It’s the anticipation of the spectacle that we love most about waterfalls. It’s that hissing roar that we hear before we see, as tonnes of water hurtle out over a rocky ledge to float seemingly slowly down through the air, only to thunder once more as the water hits the rocks below.
Sometimes, often in summer, the flow is reduced to a thin veil that showers down, the warm breeze picking up the spray and covering your face and arms with a cooling mist. A lot of the waterfalls in Victoria are known sacred sites to First Nations People and signs will direct you to act respectfully.
Others are set up for tourists with infrastructure like concrete paths and lights at night. Some of Victoria’s best falls are the ones that simply give you a special feeling – where there’s a beautiful path to get to them or they’re just near a great place to get a hearty lunch after traipsing down a slippery track.
Kings Falls – Mornington Peninsula
Crimson rosellas fly in broad arcs across the narrow gorge. Silver banksias and black wattles cloak the steep slopes. Rains over recent years have seen the normal trickle turn into a small torrent as water pours over dark boulders tumbling down into this small, tight and almost secret valley hidden in a crease of Arthurs Seat.
This is Kings Falls, a small but quite dramatic waterfall that offers a rare glimpse of what this part of the Mornington Peninsula would have looked like when it was home only to the Boon Wurrung/Bunurong people. They named the 330m peak nearby Wonga, but Edinburgh-born Lieutenant John Murray renamed it Arthurs Seat in 1802 after the volcanic outcrop in his hometown.
The beauty of this waterfall is the solitude it offers so close to Melbourne, convenient parking and easy access to a network of tracks. We recommend including a visit to the manicured Seawinds Gardens, the perfect place to throw out a post-hike picnic rug and enjoy the vast views across Port Phillip. Look out for the five ceramic sculptures set into a stone wall by the late William Rickett, a beautiful acknowledgement to the Boon Wurrung/Bunurong people who were the first mob to witness the arrival of Europeans in Port Phillip in 1803.
Loddon Falls – Daylesford
Back in the 1800s these falls, a short horse ride from Daylesford, were a popular picnic spot. On the banks of a broad pond under the shade of candlebark trees, locals and visitors would dip their toes into the cool clear waters of the Loddon River downstream of the 20m cascade of water gushing over hexagonal columns of 2.5 million year-old basalt.
Ancient rock formations at Loddon Falls. Photo: Jay Dillon
Today, access needs to be negotiated and the walk down the gorge is for the more adventurous and sure-footed walker. Look out for reptiles, swamp wallabies, local eastern grey kangaroos and the resident wedge-tailed eagles that soar on the summer thermal currents.
The Glenlyon General Store is only 1km away and offers outdoor casual dining, good burgers and an excellent gin list.
Agnes Falls – Toora
Out on Victoria’s perennially green coast near Toora on South Gippsland’s Prom Coast, the Agnes River plunges 59m over a rock ledge to form Agnes Falls.
The picturesque Agnes Falls. Photo: Nicky Cawood
The fall is not sheer; instead the water cascades over boulders, creating a roaring spectacle, particularly after heavy rain. The river is surrounded by a ribbon of remnant bush, where fantails dart and play, flying up to catch termites on the wing. Kookaburras, meanwhile, sit in the towering blue gums, watching for signs of prey. This is a beautiful place with a picnic area and toilets near the carpark from which the falls are only a 200m walk.
Nearby is the historic town of Toora with a pub, cafe and access to the Great Southern Rail Trail.
Den of Nargun – Mitchell River National Park
Mitchell River National Park contains some of Victoria’s most beautiful and intriguing landscapes. At the Den of Nargun, the Mitchell River cuts a deep gorge through the hard rock, creating dramatic escarpments.
Down by the confluence of Woolshed Creek and the Mitchell River, there is a clear pool of water surrounded by callistemon trees, some with massive, gnarled trunks, that must be hundreds of years old. Upstream is the eerily beautiful Den of Nargun, a site sacred to Gunai/Kurnai women, where the Woolshed Creek has created a waterfall, cave and rockpool. Even small inclusions of local First Nations culture into a short visit makes it more meaningful for us (non-Indigenous) visitors and respectful to the traditional owners. The walk is 5km return and quite steep in places, but the scenery is dramatically beautiful.
Nearby in the town of Lindenow is a good Irish pub and The Long Paddock, a cafe in an old bakery offering classic country meals cooked by Michelin star chefs. Great corned beef and excellent tarts.
Wannon Falls – Cavendish
This is river red gum country. Beautiful, rich grazing farmland, with the spectacular ancient Grampians/Gariwerd mountains to the north and the dormant cones of volcanoes to the south. Just south of Cavendish the Wannon River drops a dramatic 30m over a half-moon shelf of volcanic rock into a broad pool of water. There is more flow in winter and in summer the flow can reduce to a thin sheet. The Gunditjmara people have a deep cultural connection to this site. Colonial-era artist Thomas Clark painted the falls both from a distance and inside the falls in the 1860s and his paintings are in the National Gallery of Victoria.
Not far away is the Bunyip Hotel at Cavendish, where ex-MoVida chef James Campbell cooks exceptionally good food from local produce.
This is an edited extract from Undiscovered Victoria from the team at One Hour Out, Hardie Grant Explore, $45, released on November 1.