We all had a slow holiday start this morning. Hal made the most amazing and incredibly delicious frittata for breakfast. Mmmm mushrooms… and cheese…
The plan had been to go on a caving trip with an underground river cruise, but Sue rang them at about 9.30am and as we expected, the eclipse crowds were looking for stuff to do – there was no pre-booking, and a two-hour wait for cruise tickets. Since it would take well over an hour to get there, and we hadn’t even had breakfast yet, we decided to save it for another day (our next trip). Who knows what the queue would have grown to by the time we got there! And we have better things to do that wait in line all day.
So instead, we decided we’d have breakfast, those who wanted to could have a dip in the hot tub in our cabin’s backyard, and then we would head out to see some of the waterfalls in the area. Roy and I had been to many of these last time we were here, and we were happy to go and see them again. I put my swimming shorts in just in case – it was a hot day and I find cool water pretty much irresistible. Cane Creek Cascades were on our list, and I knew that there would be a chance to fall in there (I fell in last time 🙂 – the rocks are very slippery).
We went to Cane Creek Falls first and took some photos. If you look carefully in some of the pics, you can see people right down the bottom, in the deep pool at the foot of the falls.
Roy and I went down to one of the pools at the top of the cascades and had a little paddle. I wanted to get right into the water so changed into my shorts and waded in up to my waist (I kept my t-shirt on, this is Tennessee, not Nariel Creek). It was so good to be in the cool water on such a warm day.
Above us was the rope and timber bridge that crosses over the falls and cascades. It wobbles around a fair bit, and quite a few kids (and adults too) were very reluctant to try it – we could hear a couple of small children screaming and crying and saying “no!” from where we were. I hope their parents didn’t force them to cross! Hal and Teri didn’t come down as the track was a combination of proper steps and rough rock steps – Hal has a bad knee and I can totally understand his reluctance – my ankle gives me some trouble on rough ground too. Sue and Dean came halfway down and then went back to see if Hal was OK I think.
Roy and I didn’t stay long at the pool – we didn’t want to hold everyone else up – but when we got back to the top and found Sue and Dean again, they said that Hal and Teri had decided to go back to the cabin and would meet us there for dinner. So the four of us took a walk across the bridge and back. It is a little unsettling, but it wobbles less if you walk on the middle board. It was fun! And you get a lovely view of the swimming holes in the cascades below.
We then headed down to the pools – a few fairly steep flights of stairs and a bit of a scramble down the rock shelves at the end. Not really climbing, and not really dangerous – but rough enough to require a bit of concentration of finding the best way down and putting your feet in the right place.
There were several adjoining pools, the one in the pics above quite deep (I couldn’t stand up in the middle of it). Roy aimed for the shade in a shallow part and found cool relief in just sitting with his feet in the water. I think Sue had the same idea, but she stayed in the lower pool near where Dean was looking after our bags. I went into the deep water, which was a bit cooler than the higher pool I’d been in before, but still not really cold. Of course I slipped and fell getting in, maintaining my perfect record of elegant and graceful approaches to entering the water.
There were lots of people there – it felt like a day at the beach, but without the beach! Kids, parents, teenagers and young couples, singles, groups of friends and families – and dogs. Apparently dogs are allowed – so they were there having fun too, splashing about and paddling, or sitting panting on the shore watching their humans’ enjoyment of this very beautiful natural feature.
The water was clean and clear, although there was less of it than last time we visited. But there was still enough to create water slides down some sooth sloping rocks into the pool below! Lots of screaming and laughter as kids young and old pushed off from the top of the rock and slid down to the cool shock of immersion in the waterhole. It wasn’t very high – maybe a couple of metres – but high enough to get the adrenalin up and to make sure there was a satisfying splash at the bottom for those who took the challenge!
Feeling nice and cool, we sat for a while on the rocks, talking and watching the fun, and trying to dry off a bit before we had to get into the car again. It was getting on for mid-afternoon when we gathered our bags and headed back up the stairs and then over to where we’d parked the car.
Something I’d forgotten from last time was the big basket-like webs hanging on some of the trees.
At first I thought they were spiders, but they’re not – they’re small parasitic “bag worms” that attack a tree by spinning these webs and, I assume, feeding off the tree sap (must look that up!)
They do eventually kill the tree. Dean said that they’ve been particularly bad this year – and we have certainly seen plenty of them about as we’ve been driving and walking around.
I wonder if their prevalence is related to lower rainfall and water levels in the creeks and falls.
We stopped to look at the main Fall Creek Falls nearby. The outlook here is grand, and a bit reminiscent of the Blue Mountains, the way the layered sandstone cliffs jut out above deep valleys.
If you ignore the differences between the trees, it would be easy to imagine yourself at a lookout near Katoomba or Blackheath or Wentworth Falls.
The falls are high and graceful, although not as spectacular as last time we were here, when a lot more water was going over them.
It struck me that the interpretive signs we’d seen at each waterfall have been vandalised in the same way. The anti-science creationist brigade is ever active and clearly has zero respect for the freedom of speech and thought that are such a central part of espoused “American values” and freedoms. Appalling.
Back at the cabin, we threw a few bits and pieces together for dinner – Sue made chili and beef, and we had leftovers from brekky and last night, and some crackers and dips and stuff. We were all pretty tired! Sun and water always makes me feel pleasantly weary.
We finished off the evening with a fire in the backyard fireplace, lying back in garden chairs and on stone benches, watching the stars. We saw satellites and planes, constellations and a couple of shooting stars. The night sky here is very unfamiliar to me, and I couldn’t even find the things I do know about – like Cassiopeia, or Orion, who also appears in the northern hemisphere, right-way-up, rather than standing on his head or lying down as we see him in the south. I really miss my homely Southern Cross, but it’s good to see something different for a change.
The sky is clear tonight, and we’re hoping it stays that way for tomorrow’s big event!
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