Awake before the birds today , we were too warm in bed , so weren’t sleeping anyway , so up we got . It was a good move , as we did the Leylin Walk , around and above Edith Falls .
An early start was ideal as we headed off up the hill at 8am , there was no one else that we could see or hear , so that was even better !!
The first section of the walk takes you up the side of the hill over many rocky steps , good for getting the heart rate up !! Over the top and you drop down into a little valley , before climbing again - not as high this time ! You reach the junction to another walk that is 4.3 klms long , we stuck to our plan - lets do the short one , it was 1klm to the top plunge pools and then a 1.6klm loop back to the bottom plunge pool . Shortly after we came across a track to a lookout - it looked down , back to the bottom plunge pool where we swam yesterday .
The track was taking us up & down , then just down , we got our first look at the falls through the trees .
It wasn’t terribly high - about 10m - and flowed into a series of pools that were all linked together . It gave me plenty of inspiration to get some great photos - only about 74 for this walk !!
I got down some of the rocks to get different angles and to get some slow shutter speed photos , just like this . The reflections were also really good .
We kept going to the bottom , Lyn sat and enjoyed the view , while I went rock hopping to the next waterfall down . It was a twin fall into a huge plunge pool below - not accessible unfortunately .
After taking several photos & a few videos , I came back and we decided , that seeing as we had walked all this way up here , we would have to have a swim here . The water is crystal clear and refreshing - slightly warmer than the main pool yesterday , but still cool . Entering the water probably should be done quickly to minimise the thought process , Lyn was in and I was up to my waist - putting it off , then in we go , you are forced to swim so that you dont sink from the shock to the system - it was cool !!
We swam over to some rocks 40m away and clambered over them to the pool below the falls , back into the water and over to the falls , before floating away to some rocks further away - and in the sun !! We chatted to a couple from Inverell for too long - Lyn was shivering , so we all headed back to the towels & gear . What an awesome swim - this place is amazing !!!
We started on the second and longer section of the walk - 1.6 klms back - you need to be able to channel your inner mountain goat for this section - first part - straight up the rocks , guided by a few metal plates with arrows on them , upon reaching the top , you keep jumping over & around many more rocks , in fact there were more rocks than just about anything else .
A lady we met yesterday told us about one of the lookouts you need to see - it was only 45m from the main trail , and looked straight down over to the twin falls and the plunge pool, also the one we had just swum in . It presented us with an awesome view !!
Back to the track and after another 500m of dodging rocks & gullies , we found ourselves at the top of the ridge , with only the descent below , to take us to the plunge pool again .
We arrived down to the pool and immediately jumped in , yes this pool is cooler than the one at the top , but it did its job cooling us down quickly - we got out pretty quickly !!!
It was amazing how many people we passed , wearing swimmers & thongs , carrying a towel & camera and nothing else , no water , and here they were in the bush , rugged bush at that !!! They must have made it , we didn’t hear any ambulances or helicopters !!!
We had a Bbq lunch and an easy afternoon , it was getting hot again , so we went for swim number 3 for the day . We used our pfd’s again and had a great swim over to the falls & back , watching Rainbow Bee Eaters swoop down over our heads from the pandanus on the side , to catch bugs etc , then fly back to the trees & wait for the next unsuspecting bug to appear .
Back out & dry off on the lawn area , before heading back to the RV for some salsa & beer !!
We chatted to Colly & Sue - our neighbours , then went back to the pool to check out the colours from sunset - pretty spectacular !!
All in all , this place is spectacular , and very special , and we’ve loved every minute of it !!!
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