Erskine Falls, Lorne

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The Great Ocean Road is more than just beaches, rock formations and lighthouses. Head inland a little, and you’ll get to experience a whole different ecosystem of rainforests and waterfalls as part of the Cape Otway National Park. Enter Erskine Falls , a walk with the Otways that takes you to a waterfall lookout amidst the rainforest, ten kilometres from Lorne in the Lorne Hinterland. As you drive away from the coast, and towards the rainforest, you can feel the weather and temperature change. It gets cooler as you drive down the winding road beneath towering trees that lead you to a carpark that sits at the top of the walk to go down to Erskine Falls and the lookout. Erskine Falls is a short drive from Lorne along Erskine Falls Road and is one of the most popular falls in the Otways.



During your dive, you might see koalas, though you will be very lucky if you do. When I went, we weren’t lucky enough to see them this time, but keep your eyes peeled and look up into the trees! Once you get to the falls, it is as though you have been transported into a different world, one where you can imagine all sorts of things, and reinvigorate yourself through nature. I feel like these little pockets have so many possibilities for the imagination as well and are a joy to experience in whatever way you are able to.



The first part of the walk is accessed by a series of steps that are a little uneven, so it’s not very accessible for those with mobility issues. Once you are down the first lot of stairs, which has a railing by the side that you can hold onto for stability if you need it, there’s a flat area that you walk along, then up another step to a broad platform – best to keep your eye out, as it can be easy to miss. As you walk down to see the 30 metre falls, you are surrounded by a rainforest of ferns and trees that transport you somewhere else. This is a five-minute walk from the carpark, whilst Straw Falls, a 15-minute cascade on Erskine River is further along the walk, around 400 metres downstream. If you are an experienced walker, you can get here if you follow the river from Erskine Falls to Lorne – a 7.5-kilometre one-way walk that takes three hours, and you will pass Straw Falls and splitter Falls, but do not attempt this walk when waters are high. The second lookout is usually reached by steep steps and is said to be more strenuous to get to the fern gully.




However, the walk to the first lookout is easy, and you can get a lovely view – when I went, it was the only walk and lookout that could be reached, as the second set of stairs was closed at the time and according to Parks Victoria , Erskine Falls Lower Lookout is closed until further notice as accessing the base of the waterfall is unsafe, which also means Straw Falls is also inaccessible from the carpark. Keep in mind the Erskine Falls walking track from Lorne is still open to the base of Erskine Falls but take note of safety warnings and updates from Parks Victoria. Also, check Parks Victoria for accessibility information.

There are several closures listed on the Parks Victoria website about this area, and even though you can’t access some of the sites, seeing the top of the falls is worth the visit to bathe in nature and is a great break from the beach, as it showcases the vast environments in Australia, even within a small area. It shows that nature has something for everyone – beaches, rainforests, waterfalls. Erskine Falls is serene and calm, somewhere the sounds of birds in the air. It’s a place of great beauty, and even if you can only see part of it, I think it should be part of a trip on the Great Ocean Road.


Erskine Falls Access Road, Lorne VIC 3232, Australia

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