Granite Falls (Not) 2018 July.
“The mystery of the missing falls” could be a subtitle for this expedition. Feeling high in spirits as the Scamander River beside us was so very beautiful, we parked the car at a bridge over it, and set out along its northern bank in quest of our goal, through wonderfully open granite terrain, complete with moss-covered tors and burgeoning ferns. Although Tessa had covered about thirty kilometres in the morning (we’d done ten), she was out in front, pleased that her human companions were off to find more treasure.
The first half of our outward journey was particularly beautiful, although the further we went, the more regrowth appeared, but it was still pretty easy going. We stuck quite near the river so we could see the falls as soon as they appeared. But they just never did. On we went, past where they were supposed to be and beyond where they could possibly be, given the lie of the land – after which, we turned around and went higher on the rebound to a place where the going was easier than it had become. Nonetheless, we had views right down the river, and there was no sign of a waterfall anywhere , and certainly not where the map said it should be. The falls were not in the vicinity. Craig has since done research that suggests they are on nearby Beahrs Creek, accessed from Hogans Road. Looks like I’ll have to have another trip to the East Coast. Did the Coffee Shop fund this mapping error?
Having a twitchy shutter finger, and enjoying the beauty of the Scamander River with or without a proper waterfall, I insisted on stopping at the highest thing that could approximate a fall if you were an insect – with water dropping thirty centimetres or so – and photographed the pretty patterns the water made flowing over the rocks there. These gurgles didn’t even qualify as cascades, let alone a waterfall, but I am a photographer of, and responder to, beauty first, and a waterfall bagger second, so I enjoyed myself anyway.
Context map to the supposed location, and to where we went.
Here you can see where they’re supposed to be, right under (south of) Granite Knob. Looks like they’re a few kms away. (The purple line is the road we drove on; the cyan one is our walking route).
And on Wednesday I went back to explore as below, as well as investigating the length of Beahrs Creek. To no avail. It has now been established that Granite Falls do not exist. 20 or 30 cms do not constitute a waterfall. RIP Granite Falls.