Fitzroy Falls

There's been a massive amount of rain over New South Wales this summer, thank goodness, and it makes for some spectacular falls runnng in spate. Donna and I made a stop in the Morton National Park to have a look at Fitzroy Falls, just one of the many falls in the Southern Highlands. Even though the hills of the Southern Highlands have the look of the Coburg Hills about them, there are surprising escarpments over which amazing falls leap to the bottom of a heavily forested canyon cut by a stream millenia ago.

From the visitors' center high atop the escarpment, two tracks wind along the edge. Along the tracks there are overlooks which gave Donna and me a jolt of vertigo. Silly, but with the outlook deck cantilevered out over the abyss, the sense of no support is intense.

The Blue Mountains have a similar topography: steep canyons cut into the limestone, but Morton Park is further south than the Blues. Along the track, you can look right over the top of the falls with no idea about their length untill you walk further down the track for a view back into the head of the valley.

The valley stretches to the south, and due to the rain, things have greened up considerably. It's a wow!

The Southern Highlands are neither very far south nor very high, but the rolling hills and big farms are close enough to Sydney to attract weekend holiday makers, as well as those who want a hobby farm. The little town of Berrima has a main street of a few shops and tea establishments. Lovely tea, actually.

We stayed in the little town of Moss Vale, at a very well-tended caravan park which also has several tidy cabins. Wandering around Moss Vale, I spotted a healthy community garden. Hurray!

Moss Vale hadn't even been on our potential itinerary, but because of the rainy conditions, hopping over to the coast for a look in at Jervis Bay didn't sound appealing. But it was a lovely couple of days. Next stop: aah, yet another garden, this time the second of the three Royal Botanic Gardens, this one at Mt Annan; the first we visited on day one of Donna's trip in Sydney. In the rain.

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