Twin Falls Creek

[SteveNT]

We spent the last 3 days on Twin Falls Creek, up on the escarpment behind the famous falls.

We nearly died getting up top, we're no spring chickens and our indulgent hedonistic lifestyles didnt help. But we got there (first time for Darlyn and first time for 10 years for me).

Views from our camp

The Fern-leaf grevillias were pumping necter and our mate Benno couldn't resist a bit of tongue action

1) Nice to see a beach like this with no footprints! 2) Sir Benno Hilary and Darlyn 3) Darlyn strides forth!

It is hard to convey the scale of this place. It has beauty in it's massive size and the detail is equally impressive (note Darlyn & Benno down the bottom)

We are very pleased with ourselves for doing the hard yards (because we survived the climb and because it was so good.) Big thanks to Benno for flogging us along!

Of course we were overun by Oenpelli pythons but they are just par for the course ha ha! Sorry no herp pix. We didnt meet a lot. But food for the soul was abundant.

And the ancient Jeep did it again, the only petrol vehicle in the Twin falls carpark and the only one without a snorkel.

Love ya Darlyn, we probably wont get up above Twin again but there's plenty more to come

 

[thals]

Such a gorgeous place! Well worth the hard yakka trekking through I bet, great pics

 

[saratoga]

Great shots and a magic place. Used to be up there twice a week 20 years ago during the dry, god I miss the place!

Thanks for sharing Steve

 

[imported_Varanus]

Your efforts are greatly appreciated, thanks again for sharing!

 

[Wild~Touch]

Thank you Steve for showing us once again heaven does exist
Cheers
Sandee

 

[SteveNT]

Having a sickie today. Legs are completely siezed up, groan! Shoulders aching.

This is the view half way up the climb to the top. We were having rest breaks every 20 meters towards the top!

 

[wylie88]

Wow, that's simply incredible.... You just got to love Australia!!!
That water is just begging to be swam in, so beautiful and crystal clear. Good on you guys.

 

[saratoga]

This is the view half way up the climb to the top. We were having rest breaks every 20 meters towards the top!

View attachment 261687

That's pretty much the worst of it over and it's not a bad walk for the rest... some nice forest on the way with those escarpment woollybutts. The old way to the top was from opposite Twin Falls beach going up a really steep rocky gully, but it was pretty quick. That all stopped when swimming access to the falls was changed over to the boats and the only way to the top now is the way you have shown.

Great to see all these shots!

 

[SteveNT]

That's pretty much the worst of it over and it's not a bad walk for the rest... some nice forest on the way with those escarpment woollybutts. The old way to the top was from opposite Twin Falls beach going up a really steep rocky gully, but it was pretty quick. That all stopped when swimming access to the falls was changed over to the boats and the only way to the top now is the way you have shown.

Great to see all these shots!

Oh yea. We used to swim up the creek at 5am, pushing an air bed with an eski (lunch & beers) perched on top. It was spooky breaststroking in the dark past big freshies sitting on the rocks but we would arrive in the pre dawn and have the beach and falls to ourselves for sunrise. About 9am 200 people would come splashing and shouting up the creek. We would then head up the crack in the cliff you mention and have lunch at the art sites at Mushroom Rock, a swim and then back to the Falls for some cliff diving.

Of course now, you cant swim up the creek, there is a mandatory boat trip ($$$) then boardwalks. Once there you cant swim in the Falls, cant climb up the side and cant visit the art sites. No wonder visitor numbers are plumetting. The areas available to locals and tourists are shrinking every year. Even while we were there the Rangers had set fire to one side of the Gorge (as they do every year). You have to think that the management plan is ultimately to exclude visitors altogether.

I'm just glad I spent 30 years walking the escarpment (even before the Park was declared) and have visited all those magical places that are now the sole domain of crappy rangers who go there by helicopter and dont see the damage their fires are doing to the stone country. Bill Neidjie would weep if he could see what was happening to his beloved country.

The current leadership does not have the vision and the sharing nature of that great man.

I love the ancient Alosyncarpia forests up in the broken boulder country. You can hear things moving around but rarely glimpse them.

and the way the creek just disappears into a hole then reappears another level down.

 

[saratoga]

I'm just glad I spent 30 years walking the escarpment (even before the Park was declared) and have visited all those magical places that are now the sole domain of crappy rangers who go there by helicopter and dont see the damage their fires are doing to the stone country. Bill Neidjie would weep if he could see what was happening to his beloved country.

The current leadership does not have the vision and the sharing nature of that great man.

Too true, they certainly are burning the hell out of it; is it any wonder mammals are declining... they have few places left to hide and the spear grass is becoming even more prolific.

Didn't know mushroom rock was closed but heard access to "the chimney" was closed a while back

and the way the creek just disappears into a hole then reappears another level down.
View attachment 261716

that gives me the creeps now... late dry I used to crawl down one of those holes and squeeze through underneath into the other... no way I'd even consider it now. Used to see Litoria meirianna and Litoria coplandi down there. Somewhere up that way there was a high (well out of reach) rock crevice with the coils of a oenpelli sticking out of it. It was sticking out in 2 different places along the crevice so I could never be sure if it was just one or two!

Hardly got any photos from back in those days, would love to go back up with a camera and video now and sneak around away from the rangers... generally not too hard as they are rarely more than 20 minutes from an air-conditioned vehicle.

Loving all these photos you keep posting Steve!

 

[SteveNT]

I have seen Oenpellis twice at the top of Twin. One was meters back in a crack and looked pretty chunky. The other was huge. We were camping in a Mosoon forest between Twin & Jim Jim. It was November and the cicadas were deafening and the giant cave geckos were all over the trees munging on the cicadas. I woke up about 11pm and a 5 meter Oenpelli was just gliding through our camp. We watched it for 20 minutes until it disappeared into a rock pile. That was in the 80's and none of us carried a camera because we were always going through water. It was worth hauling the nikon D90 with my new Sigma 10-20mm lens on this trip.

You're right about the Rangers. We had the only camping/ walking permit for that area last weekend but there were fresh tracks of people who were clearly ahead of us up the Gorge. The only Ranger in the area appeared to be surgically attached to his quad bike and would never have made it up the top without a helicopter anyway.

I thought I found an Oenpelli this trip but on closer investigation it was a thick Rock Fig root at the back of a crevice. Bugger!

 

[saratoga]

I've heard the "rainforest gorge" between JJ and Twin is pretty awesome but have never made it over there myself. Great experience with the Nawarran and geckoes

A few too many of those chunky fig roots around nowadays!

 

[SteveNT]

I've heard the "rainforest gorge" between JJ and Twin is pretty awesome but have never made it over there myself. Great experience with the Nawarran and geckoes

Yes it's a stunning place but my memories are tainted by massive November heat and humidity. I never went up that time of year again. The rains hadn't broken but if they did it was going to be an interesting drive across Jim Jim Creek. There were no sanitised guide poles and cement floor on the crossing back then.