Sydney's Waterfalls
See also: Waterfalls, Sydney environs
There are few cities in the world like Sydney which can boast of having natural waterfalls within their boundaries. Sydney once has hundreds throughout what is now its suburban area but residential development has caused many of them to disappear. Those which remain, though not of the scale and grandeur of the world's more spectacular falls like Victoria and Niagara, add a touch of natural beauty to the city and are a picturesque reminder of what the Sydney area used to be like. Strange as it may seem, there is a general lack of awareness and appreciation of Sydney's waterfalls. The failure or inability of the relevant authorities to provide ease of access to locations which provide the best aspects for viewing and photography, including the valleys into which the larger ones fall, is the major reason for the city's waterfalls having become Sydney's most forgotten natural treasures.
Sydney Harbour, Pittwater, Broken Bay, Georges River and Port Hacking are made up of hundreds of bays and inlets formed when the sandstone escarpments of the area were drowned at the time the ice age receded. Into these drowned river valleys flow the Parramatta, Nepean-Hawkesbury, Georges and Woronora Rivers and hundreds of small creeks and tributaries. They often descend from the flat topped ridges and plateaux into the valleys and gullies in a series of pools inter-connected by races, rapids, and waterfalls.
These picturesque watercourses are most common in areas where Hawkesbury Sandstone is predominant, the rainwater runoff having carved gullies and valleys into the softer blocks of the stone over the centuries. This occurs in a belt along the Hawkesbury River from around Brooklyn to the coast, encompassing Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, then south along the northern beaches coastline and west along Sydney Harbour's northern shores. Royal National Park in Sydney's south covers part of another large area of Hawkesbury Sandstone which extends northwards to and along the shores of the Hacking, Georges and Woronora Rivers. Between these two large expanses is a narrow coastal strip extending from Coogee to South Head. It is in these three areas that most of the beautiful, picturesque waterfalls and rapids in the Sydney region can be found.
Whilst by no means all of them, those described here are the most accessible. Visiting the more remote falls should not be attempted unless you are fit and agile. The wearing of sturdy footwear is recommended. Be prepared to ford watercourses.
As might be expected, all waterfalls in the Sydney region are at their best after heavy rain, in fact some don't even flow at other times due to the alteration of drainage patterns through urbanisation. If visiting the more remote waterfalls after rain, be prepared for the soil underfoot to be muddy and slippery, especially if you have to leave a well worn track. Even if you stay on a path, be prepared for sections to have been washed away after a heavy downpour. Everything - the soil, the undergrowth, the trees above - will be wet and slippery.
Shell Cove Falls
Beyond the beach at the head of Shell Cove, Neutral Bay, on Sydney's lower north shore is a waterfall that has somehow managed to survive. The creek which feeds it is now a stormwater drain that flows under a house before dropping its water over the falls. Being fed only by run-off, the waterfall only functions after rain.
The falls are near the beginning of a popular foreshore walk around Cremorne Point. On the way you'll pass Kurraba Point Reserve which is the site of a quarry from which 8,000 tonnes of sandstone was extracted and used to build Fort Denison.
UBD Map 8 Ref D 13
Sangrado Falls
The walking path to Sangrado Pool on Powder Hulk Bay, Middle Harbour, holds a special surprise - a picturesque waterfall in a pocket of rainforest. Located beyond the end of Sangrado Street, the falls are located in Sangrado Park, a nature reserve behind a small beach on Powder Hulk Bay. About 50 steps take the walking track down to water level, after which it passes through the valley via a walking track past the waterfall.
UBD Map 196 Ref Q 10.
Pages Creek Cascades
Yarralumla Wildlife Sanctuary in North Rocks follows the bushland valleys of Hunts and Pages Creeks, tributaries of Darling Mills Creek which flow into Lake Parramatta. A haven for local native flora and fauna, the 2.3 km long reserve has a walking trail beside the creeks which can be accessed from Statham Avenue and Northam Drive, North Rocks and Lindisfarne Crescent, Carlingford. Upstream from the confluence of the two creeks, Pages Creek passes over a particularly beautiful waterfall. It can be accessed with ease from Palmview Crescent, North Rocks or Ferndale Avenue and Edinburgh Avenue, Carlingford.
