St Columba Falls

Julie and I came to St Columba Falls with some expectations given that it was said to be one of Tasmania’s tallest permanent waterfalls at 90m thereby drawing quite a bit of fanfare and literature devoted to it.

When we showed up, we saw the impressive waterfall in somewhat of a wishbone shape though its flow looked to be far less than what was typically shown in the literature in addition to what the signage here had indicated.

While that first visit took place during the Great Australian Drought of the 2000s, we had a similar experience on a second visit in late November 2017 following an unusually dry and warm Winter and Spring in Eastern Tasmania even though the climate anomaly of the prolonged drought wasn’t nearly as pronounced in that later decade.

Speaking of its flow, the South George River, which was responsible for the falls, was said to be fed by a very large 4200 hectare drainage in an area that would typically get high rainfall from Mt Victoria and Mt Albert.

In fact, we read a sign here that said the falls had never been known to run dry since its discovery. That said, Julie and I wondered if that claim would be tested if Climate Change would continue to alter rainfall distributions worldwide.

Further adding stress to this watercourse was the presence of clear-fell logging, which was on total display when we drove the Mt Victoria Road between Ralphs Falls and St Columba Falls on our latest visit in late 2017.

Such denuding of the forest could destabilize the soil, accelerate erosion, and reduce the ability of the soil to retain the moisture that would not only attract clouds but also keep the river flowing.

Visiting St Columba Falls

From the car park and trailhead, we were already able to get distant views of the falls from across the gorge. While the partial views of the falls could be satisfying as we were nearly eye level with most of its drop from here, we wanted to get closer for a more immersive experience.

So we passed through a shelter full of interpretive signs about the area’s past before embarking on the downhill 600m track to get as close to the falls as we could.

The track was pretty well-shaded for most of the way as we were flanked by tall umbrella ferns throughout the well-developed walk. The presence of these ferns tended to indicate that we were indeed in a rainforest.

At the end of the walk, we stood on a lookout platform in a partial opening revealing the St Columba Falls near its base.

When the South George River would flood, it was said that the lookout would be sprayed with mist. This wasn’t the case in either of our visits.

It also appeared that on our first visit, the track went a little further (as shown in the photo at the top of this page), but I’d imagine that erosion and flooding over the years forced the lookout position back to a more conservative spot.

In any case, we spent about 30-45 minutes in our visits to the falls as most of the energy and time spent was on the walk going back up to the car park.

Authorities

St Columba Falls resides in the St Columba Falls State Reserve. It is administered by the Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania. If you’re looking to do this excursion and want more information or inquire about current conditions, you can check out the Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania website.