Ebor Falls

Even better than I remembered, the Ebor Falls were a beautiful sight in the afternoon sunlight. Recent rains meant a good water flow but not of flood proportions. The upper falls have two distinct drops over columned basalt rock.

 The Ebor Falls are pleasantly easy to view with wheelchair friendly access from a picnic area just off the Waterfall Way. It takes less than an hour to drive here directly from Armidale, however we had taken a stunningly scenic route with detours to Hillgrove, Wollomombi Falls and Point Lookout/Eagles Nest.

This is just the top half of the upper falls as the Guy Fawkes River begins to descend. I love the touch of rainbow colours in the spray.

There is a gently sloping pathway to follow which soon reveals some eye-catching natural rocks....

and another waterfall! These are the lower Ebor Falls, with the double upper falls in the background. If only I could make the trees on the righthand slope invisible we would be able to see all three sections of the falls at once.

Wandering back up the path I kept stopping to admire the amazing rainbow spray of the lower falls.

I was so enthralled with the rainbow effects that I nearly missed this bright little fellow on the walking track which Miss E pointed out to me. My 'Insect of Australia' book identifies it as a Monistria Concinna, a slow-moving NSW alpine grasshopper. 

Miss E also directed my attention to this beauty standing tall in the grasses just off the track. I'd never seen a flower like it. Thanks to the internet I've been able to discover that it's a Dipodium Punctatum, commonly known a purple-spotted Australian ground orchid, or hyacinth orchid. 

This native orchid doesn't have any significant leaves and is classified as being terrestrial or saprophytic, obtaining its food from organic matter in the soil.

The land beyond the walking track is currently a beautiful display of golden Australian everlasting daisies in the late summer. So many wonderful scenes with very little walking required. We headed off with one more stop to make.....