Week 28 – Wonderful winter waterfalls

Week 28 – Wonderful winter waterfalls

What: Gar Waterfall Walk

Where: from Troopers Creek Camping ground off Roses Gap Road in Grampians Gariwerd

How long: 4.3km with some climbing

10 words: Noisy creek, pleasant surroundings, great track, diverse rocks, amazing waterfalls.

Gar is up the noisiest Wimmera walk so far.

But not because of traffic, unhappy kids (although there was one) or even crazy corellas.

It is something more organic, therapeutic and almost musical – running water.

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We are walking along Troopers Creek in Grampians –Gariwerd and rain has given new voice to this little stream.

It is like being in another place and time entirely.  Wet, hilly and with flowing water. Troopers Creek truly is a wonder to behold.

 We have all heard the buzz about Bee Hive falls – a few km further along Roses Gap Road. But while Beehive is overflowing with cars and people today, Troopers Creek is just full of water.

We hear it first, soon after leaving the camping  grounds – then we movement through the bush.

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Clear water somersaults down the slope forming beds of foam, which sometimes gets grabbed by the breeze and swirls around like snow.

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Countless tiny waterfalls form as the creek rolls over rocks big and small.

The moving water combines with sunshine and the ochre creek bed to create natural marbling. This light and water have also helped  dusky pink sundew flowers break free from the dirt.

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Other plants are loving the moisture too and tiny buds appear on many of them while lush ferns perch contently under or near rocks along the creek.

Things just get better as I reach Gar’s first official water fall. The sky is blue, sun is out and the orange rock and white water combine magically  for a postcard shot. Am I really in Gariwerd?

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It does not end here –two  more big waterfalls to explore – so on onward and upward.

We follow the creek to waterfall number two – a bit higher and thinner but equally impressive.

The darker rocks here seem to have been carefully stacked and host delicate ferns half way up the face.

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There are also some big boulders getting a good shower at the base.

The track climbs higher as we head  to the third waterfall about 1km away. For the first time we get a classic mountain view.

Looking down on the bush there are a few trees that seem to have very bad hair – I find one along the way and it is like some hitch hiker vine that has taken up residence.

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There are more views from a rocky ridge and the bush starts to change.

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Trees are smaller and understorey thins but the extra light might be beneficial, as even more flowers are starting to emerge despite the cold weather.

I see my first blooming wattles and banksias and also grass trees. I am impressed at how the track builders placed large flat rocks in the creek as a stepping stone crossing.

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Trooper’s volume has not dulled and we pass more mini waterfalls and foam. A tall, charred trunk tells us this place has seen fire in recent years.

Then we see it  – Gar water fall number three.

This one tumbles over a  tall, black and muddy yellow cliff with its thin shower often blown about by the wind.

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The water also brings out all the colours of the rocks at the base and provides plenty of moisture for the small plants in the rocks.

I sit by the base and watch and feel the gentle  shower.

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Then it is time to return and gain some new perspectives on the 2km route.

Different mountain views, lichen on the south side of trees and plants now seen because my view is down not up.

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A burst of sun beautifully  illuminates gum leaves at one point our new friend Trooper constantly runs beside me, happily humming as it makes its way to the valley below.

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The waterfalls change from different viewing positions and when grey clouds drop in and change the light.

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This really is one of the great walks of Gariwerd – next time it rains make your way to Roses Gap Road and check it out.

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