Carrington Falls

I continue with my series of Southern Highlands escarpment waterfalls, today reviewing the first of three within half an hour’s drive of each other. The easternmost of the three is Carrington Falls, my favourite of all the escarpment falls.

Carrington Falls is easily accessible, a couple of kilometres down a sealed road off Jamberoo Mountain Road, an alternative route from the Illawarra coast to Mittagong and Moss Vale. The road up from Kiama is spectacular, with great views of the coast and magnificent rainforest, worth the drive on its own.

The car park is only a few minutes’ walk from the falls, and at least one of the three lookouts is wheelchair accessible. The first lookout gives a front-on view, while the second (and better) lookout gives a near side-on view of the falls and a great view down the gorge below the falls. The third lookout offers more of the same.

To add to the experience it is possible to find one’s way to wonderful swimming holes above the falls, as the stream spreads out over the hard caprock.

As with almost all the escarpment waterfalls, it is impossible to access the base of the fall, so viewers miss the full impact.

An extra bonus is Nellies Glen, a lovely little freshet and swimming hole a few minutes’ walk north of the main waterfall.

A severe bushfire swept through the area in 2016, destroying many of the safety fences, and the waterfall was closed to the public for over a year. The precinct recently reopened, but you should check before travelling there. The website currently advises of partial closures and temporary disruptions.

Carrington Falls impressed me enough that it has ended up in my in-progress fantasy novel, Bitter Harvest, as a battle site. A visit to this waterfall offers a high quality experience all round.