Silverband Falls

Grampians National Park (Gariwerd) / Bellfield / Halls Gap, Victoria, Australia

About Silverband Falls

For Subscribers Only. See Membership Options.

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Silverband Falls was a waterfall that Julie and I didn’t seriously consider visiting given the drought that had a major impact on our waterfalling during our November 2006 trip.

However, that changed when we paid a visit to the Halls Gap Visitor Centre.

Silverband_Falls_17_040_11142017 - Silverband Falls
Silverband Falls

A lady working there told us that it was flowing despite the drought, and that we ought to check out an unusual waterfall aspect about it.

Silverband Falls – Quirky and Reliable

What was so unusual about the Silverband Falls was that most waterfalls tended to splash into a plunge pool at its base before the watercourse would continue further downstream.

But with this waterfall, it didn’t have a plunge pool as its flow practically disappeared into the ground.

Its creek wouldn’t re-emerge until quite a bit further downstream.

Grampians_140_11132006 - Julie looking to see where Dairy Creek went at the base of Silverband Falls
Julie looking to see where Dairy Creek went at the base of Silverband Falls

In any case, we realized that this was one of the more reliably flowing waterfalls in the Grampians.

So it would be worth a visit even if the area hadn’t seen recent heavy rainfall (a principle we applied on our second visit to this waterfall in November 2017).

Given that Silverband Falls was in a low flow state during our first visit, we could immediately see this unusual property of Dairy Creek disappearing underground.

However, under higher flow, this quirk might not be as apparent since the flow of the creek might exceed the underground tunnel through which the falls would typically disappear.

Grampians_107_11132006 - Portrait view of Silverband Falls with no creek or plunge pool around it as seen in November 2006
Portrait view of Silverband Falls with no creek or plunge pool around it as seen in November 2006

The re-emergence of Dairy Creek was said to be about 50m further downstream of the falls.

Nevertheless, we tend to think of Silverband Falls as another one of the resilient waterfalls worth checking out if the last heavy rainfall hadn’t occurred in over a week or two or longer.

Hiking to Silverband Falls

Julie and I embarked on a 1.6km return walk from the car park (see directions below) to reach this waterfall.

The walk was mostly flat and somewhat exposed to the sun through terrain that appeared to have seen a bushfire or two.

Silverband_Falls_17_006_11142017 - Julie starting on the track to Silverband Falls
Julie starting on the track to Silverband Falls

I’d imagine those bushfires were probably the very reason why the track was so exposed to the sun in the first place (especially on our first visit but not as much on our second visit).

In fact, we learned that devastating wildfires had previously closed access to the falls back in January 2006 and again shortly after the bushfires in 2014.

Anyways, along the track on our first visit, we saw some deer (or reindeer according to some folks we saw while on the trail), which seemed to be an unusual sight to us.

Typically, we always thought kangaroos were kind of analogous to deer in Australia.

Grampians_151_11132006 - Deer spotted along the Silverband Falls Trail during our November 2006 visit
Deer spotted along the Silverband Falls Trail during our November 2006 visit

We never knew they had deer here as well.

The track dead-ended at the falls where the cliffs responsible for the 20m drop of the falls prevented any further progress.

The track allowed us to get right up to the very base of the Silverband Falls, where we could examine the disappearing Dairy Creek more closely.

On our second visit, there was a little more water on the creek so there was some overflow above the surface though nowhere near the volume seen going over the falls.

Silverband_Falls_17_058_11142017 - More angled look at the Silverband Falls still mostly disappearing into the rubble at its base during our rainy November 2017 visit
More angled look at the Silverband Falls still mostly disappearing into the rubble at its base during our rainy November 2017 visit

In any case, it took us just under an hour to complete the round trip out-and-back hike, including all the picture-taking along the way.

Authorities

Silverband Falls resides in the Grampians National Park near Halls Gap, Victoria. It is administered by Parks Victoria. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: grampians, wannon division, northern grampians, halls gap, stawell, gariwerd, ararat, ballarat, horsham, victoria, australia, waterfall, wartook, balconies, no plunge pool, natural bridge, bellfield, silverband, dairy creek



Visitor Comments:

Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...

Silverband Falls Rock Pool? February 18, 2013 3:43 am by Captain - We have been told that Silverband Falls goes into a rock pool now. Is this true? ...Read More

Share your thoughts about what you've read on this page

You must be logged in to submit content. Refresh this page after you have logged in.

Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:

If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...

No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall


Have you been to a waterfall? Submit a write-up/review and share your experiences or impressions

Review A Waterfall

Nearest Waterfalls

The Waterfaller Newsletter

The Waterfaller Newsletter is where we curate the wealth of information on the World of Waterfalls website and deliver it to you in bite-sized chunks in your email inbox. You'll also get exclusive content like...

  • Waterfall Wednesdays
  • Insider Tips
  • User-submitted Waterfall Write-up of the Month
  • and the latest news and updates both within the website as well as around the wonderful world of waterfalls


How To Build A Profitable Travel Blog In 4 Steps

Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.