Many of us became waterfall chasers at the height of Victorian COVID-19 lockdowns when all our events were cancelled, our entertainment venues closed and our own travel movements limited by distance restrictions.
While grateful to have our own four walls, when you’re young or when you’re restless, there’s only so much of looking at the same ones 24/7 you can take before cabin fever sets in.
We needed the outdoors for our sanity, but not just within the same four fences of the yard.
We needed fresh air, different scenery, breathtaking natural wonders to still feel alive.
For a while there my boys and I became somewhat obsessed with finding new waterfalls in day-trip distance from home (just the like a large chunk of fellow Victorians, judging by the car parks we all overflowed that were clearly only built to service a much smaller influx of day-trippers at a time).
COVID has (for want of a better word, yet not finding one more appropriate) sucked for so many reasons, but the related restrictions have had silver linings.
Finding these hidden gems was one of those positive outcomes.
And while lockdowns feel like a thing of the distant past, waterfalls still feel like a thing that will feature heavily in our future.
Talking of silver linings, all this rain we’ve been experiencing has not been good for much, but it does make for powerful volumes of water falling vigorously and beautifully from clifftops, crashing furiously against rock walls and tumbling down to the rivers and streams that catch and carry it all away.
In Victoria we have natural waterfalls, rugged waterfalls, man-made waterfalls, roadside waterfalls, inaccessible waterfalls, big waterfalls, little waterfalls — all sorts of waterfalls.
I like the ease and affordability of a day waterfall chasing, just as much as I like the scenery at the destination.
Besides a tank (if that) of fuel, you can pack the lunch you would’ve eaten at home anyway in an Esky, grab your drink bottles and picnic rug and dine anywhere in nature without having to open your purse.
There’s nothing like chucking some driving music on, having a good sing-along in the car with the family as you explore picturesque countryside you’ve not seen before.
Our little jaunts took us to many falls, including:
- Paradise Falls at Cheshunt in the Whitfield area (a remarkably stunning waterfall not too far from our home that I can’t believe I’d never heard of before COVID struck).
- The rugged and massive Strath Creek Falls in the Mt Disappointment State Forest (where our dog came along for the road trip, a decision we regretted when she spewed several times in the back seat on the way home — but that’s a story for another day, that I still won’t gross you out with then).
- Lima Falls at Creek Junction — a small, but pretty, waterfall nestled in a steep area of pine plantations, with beautifully scented air.
- A couple of the many falls in the Warby-Ovens Ranges including Briens Gorge Falls (only about 100m from the car park) and Salisbury Falls (where much to my eldest’s disgust, we did a lengthy gorge walk that requires some level of fitness).
- The well-known (for good reason) Trentham Falls on our way to Daylesford.
Those are just some worth noting.
There were plenty more impressive falls in Marysville, at Mt Buffalo, in The Grampians — but they were an aside to other adventures that I’ll share with you one day soon.
The rain hasn’t stopped, so the falls are in flow; the silly season is upon us, so the money is about to go; things are going to get hectic, so if you need a weekend first to slow…
Go chase a waterfall.
*Please check current weather conditions and road accessibility (some roads are 4WD only after rain).*
— Bree Harding is a former Shepparton News reporter and a single mother to three children.