I had previously accessed the beautiful Terrace Falls Reserve from Valley Road, via a short, steep fire trail. We tried to walk down this way once when Clare was young but the rough, rocky ground was too much for her, and after a nasty fall we had to turn back without ever reaching our destination. It’s such a shame as the walking tracks within the reserve are quite gentle and child-friendly but the poor access makes them rather difficult for little ones.
Today I decided to instead try the access from Lake Road, which turned out to be a longer, but much lovelier start to the walk. It also gave me the opportunity to visit Adams Lookout which is a nice, rocky outcrop with pleasant views out towards Bedford Creek.
It was a crisp morning, with our first heavy frost for the season. But by the time I got to Hazelbrook and started walking the sun had taken the chill out of the air and the light was reflecting beautifully from all the droplets of morning dew. These cobwebs were transformed into silvery strings of pearls, like fairy gossamer.
I enjoyed the way the early morning light accentuated colours and contrasts, and gave a warm glow to the bush. I’m not much of a morning person, but whenever I do manage to go for an early walk it is invariably worth the effort. The bush felt very peaceful but also transferred a sense of anticipation and excitement about the new day.
I felt a bit rushed this morning and didn’t pause too much for photos or feel like I had the time to properly explore. Instead I skipped my way down to the main fire trail, continued down to Bedford Pool and then around to Terrace Falls. The coachwood and sassafrass forest at the bottom of the gully was lit up beautifully by the morning sun and had quite a cathedral-like quality to it.
This area has a real other-worldliness, with it’s picturesque stepping stones beside mossy boulder-strewn creeks and delicate series of waterfalls. The light was too bright to get any decent waterfall photos but I was more interested today in the small details.
After one of the creek crossings I spotted this rotten old log which was sprouting a wonderful colony of bracket fungi. It looked so unusual, especially framed with a small waterfall in the background.
This reserve has a much-loved feel to it, and I suspect it has enjoyed a strong local management of the trails for a long time. I would love to know more about the history of the area, but for now it is only guesswork. There is some wonderful, quirky signage, and a few surviving plaques with botanical information for some of the notable trees along the track. There were also a lot of recently-cleared branches littering the side of the creek near Terrace Falls.
Pressed for time, I bypassed Victor Falls and instead walked up the fire trail, before completing the loop back to Lake Road.