Halls Falls
Start of track
There are so many interesting places to explore in Tasmania. On my trip to the East Coast a year ago I visited the
Blue Tier Giant Tree Walk and the
Winifred Curtis Reserve.
Sign
My nephew suggested the Halls Falls walk this year. It was only a fairly short drive from my sister's beach shack at Scamander where I was staying. Dan had worked on the track to the Falls and said it was a lovely walk and would be suitable for all of us, including his 11-month-old baby in his pram and his father, who has some balance problems.
On the track
Halls Falls are near Pyengana about 25 kilometres west of St Helens. The Falls are small, but very beautiful. The track is only 2.5 kilometres return and takes about an hour and a half to walk to the Falls and back to the carpark.
Big trees
On board walk
The turn off to the Falls is off the Tasman Highway at the junction with Anchor Road on the right heading from St Helens. The waterfall carpark is about 1.2kilometres down a dirt road. The road is on the corner of a small bend, so you need to look out for the sign.
Father and son at Halls Falls
The walk was easy and very interesting. It started off in dry eucalypt forest, then closer to the river there were fungi, ferns and mosses. We also saw some pretty blue and red spiders (like
Spiderman) and signs of crabs digging up small balls of soil.
Interesting fungi
Water and logs
Halls Falls is named after Willis Hall, who set up a portable sawmill downstream from the falls, which are situated on the Groom River. The handmade weir was built to divert water into races for slurring minerals and pelting wheels at Halls Falls sawmill. The weir was built in the nineteenth century and was also used by Chinese miners who worked in the area mining tin which was used for household utensils, including pots, pans, candleholders, oil lamps, and lanterns.
Weir
There are information boards along the track with lots of interesting history about the area.
Halls Falls Track sign
The mainly flat track passes above and below Halls Falls and its nice rock pools. The only steep part of the walk is going down to the base of the Falls.
Burnt tree hollow
The pram made it most of the way, except for the short steep section down to the falls when the baby's parents carried him.
Ferns along track
There are signs of early logging of the area, with large tree stumps.
Lookout at Halls Falls
Halls Falls
So if you are on the East Coast of Tassie and have seen all the
gorgeous Bay of Fire beaches and Binalong Bay, head up into the hills and explore all the interesting history and waterfalls there.
Mushroom
Spiderman
