Galliebarinda Falls - Otway NP - VIC

Walk:  Galliebarinda Falls

Distance/Rated Duration/Type:  Off track Hike 7km / 2 Hr / Return

Map:

Terrain/Rating:  Easy undulating walk down along 4wd track then, immediately after passing creek crossing head left along river bank to the falls. Easy walk.

Start / Finish Time:  1:00pm / 3:00pm

Start / Finish Location:  Curtis Rd off Mt. Sabine Rd.

Trip Summary:
Park at the gate unless you have a capable 4wd as Curtis Rd can be a rutted muddy mess.
Walk for about 3km along the track then after a few sharp corners your will cross thru Cumberland River (at the time nothing more than a creek).
On the opposite side of Cumberland River head left along its bank for 15 or so minutes before reaching the falls.
Retrace your steps to return.

How to get there:
From Lorne drive up Erskine Falls Rd to the end. Turn left along Mt Sabines Rd for 20 minutes until you reach Curtis Rd on your left, (sharp hairpin, easily missed).
No toilets here at all, closest toilets are probably at Erskine Falls.

Trip Detail:
This trip is to another one of the lesser known falls in the Otway National Park. The track is very easy to follow, mostly along the Curtis Track dirt road and then along the banks of the Cumberland River.
There is a small clearing on Curtis Track next to Cumberland River which could be camped at overnight (hiking tent size), although you are right next to the track.    (Click on images to enlarge)

Curtis Rd & Mt Sabine Rd.

You could drive 5-10 minutes down the road if conditions allow, which would take most of the time out of the hike. Otherwise walk along the 4wd track for about 45 mins.

We will pass the Alambee Falls hike clearing on the right when Curtis Rd starts to divert left. 

Track clearing on Curtis Rd.

Continue on for a few corners and you will reach Cumberland River, which during this hike was nothing more than a creek crossing.

As mentioned there is a small clearing here that you could camp at.

  

The track to the falls is on the far side, heading left.  The walk to the track travels along the river bank for about 15 minutes before reaching Galliebarinda Falls.  According to the map this track continues on to other falls.  I couldn't see an obvious track at the time but didn't really spend much time to look.

Once finished, retrace your steps back to Mt Sabine Rd.  

As seen on the map there are a number of other waterfalls in this area which could be done with this walk.

Some tracks are not obvious from driving by, so an accurate topo map is recommended.

Staircase & Allambee Beek Falls - Otway NP - VIC

Walk:
Staircase and Allambee Beek Falls

Allambee Beek Falls

Distance/Rated Duration/Type:
Off track Hike 7km / 2-3 Hr / Return

Map:

Terrain/Rating:
Easy undulating walk along 4wd track then off track walk down to first falls, along creek valley to 2nd falls then back up to 4wd track.
This hike has a mix of the usual otway bushland and lush fern rainforest along the river valley.
An Easy to  Medium walk requiring some navigational skills.

Start / Finish Time:
9:00am / 12:00pm

Start / Finish Location:
Intersection of Curtis Rd and Mt. Sabine Rd.

Trip Summary: 
Curtis Rd I believe is a seasonally closed road and can also be a rutted muddy mess about 1km in.
If you start from the intersection/gate, you will need to walk for about 2km along Curtis Rd then the divert right into the bush. There are pink ribbons marking the way through the forest.
The walk is a triangle, falls 1, scale the creek to falls 2, then back to the track.

How to get there:
From Lorne drive up Erskine Falls Rd to the end. Turn left along Mt Sabines Rd for 20 minutes until you get to Curtis Rd on the left, (sharp hairpin, easily missed).  There are No toilets here.

Trip Detail:
This trip is to two of the lesser known falls in the Otway National Park. They are both off track so you should take a detailed topo map and have some navigation skills be it by either compass or GPS to find the falls.
As mentioned Curtis Rd can be unsuitable for a non-4WD, so I started this walk from Mt Sabine Rd.
Please note this walk could be quite dangerous if there has been recent rainfall.  This hike was done with very little prior rainfall, so access was quite easy.
(Click on images to enlarge)

Curtis Rd & Mt Sabine Rd.

Whether you drive or walk, you need to stop where Curtis Rd takes a 90 degree left turn.

So either a 2 minute drive...

Curtis Rd area to park.

or walk along the 4wd track for about 30 mins.

Curtis Rd.

We reach a small non-descript clearing on the right where Curtis Rd diverts 90 degrees left.

This is where we head off into the forest.

Track clearing on Curtis Rd.

 There are 3 "tracks" in here, one heads towards Black Velvet Falls, one goes to Allambee Beek Falls and the track we take is the one that goes to Staircase Falls. You'll notice trees marked with pink tape once you walk into the forest. To go to Staircase Falls we take the right most track, which is in a SSW to SW direction.

Staircase Falls track.

The direction we take is pretty well marked with trees tagged with pink and yellow tape usually within view of each other.  You'll pretty much make your own path as it's likely to be overgrown.

After about 20 minutes of steadily heading down into the bush you'll hear the waterfall and reach a fern lined creek.  If you've come down in the right area the waterfall should sound to your right.

Staircase Falls creek track.

Following the pink ribbons it's a matter of making your own way down onto the creek bed.

Head right along the creek bank for a few minutes to reach Staircase Falls. 
The Falls are situated in a nice small canyon surrounded by tree ferns.

Staircase Falls.

 Even though its the end of the summer season here, there was a bit of water coming down the falls.

  

Staircase Falls.

 After the falls we turn back along the creek bypassing our entry track and within 5 mins cross over Cumberland River to the other river bank. 

These surrounding areas are basically the source of the Cumberland River.

Cumberland River.

 The track then climbs slightly uphill parallel to the river for a few minutes and T intersections with Ricketts Track (this should appear on the right and leads up to Wye River Rd).

We turn left and head back downhill to Cumberland River. 

Track to Allambee Beek Falls.

 Getting closer to the river the track diverts left along the river bank before reaching Allambee Beek Falls.

Allambee Beek Falls.

 Theres more space here than Staircase Falls with some boulders to take a rest on/food break next to the falls.

We then head further along Cumberland River for 5 minutes, cross over and then look for an exit point left of the river to head back up to Curtis Rd.  There may be pink ribbon markers here to follow, but if you head left uphill and stay straight sooner or later you will reach Curtis Rd.

Cumberland River

Walking back uphill to find Curtis Rd from here is the trickiest part of the hike. Unless you have a GPS, then best advice is to retrace your steps.  After about 30 minutes of track finding up through the forest you will be back at the original entry point with Curtis Rd.  The times I give for this are pretty conservative as I was doing a bit of re-taping of trees where needed.  

Once you are back on Curtis Rd, you can either finish the hike and head back to Mt Sabine Rd or continue on down along Curtis Rd to do the Galliebarinda Falls hike.

It is a 30 min walk further on along Curtis Rd. 
The Galliebarinda Falls track is located where the Cumberland River crosses the road.
The river here is normally just a small creek.
There is a small clearing here on the right that could be used for an overnight camp.

A track on the other side of the river on the left leads to Galliebarinda Falls. (~60 min return walk) 

Galliebarinda Falls hike