About Carrington Falls
Carrington Falls surprised Julie and I with its impressive flow, especially considering our November 2006 trip to Southeastern Australia was in the midst of a severe drought. It was certainly the first substantially flowing waterfall on that visit, and it also happened to be the first of a series of consecutive waterfalls that we visited that day that were flowing well attesting to the resiliency of the drainages in the Illawarra Highlands at the time. That said, we weren’t sure whether its decent flow could be attributed to a few consecutive days of rain both during and prior to our visit, or whether the Kangaroo River drainage was simply substantial enough to maintain such volume. Speaking of the Kangaroo River, its 50m plunge off the Budderoo Plateau marked the start of the Kangaroo Valley as the river would eventually wind its way through the neighboring Morton National Park.
Julie and I were able to visit the falls on a short and easy 25-minute loop walk (called the Lookout Track) that allowed us to view the falls at various direct vantage points. I wasn’t sure if we could’ve also viewed the falls from the other side of the gorge, and we won’t know until we make a return trip to see what else we could have done here. Nonetheless, we were pretty content with our waterfalling experience pertaining to what we were able to see, and the photo you see at the top of this page was from a vantage point that we liked the best.
In addition to Carrington Falls, Julie and I contemplated visiting the Gerringong Falls, but the access to that waterfall required extensive driving on some pretty rough unsealed roads. That was something we didn’t feel like risking with our rental car so we didn’t do it.
We went to Carrington Falls from the Minnamurra Falls (see that page for directions on getting there from Kiama or Wollongong). From the Minnamurra Rainforest Centre turnoff on Jamberoo Mountain Road, it was another 15km west on the Jamberoo Mountain Road (Hwy 9) to the signposted turnoff on the left leading to the falls in Budderoo National Park (near the township of Pheasant Ground). We followed this spur road for another 2km or so to reach the car park on the right.
Alternatively, we could’ve come here from the Illawarra Highway (Hwy 48 over Macquarie Pass) if we were headed southwest from the north (like Wollongong or Sydney). If driving in this manner, take Hwy 48 to Hwy 8 (continuing the Illawarra Hwy), then turn left onto Hwy 9 (Jamberoo Mountain Road). From there (you’ll be northwest of the falls), continue about 5km east and south towards Pheasant Ground before keeping right to continue on the Budderoo National Park road, ultimately arriving at the car park for the falls on the right.
For context, Carrington Falls was 35km (roughly 45 minutes drive) west of Kiama, 54km (under an hour drive) southwest of Wollongong, and 156km (over 2 hours drive) south of Sydney.
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