John and Chuin Nee and their family were planning on a camping weekend at Carrington Falls in Budderoo National Park on the Southern Highlands. Quite a few friends joined them. In the party were – John, Chuin Nee, Jasper, Seby, Digi Dave, Wendy, Su Li, Brent, Gab, Burnsie, Eva and myself.
Carrington Falls
We met at the Cheese Factory at Robertson, and after a walk through the remnant rainforest close to the centre of town we headed out to the camping area at Carrington Falls. On the way we stopped off at the Robertson Pie Shop. John, had booked us all in on three sites at the campground. This is done online. When we arrived, rain was threatening, so we pitched our tents and then started exploring the area.
We knew from the National Parks alert page that some of the park closed due to bushfire damage. These seemed to be mainly the lookouts on the far side of the Kangaroo River.
We did a loop down to The Blue Pool and then around to Warris Chair Lookout which provides great views of he gorge of the Kangaroo River below Carrington Falls.
We then continued around the loop to the top of Carrington Falls. The falls themselves are very attractive and well worth visiting – even in the fairy low water level we had.
Then, we walked back to camp via another pool at Nellies Glen.
It was quite a cool night, and as no fires are allowed at the campground, we all went to bed fairly early in the evening.
The Blue Pool at dawn
I got up early and walked down to another lookout – Missingham Lookout before breakfast. This was a pleasant walk. From the lookout another track leads down into the gorge.
After breakfast, we packed up and drove the short distance to The Barren Grounds Nature Reserve. This is a popular spot for people wanting to enjoy a wide variety of wild flowers and birds.
We spent a few hours walking around the 8 kms of the Griffiths Trail. On the way, we deviated to see the views at Illawarra Lookout and we stopped for lunch at Saddleback Trig.
This was my first visit to both these attractive natural areas. The are certainly well worth visiting.
More photos are on my website – Budderoo National Park here and The Barren Grounds here.
Barren Grounds photos – the Brush Cuckoo is in fact a Fantail Cuckoo
Thanks!