I’m very fortunate to have the Royal National Park within 15
minutes of my house, but last Monday I decided to take the day off work and
venture a bit further south to Morton National Park. I drove about an hour and
a half down the Hume Highway (which leads to Canberra and eventually Melbourne)
to the tiny town of Bundanoon in the Southern Highlands. In April they have a
Highland fling to celebrate the Scottish heritage of the town, but I found it
to be very quiet this time of year. Bundanoon reminds me a bit of Vashon Island;
there are no chain stores but plenty of antique/tchotchke shops, a cafe that hires bicycles by
the hour, a Chinese restaurant, and a bottle shop called the “Pioneer Flask”,
which boasts the only ATM in town. There is a train station that links
Bundanoon to Sydney, with service once every hour.
This
freight train was flying through the town, probably on its way to Melbourne.
The
entrance to the national park is just outside of town, and as I parked I
spotted two kangaroos hanging out in the picnic area. I found the trail head and
began to walk to my final destination: Fairy Bower Falls.
The
foliage was thick and green, and at times there were
clearings where I could see for miles out into the valley. During my hike I heard
a rustling sound to the left, and looked over to see a wombat ten feet away, chewing something and looking at me very casually. I was too startled to even
take a photo, which I realize makes me sound a bit timid, but if you can
picture a rat about the size of a corgi you might understand why I was eager to
get away from it.
I
made my way down a steep incline to the top half of a small waterfall. To the
side of the falls I could see a mossy, damp staircase carved into the side of
the rocks - this must have been the old trail to the falls. Fortunately the
current trail is easy to negotiate.
I can
see why the place is named Fairy Bower. There are tiny gnats circling the
falls, and it’s not difficult to picture them as tiny fairies. Hopefully
I can make it down to the park again soon - it feels very remote, but it’s a
quick drive from home and definitely worth the trip.
