Fitzroy Falls, in the Southern Highlands of NSW, is an 81 metre waterfall flowing down a sandstone escarpment into the valley below. It has only been know to dry up once in living memory, so odds are it will be flowing for your visit. The picturesque drive there comes close to surpassing the beauty of the falls.
Quick Info
Location: Morton National Park, Nowra Road, Fitzroy Falls NSW 2577
Walking Distance: 300m to 7km
Elevation: Negligible to the East and West lookouts, lots of stairs beyond the lookouts along the East Rim and West Rim tracks
Time: 10 minutes to 3 hours
Difficulty: Easy – wheelchair and pram friendly to the East and West lookouts. Moderate – East Rim and West Rim tracks
Costs/Permit: Free entry to the Falls, Small fee for parking. The park has coin-operated pay and display machines, $4 per vehicle as at March 2017
Opening Times: 9am–5pm daily from 27 April to 26 August, 9am–5.30pm daily from 27 August to 26 April, Closed Christmas Day
Facilities: Picnic tables and BBQs, award winning Fitzroy Falls Visitor Information Centre, toilets accessed through the Info centre
What to take: Insect repellent, binoculars, camera with a zoom lens, picnic, hat, water
Map:
The drive to the falls had the whole family ooohing and ahhhing – so glad we left the ipads at home! We were dazzled by the manicured gardens and hedges of the sprawling properties we passed on the hour drive to Fitzroy Falls. It was common for properties to have 4m high front hedges that were over 100m long. The longest we saw was over 500m. As residents of Brisbane my kids had never seen anything like it, and they were duly impressed.
Once we arrived at the falls and paid for our parking, we went through the Fitzroy Falls Visitor Information Centre to access the tracks to the falls. The initial walk to the lookouts is very family friendly, prams and wheelchairs will have no difficulty. Views of the top of the falls can seen from both the East and West tracks. Beyond the lookout spots, the tracks continue for the more adventurous bush walkers with kilometres of undulating terrain – and lots of stairs!
Binoculars or a zoom lens on your camera will help you view the beauty found at the base of the falls. The East Rim and Wildflower tracks are a 6.7km return track suggested to take 2-3 hours. The West Rim track is a 3.5km return journey, expected to take 1.5-2.5 hours. A moderate level of fitness is required for these tracks. As always, getting the family out in nature is great way to create lasting family memories.