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Above Galliebarinda Falls (same spot as image at far
right, bottom).

Seeing
red King Parrot, Wye River

Oops!
Well, even the fleet-footed have their slip-ups. Upper Sabine
Falls. Photo: Carole Gowty.
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Waterfalls,
waterfalls...everywhere!
Three
Falls and still counting
It all started last December with a 'drop in' on the pretty
Allambee Beek Falls, deep in the forest within the headwaters
of the Cumberland River. Next day, we kitted up for a much more
involved "walk, talk and gawk" to seek out the lovely
Galliebarinda Falls, a wide sloping rock ending with
a 1.2 metre veil of water flowing into a deep pool. Drought
conditions have taken a heavy toll on both of these waterfalls,
and getting a good, representative image is challenging. I can
easily imagine a walll of water form one end to the other after
rain. In the end, I sufficed with a couple of digital shots
to plan a return visit later with 'Brutus'.
On
18th March I made my first walk-in to the dramatic Brunswick
Falls, downstream of Galliebarinda. Surprisingly,
the volume of water here was greater than elsewherel, likely
because the water is chanelled into a 'flute' on one side and
then over several rugged tiers. Just above Brunswick Falls
lies a particularly serene stretch of calm water bordered on
either side by verdant myrtle glooms with ancient, moss-covered
beech arcing overhead. Sunlight filtering into this scene is
truly memorable. Too bad the water was too low and off-colour
(oh, alright, damn cold too!) for a skinnydip!!

Above: Galliebarinda Falls in drought (December 2006)
Weblink: Great
Otway National Park, Parks Victoria.
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Upper
Sabine Falls
Great Otway National Park
2
views, 6 years apart:
Above:
© John Piesse 2001
[ 6x7, Velvia 50 ]
Above©
Gary Rowan Higgins 2006
[ 35mm Velvia 100F (@EI80) ]
_________________________
My
first view on 2nd October, 2006 was no less impressive than
John's original view of 2001 (top). The prolonged drought is
starting to bite in my image. By April 2007, the Upper Sabine
was nowt but a trickle.
Still, after an hour of walking through rainforest, the Upper
Sabine is a beautiful place to spend an hour or so.
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Major
project ...
The
remote Upper Sabine Falls (pictured left) and
the small but very pretty Glasgow Falls (right)
are two of 37 waterfalls being photographed on a personal
odyssey through Victoria's expanded Great
Otway National Park. This 3-year project, "Song
of the Water: Waterfalls of Great Otway National Park",
will feature images made many well known GONP waterfalls
over 20 years and hundreds of visits. A major project
feature is the inclusion of unseen, remote area waterfalls
that require planning and occasionally trackless walking
to get to. To this end, I am indebted to inveterate
walker and explorer, John Piesse, for his
greatly valued assistance and guidance in tracking down
the many minor and major waterfalls in the much bigger
Great Otway National parkthe effort required in
reaching these falls is more than amply compensated
by the scene that awaits the cameras! Thanks John.
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Glasgow
Falls (2003)
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Drying
up The Upper Cumberland River just above Galliebarinda
Falls is normally inaccessible at this point, but is now barely
knee-deep through 10 years of below average rainfall.
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