Waterfall Way

Waterfall Way
Basic data
Operator:	Roads and Maritime Services
Start of the street:	Pacific Highway Raleigh ( NSW ) ( 30 ° 28 ′  S , 153 ° 0 ′  E )
End of street:	New England Highway Armidale ( NSW ) ( 30 ° 31 ′  S , 151 ° 40 ′  E )
Overall length:	165 km
States :	New South Wales
Dangar Falls near Dorrigo

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap

The Waterfall Way is a main road in the northeast of the Australian state of New South Wales . It connects the Pacific Highway in Raleigh with the New England Highway in Armidale . The road runs through one of the sehenswertesten landscapes of New South Wales and is considered the main tourist street of New South Wales and third largest in Australia (after Great Ocean Road and Great Alpine Road ) Seven national parks, three of which as a World Heritage classified and part of the Gondwana Rainforests are , lie on this route. In Dorrigo National Park you can find the waterfalls that gave the road its name. The Waterfall Way is also one of the few road links between the coast and the New South Wales hinterland and is therefore much more busy than you might think.

course

Newell Falls in Dorrigo National Park

The Waterfall Way branches off in Raleigh , approx. 25 km south of Coffs Harbor , west of the Pacific Highway (R1) and follows the south bank of the Bellinger River to Bellingen . After crossing the Bellinger River, the road turns northwest and climbs the rocky steps of the Great Dividing Range . It forms the southern border of the Dorrigo National Park and leads past the Newell waterfall and the Sherrard waterfall . Since the Waterfall Way only has a single lane at this point, there is no way to stop at the falls to view them in peace. The Newell waterfall, however, can be seen from a rest area directly below. At the height of the rock step (approx. 750 m above sea level) a small detour leads south to Griffith's Lookout , from where you have a good view of the Bellinger River National Park and the river valley.

A short distance further is the turn-off to the visitor center of the Dorrigo National Park. The world natural heritage is known for its footbridges through the treetops ( skywalk ) and its hiking trails. The remarkable and easy to reach Dangar Falls are located 2.4 km north of the center on the Bielsdown River . The road continues through Dorrigo and then through the pastureland of the Dorrigo Plateau to then cross the young Nymboida River . The Bicentennial National Trail runs a short distance along the road before it reaches Ebor . 9 km after turning onto Armidale Grafton Road , Waterfall Way reaches Ebor. This settlement is close to Guy Fawkes River National Park and the Ebor Falls . After Ebor, the Waterfall Way leads to a junction from which one can reach the Dutton Trout Farm and Point Lookout , about 10 km east of the road in New England National Park . A little further on, the Wollomombi waterfalls are about 1 km south of the road. From there you can also easily reach the 145,000 hectare Oxley Wild Rivers National Park . The Waterfall Way continues 3 miles through the historic Hillgrove mining settlement and past the observation decks of Bakers Creek Falls and Metz Gorge . There are other more hidden sights on the way to Armidale: Gara Gorge is 18 km southeast of Armidale on Castledoyle Road , which branches off the Waterfall Way east of Armidale.

Road conditions

The road is paved along its entire length, but relatively narrow, and has a 14 km long, very steep section. In recent years, thunderstorms and the resulting mudslides have washed away parts of the street. This applies above all to the ascent to the Great Dividing Range, so that only one lane is available at the waterfalls on the Dorrigo Range .

Web links

Commons : Waterfall Way  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Waterfall Way (English)

swell

• Tourism Armidale: Waterfall Way . Cook, Green & Moore Advertising, Coffs Harbor.
• Bellinger Magic
• Steve Parish: Australian Touring Atlas . Steve Parish Publishing. Archerfield QLD 2007. ISBN 978-1-74193-232-4 . P. 29

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bellinger Magic . Tourism Bellinger
2. ^ Waterfall Way, NSW . Australia for Everyone ( Memento of September 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ Bellingen Visitor Guide . Courier Sun (2008)
4. ↑ Yooroonah Tank Barrier, Waterfall Way, Ebor, NSW, Australia . Australian Heritage Database. Dept. of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Australian Government
5. ^ National Parks of the Waterfall Way . NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (2002)