Gray Mares Tail Lookout

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My niece Rebecca and I were staying in Scamander with my sister at her beach shack. We drove up to St Marys and climbed South Sister which I wrote about here.


On our way back to Scamander Becca suggested we stop and do the short walk to Gray Mares Tail. I’d never heard of it, even though I grew up in Launceston and had visited the East Coast many times.




Apparently, it is a tall, seasonal waterfall on Ferntree Glen Creek. Becca pulled over on the Pass at a picnic area.




The short walk starts at St Marys Pass. To find the falls, look for an easy-to-miss pullout with a sign marking the St Marys Pass State Reserve on the left. From here a sign points to Gray Mares Tail, just a 5-10 minute walk away. The short and easy trail winds through wet sclerophyll forest, before coming to a lookout platform overlooking the top section of the falls.



About six colourful roosters were milling around the picnic area. Becca said people dump them there and because there are no hens the roosters get on well. I imagine they scrounge food from people having picnics there. I’m sure if there were any hens around, the roosters wouldn’t be so friendly with each other.




We set out on the short walk to the falls. It was a nice, easy walk through the bush to a lookout into the gorge and the waterfall. There wasn’t much water going over when we were there, but I’m sure it would be great after lots of heavy rainfall. The waterfall looked like about a 20-metre drop, but it would go a lot deeper below where we could see. I did see some photos online of the waterfall with lots more water going over it, and I think I could even imagine it looked like a grey mare’s tail in some photos.



I don’t know how the waterfall got its name, but it has been suggested a homesick Scottish person named it after a Scottish waterfall with the same name. With some imagination, the waterfall is supposed to look like a horse’s tail when in full flow.



We enjoyed the short walk, even though there wasn’t much of a view.



So if you are driving down from St Marys to the East Coast, it is worth stopping for a short time to check out Gray Mares Tail.


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