Walk Report, Four Falls from TW Spur, Sunday 8/1/2012
Early morning rain cleared to a fine cool day, ideal for walking.
Eight walkers met at the corner of Mt. Sabine Road and TW Spur Track, whence they followed the route shown on the ORWTA CD-ROM and proceeded to Yannathan Falls, Upper Cumberland Falls, Galliebarinda Falls and Brunswick Falls in that order, beginning at 9:40.
There was much to see on this extensive walk. All four falls were most attractive with strong flows of water despite the season. Bracket fungi in a variety of sizes and colours were prolific. Many birds were heard, including kookaburras, and some were also sighted.
Although ably led by Jennifer Morrow, the walkers found navigation somewhat difficult, owing to strong growth in the understorey over the past year which had obscured tracks and ribbons. Much fallen timber also lay across tracks, adding to difficulties.
Having visited Brunswick Falls around 4 p.m., the walkers became widely spaced on the climb back to the TW Spur. Unfortunately the frontrunners failed to see the exit to the TW Spur Track and began to descend once more to Yannathan Falls. Before they realized their mistake, the rest of the party exited via the correct route and was surprised not to find the frontrunners at the starting point. Luckily the frontrunners were able to correct their mistake and return to the starting point before emergency services were summoned. Moral: do not get too far ahead of your leader, especially if there is any uncertainty about the route.
It was 7:10 p.m. before all walkers returned to the starting point, making this a long day. It might have been an hour shorter, if not for the navigational error described above, but this rewarding walk is inevitably one of our longest and most demanding.
Afterwards, most of the walkers gathered at Martians' in Deans Marsh and enjoyed the fare provided by the new management.
1 comment:
"Moral: do not get too far ahead of your leader, especially if there is any uncertainty about the route."
The moral to this story should read do not take a group of 8 with one leader in there. This walk has a well-known reputation for tricky navigation and is not helped by a large group of varying walking ability and speed. The maximum number of walkers should be 5 with one leader. I have completed this walk three times over the past 2 years with that number of people in winter when route conditions were challenging and messy, but nobody became spaced out. Commonsense please and limit number being taken in to Yannathan and downstream to Brunswick.
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