Day 54 Saturday 17th Finch Hatton Showgrounds, Another Slice of Paradise

This morning we took a 15 minute drive out to Finch Hatton Gorge. Finch Hatton Gorge is another beautiful attraction of this area with two beautiful waterfalls to be accessed on a track that wanders through lush rainforest. The walk to the Araluen Cascades was reasonably easy on a well-made path. It took us about 30 minutes or so to reach the cascades and we enjoyed spending time there soaking up the amazing scenery. The next falls called Wheel of Fire (named after the trees towering above), was a little more difficult to access but we thought we’d give it a go. For 400 metres the path was reasonable if not a little wet and rocky but then came the challenge of the Callistemon Crossing, a spot where you needed to rock-hop across the creek. With my poor balance I knew it would be a challenge so I tried on all fours. Glad Rob was the only witness. I managed the first few but at the same time I had the back-pack on my back and both of our water bottles fell into the stream. Anyway it was soon pretty obvious to me that I would be unable to make the crossing so I said to Rob I would happy wait by the stream, while he went across. He then went about half-way before he decided that he wanted to continue to be able to enjoy the rest of the holiday and one foot in the wrong place might result in some pain. Anyway we could always “google” the spot to see what we were missing! We returned to the vehicle and were very glad that we had decided to do the walk early, as the carpark was full and cars were parked everywhere on the side of the road. It was obviously a very busy place on the weekends. We returned to town and had a coffee before heading to Teemburra Dam. Once we arrived, I decided that I just had to put the kayak in as conditions were perfect! Flat calm, not a breath of wind. I spent about 2 and ½ hours kayaking, enjoying magnificent scenery and many beautiful water-lilies that were just starting to open. Rob drove back to a small town called Pinnacle and enjoyed a beer and a pie at a pub that is famous for its pies. He might write about his excursion. Rob returned and collected me and we headed back to Finch Hatton.