April 2022 - Tullah - Day 1 - Montezuma Falls

Wow, what a terrific trip this one was, thanks to Caroline for organising us (twice in fact, as we had to defer our planned trip from last year because of COVID and weather). We had a record turnout I think - Caroline, Warren, Wayne, Gerwyn, Kat, Philip, Di, Lyn, Angie, Fin, Summa, Gary, Adam, and a local guest Ian (Wayne's brother). And we were lucky with the fickle West Coast weather, hurrah!

Our base for the getaway was the Tullah Lakeside Lodge, a good option for groups, inexpensive, nicely located on the side of Lake Rosebery, and with a good bar and decent (pub style) restaurant. We all gathered on the Wednesday afternoon and evening, coming in from various parts of the state. On this trip Di was trying out long range EV driving, thumbs up on that!

There was a little rain on arrival. We sorted our rooms out and there was a bit of swapping around (thanks Fin for your thoughtfulness). Our first forays into the bar and restaurant were coloured by COVID, what a pain to have to decide to wear a mask and for some, to avoid the dining room altogether. Still we managed to plan our first walk over dinner - it was an easy starter and one of Tassie's Great Short Walks - the Montezuma Falls.

On Thursday we were blessed with a beautiful morning - here's Lake Rosebery (captured by Fin).

Some of us took a short walk to sample the coffee at the local Tullah Cottage cafe. Then we all set off to meet at 11am at the Montezuma Falls carpark.

The Falls are apparently named for an old silver mine which used to operate nearby.

The trail is shared with bikes, but we only came across a few. It meanders through very pretty rainforest, with lots of little bridges over creeks. All the bridges are marked for a load limit of 4 people.

The weather was kind to us, we barely needed our wet weather gear. It was lovely to chat as we strolled easily along the mostly level trail, soft myrtle leaves underfoot.

This is a rail trail, based on an old tramline, the NE Dundas tramway. We enjoyed strolling through the cuttings :)

There were some beautiful fungi amongst the lush mosses and ferns. Kat got some lovely shots.

Then we were at the Falls. They have been known to be a great sight for over a hundred years.

The old bridge is long gone:

Great fun on the swinging bridge :)

Just over on the other side was an open area in the sun, a good spot to stop for lunch.

Coming back over the bridge, the Falls viewing platform is just up to the right. Just awesome.

There was plenty of water! The sense of its power was amazing.

On the way back we ventured into an old adit mine entrance. Very dark! There were some creepy inhabitants.

The Montezuma Falls walk was posted as requiring 3 hours return, and that's just what we took. It was good to clamber back into the vehicles and return to the Lodge for a hot shower and refreshments :). There was a notable incident when the friendly electrician who was fixing the power points in Lyn and Di's room cut off the power. Kat happened to be mid-shower, mid hair wash, when the hot water shut off. There were screams. But she did recover nicely with the application of wine and food.