#49 - Fergusson Falls, Mersey River, Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair National Park, Tasmania
Probably my favourite of the the three waterfalls in this area, the two being D'Alton and Harnett Falls.
To get from Harnett Falls to Fergusson Falls requires you to make your way back up to the Overland Track and head a further half hour along the Overland Track until another junction is reached, this side track is then similarly followed downhill but is shorter than that for Harnett Falls, after 10 minutes a nice set of waterfalls is seen on th left, cascade after cascade dropping down the valley, but alas these aren’t even the main falls!!
D’Alton and Fergusson Falls are a few more minutes away yet. The track soon splits left to D’Alton Falls or right to Fergusson Falls.
At Fergusson Falls you can walk right up next to falls about halfway up where a small cliff provides a natural viewing platform, and it’s quite amazing standing so close to such a powerful force, you certainly wouldn’t want to slip with this amount of water coming over the falls.
Fergusson Falls plumets over the edge in one foul swoop, unbroken until it hits the bottom where the power of the water is amazing, the force of the spray can be seen in this photo where it hits the small cliff and is driven vertically up and over.
Backtracking a little, a way down onto the rock sticking out over the stream where this photo was taken can be reached, although the way back up is a little harder and the footholds a little loose.
Behind me the river is forced into a 5m wide channel carved through the rock over the ages by the river, creating a giant churing snake of whitewater until it reaches less constriicted ground further downstream.
Semi-Finalist - Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011
AustraliaTasmaniaCentral HighlandsCradle Mountain Lake Saint Clair National ParkMersey RiverOverland TrackMichael Gay PhotographyNatureLandscapeWildernessBushwalkingWaterfallFergusson FallsMistStream