Showing posts with label Taggerty River. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taggerty River. Show all posts
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Waterfall on the Taggerty River
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Hunting part II
Well I hope this isn’t a case of too much of a good thing…
From the Phantom Falls Deb and I went back to the car.
We drove further up the valley. The road (not quite sure it deserves to be called a road) got narrower and muddier, if I wasn’t a ‘bushie’ (a person who grew up in the country) I wouldn’t have dared to keep going without an all wheel drive. We actually drive a FIAT which is better suited to an autostrada than a bush track. But if you are careful and know what you are doing you can take 2 wheel drives to a surprising range of places.
As we drove we pushed into country I haven’t seen before, we saw other wonderful falls up branches of the valley that we just didn’t get to because it was too wet and too late. (I would have had to walk)
About another seven kilometres up the valley (nearly half an hour at the speed the road made me go) we crossed the Taggerty River.
Which cascades out of the forest by the road (this piccie was taken from the road bridge).
Notice the bush doesn’t seem burnt here? It’s a bit deceptive unfortunately.
This is a pocket of true rainforest in the Mountain Ash forest that surrounds it. Mountain Ash forest is a eucalyptus dominated ‘wet sclerophyll’ forest for the botanically minded of you. And like most eucalyptus forests will burn at the drop of a hat.
Proper rainforest like this pocket is usually too wet to burn but in the extreme conditions of Black Saturday in 2009 the crowning fire that raced through the forest around has effectively singed off the crowns of these trees.
Many of the larger ones are dying which is a real shame, especially as many of the trees in this pocket are rare Antarctic Beeches.
Back to my story.
The section of the river that cascades under the road is just the start. To my surprise just off the road is a beautifully built path.
There are a whole series of these lovely stairs that zig-zag through the trees up the side of the ‘Taggerty Cascades’.
The stairs take you past a series of views of the cascades which divide and redivide between the trees and the granite boulders.
This boulder in the middle of one branch of the stream is about eight feet across.
Just below on a smaller branch the water pours through under some boulders.
Then at the foot of these sweet stairs this mini cascade let me get my favourite shot of the day.
A close-up with a very long exposure to compensate for the rapidly fading light.
Remember it was raining and it is winter with short days down this way.
One last piccie to give you an idea of how dark it was under the trees when I finished shooting. For shooting waterfalls you generally want low light so you can take long exposures, but this was getting ridiculous.
So it was back to the car to weave our way out of the valley.
I think I caught my trophies from my waterfall hunt.
The only problem is I want to go back!
From the Phantom Falls Deb and I went back to the car.
We drove further up the valley. The road (not quite sure it deserves to be called a road) got narrower and muddier, if I wasn’t a ‘bushie’ (a person who grew up in the country) I wouldn’t have dared to keep going without an all wheel drive. We actually drive a FIAT which is better suited to an autostrada than a bush track. But if you are careful and know what you are doing you can take 2 wheel drives to a surprising range of places.
As we drove we pushed into country I haven’t seen before, we saw other wonderful falls up branches of the valley that we just didn’t get to because it was too wet and too late. (I would have had to walk)
About another seven kilometres up the valley (nearly half an hour at the speed the road made me go) we crossed the Taggerty River.
Which cascades out of the forest by the road (this piccie was taken from the road bridge).Notice the bush doesn’t seem burnt here? It’s a bit deceptive unfortunately.
This is a pocket of true rainforest in the Mountain Ash forest that surrounds it. Mountain Ash forest is a eucalyptus dominated ‘wet sclerophyll’ forest for the botanically minded of you. And like most eucalyptus forests will burn at the drop of a hat.
Proper rainforest like this pocket is usually too wet to burn but in the extreme conditions of Black Saturday in 2009 the crowning fire that raced through the forest around has effectively singed off the crowns of these trees.
Many of the larger ones are dying which is a real shame, especially as many of the trees in this pocket are rare Antarctic Beeches.
Back to my story.
