IllawarraSouthern Highlands Waterfalls

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Illawarra/Southern Highlands Waterfalls

I have found a good day's drive where you can enjoy the waterfalls of the Illawarra/Southern Highlands. The day consists of winding roads, rolling hills, small towns, dairy farms, dirt tracks, easy bushwalking and, of course, waterfalls.

I recommend starting at the bottom of Macquarie Pass which is at the back of Albion Park. There is a picnic ground on the right side of the road which is known as Cascade Picnic Ground. This is the start of Macquarie Pass National Park.



The first walk you will undertake is the Cascades Rainforest Walk which is an easy 2km return walk through the bush. The purpose of this walk is to see the 20 metre Cascade Falls. The track is dirt with a few steps. This picnic ground has no facilities.

After this you go up Macquarie Pass and follow the signs to Fitzroy Falls, unfortunately you won't find any signs for a little while so just follow the signs to Moss Vale. This drive will take about 40 minutes.

Fitzroy Falls is located in Morton National Park. There is a parking fee of $4. We followed the West Rim Track and went as far as Jersey lookout which is much nicer than the first lookout. The first lookout gives amazing views of the Yarrunga Valley. You could really spend all day at Fitzroy Falls and do both the West and East Rim. The Falls have a visitors information centre with a café and toilets.



From here head back the way you came and back into Robertson. You will see a sign to Belmore Falls. Follow this sign. You need to really watch for signs to Belmore Falls as they are not large. From Fitzroy Falls to Belmore Falls it takes 15 minutes.

From the Hindmarsh carpark follow the stairs down to Hindmarsh lookout showing Kangaroo Valley. From here follow the fence on your right to the next lookout which will show you Belmore Falls. If you follow the fence to the end you get better views of the Falls. The track is dirt with a few steps but not many. There is a toilet here.

As you leave if you turn left you will find yourself at the top of the falls and you should have turned right.



From here head back to Robertson where you can stop for a pie at the Robertson Pie Shop, which is on your way to the next waterfall. Head along Jamberoo Mountain Road to Carrington Falls. This is a 30 minute drive.

These falls are in the Budderoo National Park. This was the busiest of all the falls we visited. The loop trail is 500 metres with steep steps for 80 metres but it is worth it. These were my favourite falls and the closer you walked the better they got. The loop takes you to the top of the falls where you can explore further. We also walked to Izzards lookout which was 550 metres from the carpark. This part is a dirt track. The main track is concrete or metal. There are no facilities here.



From here you can choose what you would like to do. You can go home, go back to Robertson or maybe head down to Jamberoo, which takes about half an hour.

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