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We luxuriated in a late morning.  The temperature had reached the 30s very quickly, and a north wind was strong enough to swirl leaves and small twigs off the gums.  Our destination was the Noojee Trestle Bridge, followed by  a walk to see the Toorongo Falls.

We drove through the timber villages of Powelltown and Noojee, only to discover that the trestle bridge is closed for an upgrade.  Oops!  Poor research on my part had missed this fact, though its temporary closure is not well advertised online.  Fortunately, Toorongo Falls was a short drive away.  The river valley is idyllic.  Others obviously agree, as the campground was well patronised, and we nabbed one of the last parking spots at the picnic ground.  This was the most people we’d seen anywhere all week.

Being contrary, Ian chose to walk the loop in the opposite direction to the signed circuit, so after climbing uphill beside the Toorongo River, our first waterfall was Ampitheatre Falls.  Someone has built a nifty viewing platform out over the river.

From here the track does a sharp turn, and crosses a spur.  The Toorongo Falls are on the Little Toorongo River (the two join up down near the picnic ground).  With the sounds of tumbling waters played in stereo from both falls, we made our way to the next viewpoint.  Toorongo Falls have quite a long drop (which we could see better from further down) and plenty of volume as they cascade over rocks and logs.  We enjoyed the cooling effect of the spray as we stood beside them. 

From here it was a pleasant meander back downhill, with further glimpses of the river through tree ferns, until we returned to the bottom.  The car park was much emptier; perhaps they’d gone home to watch the cricket (as we planned to do).

We slowed down for a look at Noojee on the return drive, but apart from the timber mill and a steam locomotive, there wasn’t much to entice us to stop.  We did pause in Powelltown, for a look at the first section of the Reid’s Tramway hike.  The sign said it was very steep and rough.  The trailhead starts from the recreation reserve, and drops gently downhill into a grassy glade.  The track leads invitingly to the creek, across a tiny bridge, then up a flight of wooden stairs.  We climbed the steps but couldn’t see the top.  The mid afternoon light was soft and glowing, highlighting patterns and shapes of treeferns and grasses.

Back at Three Bridges, a nice breeze was wafting across the rear deck.  The garden is a haven for birds; besides yesterday’s cockatoos and duck, today we’ve been visited by galahs, laughed at by kookaburras, and treated to the rare sight of a Superb Blue Wren.  Dragonflies land briefly on the railing.  We can hear far more species than we can see; the creek is alive with bird calls.

We rounded out the day with a walk to the end of the road.   Cos, you know … the light. It’s ALL about the light.

It’s going to be very hard to leave here tomorrow and return to suburbia. I wonder if they’d notice if we stayed for a few more days.  I can’t believe we’ve seen so many interesting but little known places, and so much variety, all within 2 hours of home.  We’ve done five completely different walks in the last week, all of them virtually on our doorstep.  We really should spend more time in our own backyard.