About Waratah Falls
Waratah Falls was the feature waterfall in the town of Waratah, which was built right above its brink in an area said to have one of the wettest and coldest climates in Tasmania.
So perhaps it shouldn’t have been so surprising to Julie and I that we saw the waterfall flowing as well as it did on both of our visits – once in late November 2006 and then in early December 2017.
During our visits, we also saw a relic of the Dudley Kenworthy waterwheel just upstream from the waterfall.
From an interpretive sign, we read that this was the site of first industrial use of hydroelectric power in Australia in 1883.
It followed after the town was renamed from Mount Bischoff to Waratah.
Power from the Waratah River was used to free up tin ore from its host rock while also incidentally providing street and building lighting in town.
We managed to experience the waterfall in two different ways.
Experiencing Waratah Falls from a lookout west of the Waratah River
The first and easiest way was from an overlook on Main Street west of the Waratah River, where we got the view you see pictured above.
From this vantage point, we were able to have a sweeping view of the waterfall plunging over a basalt face backed by the town itself perched atop the cliffs.
In each of our visits, we happened to see blooming wildflowers lining the foreground.
We also noticed that there was what appeared to be a track that descended to the bottom of the falls on the opposite cliff across the river.
Experiencing Waratah Falls from its base
The observation of there being a track going to the base of Waratah Falls led us to this second way we experienced this waterfall.
We were able to access the base of the waterfall after driving about 600m to the park by Annie Street then doing about a 400m walk.
Along the track, I took the signed spur path to the left after 130m or so (going away from what appeared to be some kind of power substation behind fencing further on).
Then, the gravel track descended amongst wildflowers and shrubs (some were carrying berries) before arriving at the rocky and misty bottom of the falls.
Keeping to the hydroelectric theme, I noticed a floodlight pole pointed right at the waterfall so I’d imagine that it would be floodlit at night.
After having my fill of the bottom of Waratah Falls, I then walked back up to the parked car.
During the ascent, I noticed a denuded mountain back across the river further downstream.
I’d imagine that scar in the landscape was Mt Bischoff along with the Mt Bischoff mine.
When I got back to the car, I had only spent about 20 minutes away from it.
Authorities
Waratah Falls resides in the town of Waratah, Tasmania. It is administered by the Waratah-Wynyard Council. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website or Facebook page.
Waratah Falls was right in the town of Waratah.
We got to town from Cradle Mountain by driving north on Cradle Mountain Rd to the Belvoir Rd (C132).
Turning left onto Belvoir Rd (C132), we then drove about 26km to the Murchison Hwy (A10).
Turning right onto Murchison Hwy (A10), we then drove north for a little over 16km to the Waratah Rd (B18) turnoff on the left (note that the B18 turnoff on the right led to Ridgley and Burnie).
After about 7km on Waratah Rd (B18), we entered the town of Waratah.
Once in the centre of town, we then left the B18 to continue going straight on Smith St for about 200m, where it intersected with Annie St.
For the option to walk to the base of Waratah Falls, we turned right on Annie St and found parking along the road next to the grassy area.
For the option to view the waterfall from the lookout, we continued driving on Smith St, which then became Main St after another 150m.
Keeping right at the intersections, we remained on Main St for another 250m before finding street parking near a park with a gazeebo facing the Waratah Falls.
Overall, this 54km drive took us about 40 minutes.
If we had followed the B18 from Burnie in the opposite direction (from the north), it would have been a 62km drive taking under an hour.
To provide you with some geographical context, Burnie was about 101km (under 90 minutes drive) north of Cradle Mountain, 46km (over 30 minutes drive) west of Devonport, 99km (over an hour drive) northwest of Deloraine, and 147km (over 90 minutes drive) west of Launceston.
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Left to right sweep of the falls from the viewing area
View from the base of the falls
Fixated on the falls
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