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Australia Travelog #37
Leura, NSW - Sat, 30 Dec 2023, 10:45am
This morning we bounced early from our hike at Katoomba Falls. We visited a few sites near the rim then decided to come back and do the falls itself later in the day, when the sunlight is more favorable for taking pictures. What else to do, then? Oh, there's plenty! While hiking Katoomba Falls has been one of my top priorities the past few days, hiking Bridal Veil Falls in Leura Canyon has been one of Hawk's. So we went to Bridal Veil falls next. The trailhead was only a mile or two away.
I mentioned before that one of the cool things about there being towns right up against the edge of this park and the canyons where all the waterfalls are is that there are so many ways in. Here I looked at a map of town and basically picked a spot where there was a road nearby a bunch of trails. It didn't matter that the road was closed (see above); in fact that was a good thing because it meant that there'd be a dead end that likely had on-street parking.
Indeed there was parking, and it was less than half full when we arrived still relatively early in the morning at 10am. I've noticed that stuff really only gets busy around here at noon. In the US at a marquee national park like this, on a Saturday in the summer, you'd want to get here by 7am for any hope of grabbing the last parking space.
The gated off street, Cliff Drive, is itself a safe route to walk, though it's not particularly scenic. Fortunately there's a trail just beyond it that edges around the rim of the canyon. The rim trail also has spurs off to several overlook points in this area— another part of why I picked this spot to start. In the photo above Hawk is looking out over the canyon from Bridal Veil Lookout.
Of course, Bridal Veil Lookout gets its name from its view of Bridal Veil Falls down in the canyon. The photo above shows the view of the falls from up here near the canyon rim.
There's a trail that goes to the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls. There's also a trail that goes to the bottom of Leura Falls even further down the canyon. The tree canopy is too thick to see Leura Falls from up here. But even hiking to the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls is a descent of a few hundred feet— and hence a climb of a few hundred feet on the return.
My ankle is still sprained at this point. Hawk gives me a silent look that doesn't need words. I know what the question is. And by now you should know what the answer is. Square your jaw and say it with me. There is no back, only forward.
The way down the canyon is at least beautiful itself.
But soon enough the beneath-the-rim rainforest gives way to stairs.
Stairs, stairs, stairs. The set above is just one of several. But the beauty of the falls seems worth the pain of the trip. In beauty I walk, and There is no back only forward.
Update: amazing views from the foot of Bridal Veil Falls in part 2!
Leura, NSW - Sat, 30 Dec 2023, 10:45am
This morning we bounced early from our hike at Katoomba Falls. We visited a few sites near the rim then decided to come back and do the falls itself later in the day, when the sunlight is more favorable for taking pictures. What else to do, then? Oh, there's plenty! While hiking Katoomba Falls has been one of my top priorities the past few days, hiking Bridal Veil Falls in Leura Canyon has been one of Hawk's. So we went to Bridal Veil falls next. The trailhead was only a mile or two away.
I mentioned before that one of the cool things about there being towns right up against the edge of this park and the canyons where all the waterfalls are is that there are so many ways in. Here I looked at a map of town and basically picked a spot where there was a road nearby a bunch of trails. It didn't matter that the road was closed (see above); in fact that was a good thing because it meant that there'd be a dead end that likely had on-street parking.
Indeed there was parking, and it was less than half full when we arrived still relatively early in the morning at 10am. I've noticed that stuff really only gets busy around here at noon. In the US at a marquee national park like this, on a Saturday in the summer, you'd want to get here by 7am for any hope of grabbing the last parking space.
The gated off street, Cliff Drive, is itself a safe route to walk, though it's not particularly scenic. Fortunately there's a trail just beyond it that edges around the rim of the canyon. The rim trail also has spurs off to several overlook points in this area— another part of why I picked this spot to start. In the photo above Hawk is looking out over the canyon from Bridal Veil Lookout.
Of course, Bridal Veil Lookout gets its name from its view of Bridal Veil Falls down in the canyon. The photo above shows the view of the falls from up here near the canyon rim.
There's a trail that goes to the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls. There's also a trail that goes to the bottom of Leura Falls even further down the canyon. The tree canopy is too thick to see Leura Falls from up here. But even hiking to the bottom of Bridal Veil Falls is a descent of a few hundred feet— and hence a climb of a few hundred feet on the return.
My ankle is still sprained at this point. Hawk gives me a silent look that doesn't need words. I know what the question is. And by now you should know what the answer is. Square your jaw and say it with me. There is no back, only forward.
The way down the canyon is at least beautiful itself.
But soon enough the beneath-the-rim rainforest gives way to stairs.
Stairs, stairs, stairs. The set above is just one of several. But the beauty of the falls seems worth the pain of the trip. In beauty I walk, and There is no back only forward.
Update: amazing views from the foot of Bridal Veil Falls in part 2!
