Wollomombi Gorge Pt 1

Wollomombi gorge was my first solo walk in NSW. I was quite anxious to head out on my own as most people advise against it due to the 'higher risk'. Having recently moved to Armidale I didn't have my trusty bushwalking partner (whose nickname is Bushy!) So anxiety and worries aside, I set out to Wollomombi gorge. Being only a half an hour drive from home and the second highest waterfall in Australia (424m) it promised to be a good day’s walk.

Wollomombi falls close up, NSW.

I left around lunch time and figured I’d do the Chandler walk (1km return) then if I had time go across to the other side and do the Wollomombi walk (4km return). 

So of I head on a very busy day with a ton of people in the barbecue area staring at me as I walked along by myself. The first lookout was only a short distance and not very exciting, so I continued to the second lookout which offered much better views of both Wollomombi falls and Chandler falls. Around this area I noticed a few lyrebirds but couldn't get any pictures of them this time.

View of Wollomombi falls with Chandler falls far right.

 I decided to continue down to Checks lookout, which was fine going down but coming back up was quite the struggle, particularly after I was just recovering from a bout of pneumonia.

The walk to Checks lookout was pleasant, if a little strenuous on the way back up, although it didn't offer much more in views of the falls. 

View near Checks lookout of Wollomombi gorge and the falls in the distance.

There used to be an extension of the track which made its way down to the river, but due to flooding and erosion the track was closed. As I was walking solo I wasn't game enough to check out the damage that was done.

Upon heading back to the picnic area I felt unsatisfied with the length of my walk. So I decided to do the Wollomombi walk around the rim of the gorge through to Chandler falls.

It was a nice walk, there were a few families swimming at the top of the Wollomombi river. I saw a female scarlet robin and was successful in getting a decent photo for the first time ever!

Female scarlet robin at Wollomombi gorge, NSW.

I walked on to Chandler falls lookout and watched the flow of water coming out of it..... it wasn't that exciting! Heading back I stopped at the lookout gazing across the valley and waaaay over the other side I saw eagles circling. There were a few people standing directly below getting some awesome photos, I was jealous!  So I decided to run around and take the chance that the eagles would still be there and I'd get some shots of them. Yeah well epic fail! I ran and fast walked about 2kms around to the lookout to find they'd disappeared. So I waited and waited, it started getting dark by this stage and I was tired so I called it a day. No close up eagle pictures for me this time.

This is the best shot I could get of the eagles!

Wollomombi gorge is a nice easy walk and if you don't necessarily want to go far this is a great spot. The waterfall lookout is only a short walk from the car park. It would have been an awesome walk if the track down to the river wasn't washed away. Checks lookout is worth it if you want to go a little further but don't expect anything overly exciting.