Gone Walkabout - Day 4 Redwater Creek Falls - a.m.

Campground at the Railton Pub

Expecting to tackle Redwater Creek Falls the next day, I stayed at the campground at the Railton Hotel that night. I was the only person there. Perhaps the place rocks on Saturday nights or right through the summer. The manager/publican had already informed me somewhat tersely that there would be no counter meals tonight and the pub would be closing at 6 pm. 

No problem I said. I still had some Wagu sausages and my main reason for staying was to have a shower. I’ve never seen so many signs. A few samples follow. One can only wonder what horrors the writer must have experienced to make them necessary, but everything was clean and tidy and the hot shower was extremely welcome.

Sign of the times - this was one of 10

 I always bring lots of things to do on trips like this. Since I even had a signal tonight I could have done some writing or I could have read one of the books I'd brought, but somehow I never feel like it.

 I had just settled down for the night to the familiar sound of Pobblebonk frogs in the creek at the foot of the campground, when an orange glow began to light up the sky and a low rumble began. It came closer and closer. Suddenly two super bright lights appeared and a very long train clacked and clacked its way all along the fence on the left side of the campground. When it reached the main street it gave two loud whistles. I almost fell out of bed. There were at least two more trains after that, but none as terrifying as that first one. 

The Falls 

This is the track to the Falls

Redwater Creek Falls did not disappoint. A gentle walk down the former "Railton Rattler" track led right to them. After going through a small gate, there's a short, rougher track - well marked, and soon I was standing above them. After crossing the creek, two more walks presented themselves -a short circuit around some caves or a 2.5 km walk to Kimberley Lookout. 

 

Tempting as the second one was, it was a level 4 walk and required some rock scrambling. I'd also been warned about its steepness and thought I'd save it for another day. The Cave Walk was delightful, especially for children and ideal if you were staying in say, Sheffield or Railton or wanted a break between getting off the ferry and driving straight to Cradle Mountain. 

 

On the way back I may even have found the 'artificial lake' I was looking for the day before, though it may well have been a farm dam as two sheep came down to greet me. Nevertheless, there were reeds, waterbirds and frogs and noisy kookaburras in the trees above, just waiting for them to show themselves.  

Nice Views

From there it's only a short scramble to the creek

 

Looking down over the top of the falls

Across the Creek there are two other walks. Kids would love the Cave walk

One of several caves. Apologies for poor picture quality.

This is my backup camera and it's always difficult to get good pictures in rainforest because of the extreme contrast between the light and shaded areas. You need long, very still exposure in dark places. A tripod is best, but you can also use a rock or a branch to rest the camera on to keep it steady. You also need to change its settings. The pictures are nearly always disappointing and rarely do such places justice. I'm usually much too impatient for that, so this is just to give you an idea. Practice before you come or just enjoy it.

Fiddleheads about to erupt. It's definitely been a good season for tree ferns

I've been wondering what small creature made these -most likely a small mammal such as a possum. Big square droppings indicate that a wombat lives here and has marked out its territory.

Scats as they are called, tell scientists a good deal about our animals such as their range and what they eat. For some reason they are also of great interest to children as attested to by the popularity of the Pooseum.in Richmond.
You'll be pleased to know that the University of Tasmania, the people who brought out the Fungi Flip and the Tree Flip, have now also brought out the Poo Flip to identify them. Anyone interested in hearing what scientists are finding out about scats and the health of the environment should listen to the free podcasts produced by the World Wildlife Fund here..