Sara and Henry Rivers have made their own mark on the landscape. A habitat for more than fifty threatened plant and animal species, it is perhaps best known for the controversy which erupted in late 2000 when six hundred wild horses - the descendants of the Walers used at the famous charge by the 12th Light Horse at Bathsheba in 1917 - were culled by the NSW National Parks Service.

The other viewing platform offers the only uninterrupted view of the Lower Falls and a near complete view of the Upper Falls, in the distance, behind it. Its a much longer drop but being so much further away, it lacks the near and present danger that the Upper Falls inflicts.

Either way, our hour here was stunning.

Lunch at Wollomombi Falls

More rain along the Waterfall Way and lunch at Wollomombi Falls, in the northern end of the far ranging Oxley Wild Rivers NP. Once thought to be the tallest falls in Australia, they are at best the second, although debate leads strongly to suggest that both Tin Mine Falls in the Snowy Mountains and Wallaman Falls near Ingham in Queensland, have their measure. The Wollomombi and Chandler Rivers make their confluence at the base of these twin falls but even though both were running well, they were far from spectacular and because of their alignment to the sun, as always, difficult to capture in the camera with out too little or too much light. The compromise seems insipid. Sandwiches were made even more pleasant by the near obligatory conversation with fellow travellers.

Onto Armidale and then straight for a let afternoon arrival in Tamworth, organising accommodation along the way. It seemed weird booking into a caravan park in our own town but such is life.

Cars were exchanged and we managed a quick coffee break at Gemocha on Goonoo Goonoo Rd, before hasty visits -  us tired and exhausted and lousy company - to both sons and their families, to pick up things we needed.

Pasta and beer for dinner and a good night's sleep.