UBD Map 191 Ref L 4
Moores Creek Falls
Take a pleasant walk through the bush starting at the corner of Merlin Street & Roseville Avenue, Roseville along the Little Diggers Track. This well maintained track follows Moores Creek through a fern gully. Along the way you pass numerous caves where evidence of Aboriginal habitation has been found, passing Casuarina woods, Llewellin Falls, Carlyle Falls, Little Falls, Babbage Falls and Goblers Glen. Continue on via the Two Creeks Track to Middle Harbour, or a shorter walk, enter or exit the track via an accessway at the back of the children's playground on Carlyle Road. The falls beyond the bridge across Moores Creek near Carlyle Road is unusual in that the water does not flow over the rocky ledge of the falls but through it, the falls themselves being inside a rock ledge.
UBD Map 175 Ref M 13
Lady Bay Beach
Sydney's most famous nudist beach has its own waterfall, a gentle cascade of water that tumbles from the clifftop down the sheer sandstone wall of the cove before running into the harbour. It can be quite spectacular after heavy rains. At other times it is little more than a trickle dripping from the vines which hang down the cliff face. UBD Map 218 Ref Q 10
Falls Creek
There are many small waterfalls and rapids on the creeks of Sydney's upper north shore and this is one of the more well known and accessible of them. Located in St. Johns Bush, it is a short, easy walk from the lower end of St Johns Ave. beyond the Gordon Golf Course. A bridge crosses the creek above the falls though the view of the falls there says is partly obscured by bush. A walking path leads to the falls, which has two drops of approx. 3 metres each. The walking path joins with the Blackbutt Track, a fire trail which leads to Blackbutt Reserve through which flows Blackbutt Creek.
Gogong Creek Rapids
Gogong Creek, which passes through the southern suburb of Gymea Bay, flows over a series of its races on its journey to Port Hacking. A walking path gives access to the reserve which surrounds the watercourse. Join the creek either at the end of Peters Place, Gymea Bay, or Valley Way off Bunarba Road, Gymea Bay.
Upper Gledhill Falls
These falls on McCarrs Creek are located on one of the most picturesque drives in the Sydney metro area. McCarrs Creek Road commences in Terrey Hills off Mona Vale Road and winds its way through a series of forests and a rainforest gully before reaching the yachts and waterside homes of McCarrs Creek and Church Point. The falls are near the National Park's south-eastern entrance off McCarrs Creek Road below the first bridge across the creek when approached from Terrey Hills. The valley of the gorge in which the water cascades offers the best view of the falls and the pool, however there is no path down so great care must be taken if attempting a descent into the gorge.
UBD Map 117 Ref F 13
Flat Rock Creek Rapids
In the days before Sydney's lower north shore had become part of suburbia, the runoff from the hillsides of Willoughby, Northbridge, Narremburn and Crows Nest drained into Flat Rock Creek. The creek flowed over the cascades and down through the steep valley now occupied by Munro Park and Tunks Park before emptying into Long Bay and Middle Harbour. The parks, which were created by the filling in of the middle section of the valley in the 1920s, contain a number of playing fields. A walk up the valley to the falls is a rewarding experience. The view upwards as you pass under the Northbridge Suspension Bridge is not something one sees every day. Beyond the bridge is the rock quarry from which stone for the bridge piers was hewn and brought to the construction site by barge. The path then wanders through the serene natural bushland of the upper valley. After the path crosses the creek via stepping stones, the valley narrows and becomes a gorge. Here the creek passes over a series of picturesque cascades. Two steep paths lead from the cascades to Flat Rock Gully Reserve and Bicentennial Reserve on Small Street, Willoughby. Dawson's Track passes the ruins of the stone house of a hermit Fatty Dawson.
UBD Map 22 Ref P 5
Fisher Bay Falls
When travelling on the Spit to Manly Walking Path, the first bay reached after leaving The Spit is Fisher Bay. Two small creeks flow into the bay after rain, the most visible one is a small stream of water which cascades down the cliff face alongside the walking path before flowing across the sandy beach into the bay. Due to the level of urban development in the surrounding area, the falls no longer flow all year round. The photographs shown were taken on a day following a day of heavy rain.
