O’Grady’s Falls
O’Grady’s Falls is probably my favourite waterfall in Wellington Park. It can be easily accessed from many different starting points and is an excellent place to escape from the city below. I have walked past O’Grady’s Falls countless times over the last few weeks when searching for other waterfalls and every time I have to stop for a moment to admire it. O’Grady’s Falls was advertised in the Mercury paper as ‘A Pretty Waterfall near Hobart‘ in 1931 when a large number of walking tracks in Wellington park were opened. These included a track to O’Grady’s Falls from Strickland Avenue, which is now known as the Rivulet Track. A fact about O’Grady’s Falls that I find quite humorous, is that there was once a stall nearby to the falls that offered refreshments on weekends.
Personally I think the most enjoyable way to walk to O’Grady’s Falls is to park at Shoobridge Bend on Pinnacle road and walk down the Betts Vale Track. To get to the falls this way, follow the Shoobridge track from the carpark for about 5 minutes, turn right onto the Circle track and follow it until you come across a small bridge and a sign to your left pointing towards the Betts Vale Track. Follow this track downhill for about 30 minutes until you reach O’Grady’s Falls. This route hugs the Hobart Rivulet for almost the entire journey and allows you to be surrounded by beautiful forest for the entire walk.
Myrtle Gully Falls (turikina truwala)
Myrtle Gully Falls is one of the more well known waterfalls on Mt Wellington, however it isn’t recognised as an official waterfall by the Tasmanian Nomenclature Board. This is odd, as the main drop is about 6 metres in height and the falls can be very impressive in high flow. Myrtle Gully Falls along with Secret Falls can be found only a short walk through damp rainforest from the end of Old Farm Road in South Hobart. The track is very easy walking and appropriate for kids. Myrtle Gully is a great place to visit on a nice day after heavy rain or snow to see two of Mt Wellington’s most picturesque waterfalls.
Secret Falls
Secret Falls is another unofficially named waterfall just downstream from Myrtle Gully Falls on the Guy Fawkes Rivulet. It can be accessed down a small path to the left off of Myrtle Gully Track when walking from Old Farm Road. If the creek is flowing well you will be able to hear it easily from the main track.
Secret Falls is a bit of a misnomer as it is certainly one of the least secret waterfalls in Wellington Park (it is clearly marked on Google Maps as a tourist attraction). Despite this, when visiting this waterfall alone on a calm day it does feel as though you have come across a special, secret place. The mossy, rock cliffs with the thin stream of water flowing out of a small gap between them makes for an immersive, almost fairy tail-esque setting.
I have visited Secret Falls a few times yet for some reason have never taken a photograph.
– Visit Luke O’Brien’s website for some pictures of and some more info on the falls
New Town Falls
New Town Falls is quite a large waterfall. However, its size is split up amongst many many drops and it is difficult to say which section is actually the main falls. The picture above is one of the larger drops along the creek between the Lenah Valley Fire Trail and the Lenah Valley Track. LISTmap actually marks two waterfalls along this section, with only one being officially named ‘New Town Falls.’ The lower of these two marked waterfalls is quite difficult to get to the base of however. I believe the drop pictured above is the waterfall marked further upstream on the map, with the most commonly photographed ‘New Town Falls’ (pictured below) lying between these two marked falls.
If I am wrong on this please do not hesitate to correct me.
To access New Town Falls, park at the end of Lenah Valley Road and follow the Lenah Valley Fire trail until you reach the signposted Lenah Valley Track turnoff on your right. Follow this for a short while until you reach a ruins site which marks the start of the Old Hobartions Track, to get to New Town Falls, continue on the Lenah Valley Track to the left, crossing a fire trail, until you reach the falls. Once at the Falls, there are rough and steep tracks that lead to the different drops in the waterfall. It is worth spending a lot of time here to fully explore all of the drops and cascades of New Town Falls.
Silver Falls
Not to be confused with the many other waterfalls named Silver Falls in Tasmania, this small waterfall on Browns River is one of the most popular waterfalls on Mt Wellington. Despite the remnants of when Silver Falls was used as a water source, this waterfall is still picturesque and on a not too busy day, quite peaceful. The walk to the Falls begins in Ferntree and follows a flat section of the Pipeline Track all the way to the base of the Falls.
Strickland Falls
Strickland Falls
Strickland Falls is a small waterfall only a very short distance off of Strickland Avenue in South Hobart. It is situated on Hobart Rivulet, downstream from Betts Vale Falls. The Cascade Brewery once used Strickland Falls as a water intake and ruins from this time still remain. The ruins and it’s closeness to the road doesn’t make Strickland Falls feel like a very wild place, unlike many of the other falls, but is still a pretty waterfall nonetheless.
