Toorongo Falls and Amphitheatre Falls

Gippsland / Noojee, Victoria, Australia

About Toorongo Falls and Amphitheatre Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Toorongo Falls was an impressively tall waterfall (I’m guessing at least 30m tall) with reliable flow on the Little Toorongo River.

The smaller Amphitheatre Falls, on the adjacent Toorongo river, was a bonus waterfall to the Toorongo Falls.

Toorongo_Falls_17_032_11222017 - Toorongo Falls
Toorongo Falls

The reliable flow of both falls could be attributed to the tendency of the Great Dividing Range (the dominant mountain range of northeastern Victoria) to attract rain.

The observation of an abundance of ferns further indicated that I was indeed in a rainforest.

In fact, the Great Dividing Range was also responsible for another reliable waterfall near Marysville further to the west at Steavenson Falls.

Both the Toorongo and Little Toorongo Rivers fed the Latrobe River, which itself flowed through Latrobe Valley in the heart of Gippsland.

Toorongo_Falls_045_11112006 - Amphitheatre Falls
Amphitheatre Falls

The Latrobe River eventually fed the Gippsland Lakes further to the south.

Resilient in the face of drought

In my experiences at these waterfalls, I was treated to such lush green fern-filled scenery that it made me momentarily forget that the area was undergoing a drought in each of my visits here.

In the case of my first visit here in November 2006, it was in the midst of Australia’s worst drought in its recorded history to date that lasted most of that decade.

On my second visit in November 2017, the entire eastern Victoria region suffered through an abnormally dry Winter and Spring.

Toorongo_Falls_018_11112006 - Toorongo Falls as seen from our first visit back in November 2006
Toorongo Falls as seen from our first visit back in November 2006

Indeed, the rainforest scenery here contrasted mightily to the everpresence of brown in almost every other place this side of Victoria that we had visited.

Hiking to Toorongo Falls

To experience the Toorongo Falls, I had the option of doing a 1.2km out-and-back walk or doing a longer 2.2km loop walk that included the nearby Amphitheatre Falls (or Amphitheater Falls in American English).

The loop part of the track began shortly after the footbridge over the Toorongo River.

Each time I’ve visited this place, I’ve done the longer loop walk in an anticlockwise manner.

Toorongo_Falls_17_025_11222017 - The track climbing up towards the Toorongo Falls as I took the loop track in an anticlockwise direction
The track climbing up towards the Toorongo Falls as I took the loop track in an anticlockwise direction

This allowed me to first reach the Toorongo Falls after a moderate uphill climb to its viewing deck.

While I was able to see parts of the Toorongo Falls on the climb up, it was the viewing deck allowed me to experience the main drop of Toorongo Falls.

That said, it was clear that there were hidden tiers further upstream as well as cascading sections further downstream from my vantage point.

So it was another case where pictures really didn’t do this falls justice.

Hiking to Amphitheatre Falls from Toorongo Falls

Toorongo_Falls_17_042_11222017 - Looking back from the Toorongo Falls lookout deck towards the continuation of the loop track towards the Amphitheatre Falls
Looking back from the Toorongo Falls lookout deck towards the continuation of the loop track towards the Amphitheatre Falls

After having my fill of the Toorongo Falls, I then continued another 600m as the track made a less steep climb then traverse from the Little Toorongo River drainage to the main Toorongo River drainage.

After the track made a descending bend to the left, I then encountered the lookout for the Amphitheatre Falls perched right above the middle of the river.

Amphitheatre Falls was probably on the order of 5m.

It fell where the Toorongo River shot through a chute in the underlying bedrock before meandering further downstream and joining the Little Toorongo River near the car park.

Toorongo_Falls_038_11112006 - Context of the lookout deck and the Amphitheatre Falls
Context of the lookout deck and the Amphitheatre Falls

The remainder of the track was predominantly downhill for the last 800m or so.

Overall, in each of my visits, I spent about an hour away from the car, which was much shorter than the estimated 90 minutes that the signs had indicated.

Authorities

Toorongo Falls resides in the Toorongo Falls Reserve near Noojee, Victoria. It is administered by Baw Baw Shire Council. 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: gippsland, noojee, amphitheatre falls, toorongo, victoria, australia, waterfall, baw baw, melbourne, toorongo river, little toorongo river



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Toorongo Falls – April 2011 April 12, 2011 10:42 pm by Sean Farrow - On Sunday the 10th of April 2011, I packed up the photo gear into the car and made the trek to Noojee to photograph these iconic falls, taking in the surrounding landscape and the Noojee trestle bridge and other waterways also. I was not dissapointed. The river was in full flow. Normally I'd wade in… ...Read More
Amphitheatre Falls – April 2011 April 12, 2011 10:21 pm by Sean Farrow - I recently, on the spur of the moment, packed up the car one morning with my photo gear and hit the road to Noojee and surrounding areas with the intention of photographing Toorongo and Amphitheatre falls and the Toorongo river. After recent rains, I was not dissapointed. Normally I'd wade into the flow to get… ...Read More
Toorongo Falls December 10, 2010 3:33 am by Angela - Thank you Johnny & Julie for such a beautiful website!! Here are some pics of the waterfall as it was on 21 November 2010. My partner and I visited these falls on Sunday 21 November 2010 (last weekend), and they were magnificent. The writer is correct that the drought had an impact in the photos… ...Read More

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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.
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