Wattles and Waterfalls
With a forecast of heavy rain six intrepid walkers met for a delightful walk with weather that turned out much better than we had expected. We gathered at the end of Hughes Ave. Lawson with the temperature at 6 degrees. There was some light drizzle at times but we didn't need wet weather gear till lunch time.
Group selfie Small fall near morning tea spot Frederica Falls
We followed a bush track to the top of the hill and then down a rubbly fire trail to Frederica Falls. This was a good spot for morning tea.
Morning tea beneath the wattles
We started to check how many different types of wattle we could find.
Sweet scented wattle? It looks different Golden prickly wattle: Acacia brownii Sweet scented wattle: Acacia suaveolens
Prickly Moses: Acacia ulicifolia Unidentified but note Myrtle wattle: Acacia myrtifolia Sydney golden wattle: Acacia longifolia
variation in leaves lower down
From Frederica Falls the track follows the creek down through Empire Pass to Lucys Glen. This is a wonderful fern filled canyon. Some gang gangs were spotted on the way. This track has been recently upgraded with large sandstone blocks placed a stepping stones. From Lucys Glen Empire Pass follows another creek uphill with several creek crossings to more waterfalls.
Blue Mountains Ash: eucalyptus oreades Creek in Empire Pass
Unnamed waterfall St Michaels Falls
Dantes Glenn with a rainbow (it was sunny on the recce) Fairy Falls
From Dantes Glen there is a steep climb up steps to Fairy Falls then a much rougher bush track to Echo Bluff. The large rocky area was a good lunch spot, but this is where it started to rain and we had to put our wet weather gear on. After lunch we walked the further 50m or so to the actual lookout and by this time the rain had stopped.
Mistletoe flower White beard: leucopogan Epacris
Cleona and Deidre framed by picturesque tree Keeping dry at lunch View from Echo Bluff
From here we returned to the cars and drove to Lawson shops for a well earned coffee or hot chocolate. We were all very glad we had not been put off by the weather forecast.
Walkers: Cleona, Deidre, Nick S, Pragati, Ros, Wendy C
Leaders: Nick S and Deidre (Louis was unable to do the walk)
Photos: Deidre: (1, 18), Nick (2, 3, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 23), Ros (4, 19, 21, 22), Wendy (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
a