30/5/2007 - Liffey Falls
I was recently reminded of a bushwalk from March this year that I had forgotten. At work, I had a colleague visiting from a factory in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. On his last day in Tasmania, I took him for a quick drive to Liffey Falls and the Trowunna Wildlife Park.
Upper Liffey Falls
After driving up the scenic Liffey Valley via Liffey, we walked at a cracking pace towards the falls from the top carpark. My guest was amazed by the huge tree ferns growing up to 10 metres tall. Sadly our time was limited so we only made it as far as the lookout above the 3rd and largest of the falls.
Middle Liffey Falls
I have visited Liffey Falls many times over the years. My son even celebrated his 7th birthday with a walk past the falls and down the valley to a feast at the bottom car park.
The 3 sets of falls have other names apart from Upper, Middle & Lower but despite several visits, I can never remember what they are.
The photos here are from a walk to the falls back in 1996 with a guest visiting from Melbourne. Observant waterfall baggers may notice that sometime between now and then, the large tree has vanished from the front of the main falls. I've heard that it was removed but I'm not sure if that's a bush myth.
Lower Liffey Falls
When river levels permit, it is worth crossing at the base of the lower falls to explore the cave under the cliffs on the other side.
Other less well known waterfalls also exist in other parts of the Liffey valley. From the top car park, an old road leads past a large tree and eventually rejoins the river. At this point and for some distance upstream, there are several other sets of cascades.
Honor Falls on Bluff Creek
Near the bottom car park, Bluff Creek joins the Liffey River. Just downstream from the Bogan Road bridge over Bluff Creek, Honor Falls are tucked away in a ferny gully. Sadly time did not permit a trip to the base of the falls so this photo through the trees is all I have for now.
Coalmine Creek at the Liffey Baptist Campsite
Back down the road towards Bracknell, the Liffey Baptist Campsite is near the end of the bitumen road. In the bush behind the campsite, Coalmine Creek takes a vertical plunge over a cliff. Once again, my only trip with a camera at my disposal did not allow enough time to seek a clear vantage point. (Please note, permission should be obtained from the Longford Baptist Church before entering the Liffey Baptist Campsite.)
Some maps show an 'Upper Liffey Falls' marked at a point just downstream from the Lake Highway crossing of the Liffey River near Pine Lake. I have never tried to locate these and I'm not sure if they really exist. Please let me know if you can confirm one way or the other. If a waterfal does exist at that location, a good percentage of the water would be robbed by a canal that drains the Projection Bluff headwaters of the Liffey and diverts them towards Pine Lake and via Halfmoon Creek on to the Great Lake and its associated Poatina Power Station.
| 