To access Strickland Falls, drive along Huon Road from Hobart, before turning right onto Strickland Avenue. Once on Strickland Avenue you will soon come across a large bend in the road and a small dirt car park. Park your car here and head about 200m into the bush along the creek right in front of you.
It is possible to walk to O’Grady’s Falls from here by following a steep rough track on your left near the carpark. This track connects to the Rivulet Track and O’Grady’s Falls is a 30 minute walk further up.
Betts Vale Falls
Betts Vale Falls is a small waterfall on the Hobart Rivulet that flows underneath a bridge on the Betts Vale Track, about 5 minutes further away from O’Grady’s Falls. This waterfall is rarely photographed and information on these falls is basically non-existent. This is odd considering they are easily found and a quite clear sidetrack off of Betts Vale Track leads directly to the base. Betts Vale Falls is an unofficial name but it is the only name that I am aware of, however the name seems appropriate.
Betts Vale falls is quite a pretty waterfall, particularly the small drop a tiny bit further downstream, despite the many branches that have fallen over the top of it. This waterfall is well worth a visit if you’re walking to O’Grady’s Falls.
Featherstone Falls
Featherstone Falls is one of the lesser known falls on the eastern slopes of Mt Wellington. However if you know that it exists, directions on how to get there are fairly easy to find. A popular track once led to these falls but it is now very overgrown and nearly impossible to follow, especially with recent flooding. What is left is a maze of tags, with many attached to fallen trees. If you do wish to follow the track, please only do so if you are an experienced walker and are confident in following tagged routes.
Compared to some of the other falls, Featherstone Falls has a quite a short drop. But what it lacks in height it makes up for in beauty. It’s fractal-like steps give it a very distinct appearance, and the surrounding almost untouched rainforest and mossy rocks make for a very serene setting.
If you do visit Featherstone Falls, please be careful where you tread for your sake and the environment’s, and try to leave very little trace of your journey. As in order to preserve Featherstone Falls’ beauty, the area around the falls should remain as untouched as possible.
Fairy Falls
This waterfall is an unofficially named waterfall which should not be confused with the falls of the same name in Geeveston. I have only seen two pictures of Fairy Falls, one by John Grist in a document detailing the history of some of the waterfalls on Mt Wellington written by Maria Grist (which is certainly worth a read). And the other from Tasmanian photographer Gary Tew. Both of these are linked to below.
I have attempted to find Fairy Falls multiple times to no avail. However I am now fairly certain that I know the creek it is located on, and it is just a matter of scrambling up a slippery and steep slope to find it. Hopefully I can update this post soon with an image of my own.
Maria Grist’s A brief history of the waterfalls of Mount Wellington
Update: I found it!
Pineapple Falls
This small waterfall is one of Mt Wellington’s best kept secrets. The only knowledge I have of Pineapple Falls is a couple of photographs from other waterfall hunters that have been published online. I had first learned of its existence from photographer Gary Tew’s pictures the morning that I set out to find Fairy Falls and I stumbled upon this waterfall completely by accident on the very same day. I never found Fairy Falls that day, but I wasn’t bothered as finding this waterfall was equally as rewarding. In order to keep this waterfall a secret, I won’t post any information on how to find it, but perhaps you’ll also accidentally stumble across it one day!
Fortunate Find Falls
Of all the waterfalls in Wellington Park, this is the waterfall I could find the least information on. The only proof of its existence is a small set of photos by photographer Gary Tew. I have been aware of it’s existence for a while, however had had no leads on how to find it. So I figured if I spent enough time wandering I would eventually encounter it. And so I did! This waterfall is definitely the most challenging to reach out of all the Wellington Park waterfalls I have attempted to reach so far, with countless fallen trees, slippery rocks and spiderwebs to deal with.
Fortunate Find Falls is an incredibly peaceful location and I certainly felt quite fortunate to come across it.
Upper Strickland Falls
This lesser known waterfall is not far from Strickland Falls but can be quite treacherous to reach, especially in wet weather. Please only attempt to find it if you are an experienced bushwalker. However this waterfall has one of the best swimming spots I’ve seen on the mountain and is certainly worth searching for if you are capable.
Other cascades and small waterfalls
If you’re now inspired to learn more about the waterfalls on Mt Wellington, as well as some of the Mountain’s post-settler history, I recommend giving the paper A Timeline for the Track Network of kunanyi/Mt Wellington by Maria Grist a read.
Thanks for reading!
Hiking in Tasmania 