The section of the river that cascades under the road is just the start. To my surprise just off the road is a beautifully built path.
There are a whole series of these lovely stairs that zig-zag through the trees up the side of the ‘Taggerty Cascades’.
The stairs take you past a series of views of the cascades which divide and redivide between the trees and the granite boulders.This boulder in the middle of one branch of the stream is about eight feet across.
Just below on a smaller branch the water pours through under some boulders.
Then at the foot of these sweet stairs this mini cascade let me get my favourite shot of the day.
A close-up with a very long exposure to compensate for the rapidly fading light.
Remember it was raining and it is winter with short days down this way.One last piccie to give you an idea of how dark it was under the trees when I finished shooting. For shooting waterfalls you generally want low light so you can take long exposures, but this was getting ridiculous.
So it was back to the car to weave our way out of the valley.I think I caught my trophies from my waterfall hunt.
The only problem is I want to go back!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Hunting Part I
Almost twelve months ago I posted about a mountain valley behind Marysville where the forest was destroyed in the 2009 bushfires.
Deb and I went up that way again today
The trees in the Taggerty River Valley still stand like the ghosts they are.
What is changing somewhat is millions of seeds have germinated so saplings are beginning to race for the light between their parents’ skeletons.
We were back because as you know I love photography. One of my favourite subjects is streams and waterfalls.
The drought of previous years is well and truly over and it has rained and rained and rained for what seems like months. The bonus of this is of course waterfalls and rivers are very healthy at the moment.
We wove our way up into the valley along the muddy goat track that serves as a road up there.
It was cold and raining so I was well rugged up. Deb took one look at the weather and elected to sit in the car knitting.
From the valley floor began the climb up this track towards the first waterfall on my hit-list.
You get an idea of how rampant the regrowth is.
In the steeper sections there are well made stairs which make the going easier. I paused on this corner for a breather and a piccie.
I’d just climbed the stairs down to the right and was about to climb the ones to the left.
Further up I paused again to catch the ghosts of the trees vanishing into the mist
(that is the trail and some of the stairs in the right of the frame).
I crossed the stream that forms the falls further up.
It's divided here into multiple streamlets that tumble over fern clad boulders.
To give you an idea of how wet it is at the moment a fairy sized waterfall beside the path.
Then finally I reached my target the Phantom Falls. 
It finally stopped raining as I photographed so I got to wear my hat rather than trying to keep the camera lens dry.
These falls are hard to photograph because to see them you have to get really close. But I think I have done them justice.
Just to make sure a close up.
Deb and I went up that way again today
The trees in the Taggerty River Valley still stand like the ghosts they are.
What is changing somewhat is millions of seeds have germinated so saplings are beginning to race for the light between their parents’ skeletons.We were back because as you know I love photography. One of my favourite subjects is streams and waterfalls.
The drought of previous years is well and truly over and it has rained and rained and rained for what seems like months. The bonus of this is of course waterfalls and rivers are very healthy at the moment.
We wove our way up into the valley along the muddy goat track that serves as a road up there.
It was cold and raining so I was well rugged up. Deb took one look at the weather and elected to sit in the car knitting.
From the valley floor began the climb up this track towards the first waterfall on my hit-list.
You get an idea of how rampant the regrowth is.In the steeper sections there are well made stairs which make the going easier. I paused on this corner for a breather and a piccie.
I’d just climbed the stairs down to the right and was about to climb the ones to the left.Further up I paused again to catch the ghosts of the trees vanishing into the mist
(that is the trail and some of the stairs in the right of the frame).I crossed the stream that forms the falls further up.
It's divided here into multiple streamlets that tumble over fern clad boulders.To give you an idea of how wet it is at the moment a fairy sized waterfall beside the path.
Then finally I reached my target the Phantom Falls. 
It finally stopped raining as I photographed so I got to wear my hat rather than trying to keep the camera lens dry.These falls are hard to photograph because to see them you have to get really close. But I think I have done them justice.
Just to make sure a close up.
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