Coopers Park Creek
Coopers Park is a 15 hectare reserve which comprises of picnic, recreation and sporting facilities below one of the largest remaining areas of natural bushland in the Eastern Suburbs. The creek running though the Park, which flows over waterfalls and cascades, is largely natural and follows the line of a volcanic dyke of the Jurassic age. The hillsides support a wide variety of native trees and shrubs. The creek and the upper valley's tree ferns and forest environment create a feeling of tranquillity in this relatively untouched natural oasis. The delightful, well maintained walking trails have rest stops at convenient locations.
UBD Map 257 Ref G 1
Castle Rock Beach
Castle Rock Beach at Balgowlah Heights is one of a number of wonderful, isolated little beaches scattered around the shores of Sydney Harbour that very few people know about. Behind this little ribbon of beach is a small waterfall which pours a stream of fresh water onto the sand at the foot of the rocky hillside. Access to the beach is by a path (marked on street directories as Weekes Road) from Cutler Road and the end of Ogilvie Street or from the Manly to Clontarf harbourside walking path which passes above the beach. Parking in Ogilvie Street is limited. UBD Map 197 Ref h 16
Sugarloaf Creek Falls
Butt Park, named after Francis Walter Butt, a Willoughby resident and Alderman 1937-41, is located on Eastern Valley Way. It is through this small reserve that Sugarloaf Creek passes over a natural rock ledge in a waterfall, and then under Eastern Valley Way and through a rainforest before entering Crag Cove. The waterfall and pool into which it pours is a natural feature, however the creek prior and after the falls and pond has been channelled underground.
UBD Map 196 Ref D 10.
Downstream from Eastern Valley Way, the creek flows over another much larger falls. Here, the water cascades into a 15 metre high semi-circular rock overhang into a pool, and then passes over and around giant boulders on its way to Crag Cove, Sugarloaf Bay and on to Middle Harbour. This extremely picturesque falls is accessed by a rough walking track from a small reserve alongside 71 Sunnyside Crescent, Castlecrag.
UBD Map 196 Ref F 11.
Berry Creek Cascades
The walking track from Smoothey Park through Milray Reserve to Berry Island passes through one of a number of delightful pockets of natural bushland on Sydney Harbour's Lower North Shore. It's easy to forget how close you are to the heart of the Sydney and North Sydney business districts walking along the track which follows Berrys Creek to the harbour foreshore. The cascades close to the Wollstonecraft Railway Station and the natural vegetation of the valley is not what you would expect to hear and see so close to the centre of Sydney. It is only the sight of the oil tanks of Berrys Bay when they come into view that jolts one back to the reality of how close this natural oasis is to the city that surrounds it.
UBD Map 6 Ref J 1
Collins Beach
One of Sydney's prettiest and least visited beaches, Collins Beach is at the head of Spring Cove near Manly. The beach's name honours Capt. David Collins, Judge Advocate with the First Fleet who was present during the incident. As well as having historic connections, the beach features a small waterfall at its head. It is fed by a creek that drains most of the runoff from the high ground of North Head into Spring Cove. Best viewed after rain, as it reduces to a trickle at other times. Access to the beach is by boat or on foot only from Collins Beach Road. UBD Map 198 Ref D 14
Devlins Creek Rapids
Devlins Creek is one of the main tributaries of the Lane Cove River on Sydney's picturesque north shore. They flow through Lane Cove National Park, 430 ha of parkland. Walking trails alongside the Lane Cove River and Scout, Devlins and Terrys Creeks follow these watercourses through a large tract of natural bushland towards the Lane Cove National Park and the Lane Cove Valley Walk which is part of the Great North Walk. A walking track commencing from the end of Britannia Street, Pennant Hills follows Devlins Creek, fording the creek at various locations.
Buckham Falls
Shrimptons Creek flows over Buckham Falls (also known as Blaxland's Falls) between Talavera Road and the Lane Cove River. Located in a narrow and generally un-visited section of Lane Cove National Park, it can be accessed via a rough track which commences at the end of Christie Road, and then doubles back towards Shrimptons Creek when it reaches the river.