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Protestors Falls is another tall, wispy waterfall in the lush Nightcap National Park near Lismore. Apparently, it was named after a logging protest in 1979. And after witnessing this lightly flowing waterfall (we visited in May 2008) plunge some 25-30m over what seems to be a basalt cliff, I guess I don't blame the protestors for wanting to protect it. Once we managed to reach the car park (see directions below; we really had to fight our GPS on this one), it was a bit tricky to find the trailhead. We ended up spending quite a bit of time fruitlessly trying to find the trailhead from the car park complex and picnic area. It turned out that the key was to park the car at the official car park (crossing a ford in the process), then walk back across that ford! Immediately on the other side of the ford, there's a signpost next to the trailhead just to the left. And from there, it was a pretty easy hour walk (each way) to Protestors Falls amidst a rather dark canopy of rainforest with interpretive signs along the way. During our visit, we were alone for most of the way until we saw one other party consisting of a mum and two kids when we were almost done with the walk. So I reckon if you want a quiet experience amidst nature, this place would probably fit the bill. Directions: We left from Byron Bay, got back onto the Pacific Hwy 1 heading south, and exited on Bangalow Road. Then, we followed Bangalow Road for around 14km approaching its junction with Eureka Road. We then proceeded another 2km along Bangalow Road before turning right onto James Gibson Road (before Clunes and near Lismore). Next, we followed James Gibson Rd before turning right onto Corndale Rd, and then turning left onto Hunters Hill Rd. We stayed on Hunters Hill Rd until we turned right onto Duncan Rd. We then followed Duncan Rd until hanging a left onto Dunoon Rd. Eventually, Dunoon junctions with The Channon Rd on the right, which we took. Once we got to The Channon, we turned right onto Terania Creek Road, and followed this road eventually to the end some 14km later. At the end, you'll be crossing a ford just before reaching the car park at the road's end.
I admit the latter half of the directions are a bit convoluted, butI believe there are brown signposts for Nightcap National Park, which should help immensely (for I didn't recall paying that much attention to road names either; the directions are based on tracing my GPS tracks on my Garmin City Navigator Australia software).
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The car park
Boardwalk path early on in the rainforest
Walking within the rainforest beyond the boardwalk section
Eventually the path follows alongside the creek
The lower section of Protestors Falls
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