So after recovering from (another) broken ankle and COVID finally settling down a bit I decided it was time for another walk. Didn’t really know much about this one but it had “World Heritage” in the title so it sounded promising. I’d originally planned to do it over four days but ended up doing it in three to beat the bad weather that was forecast (and I secretly had the fear that I’d somehow contracted COVID and was going to be two days walk from my car while being sick in a tent).

Day 1: Mulligan’s Campground to Boundary Falls Campground

Starting late (due to a solid Sunday sesh the night before) I arrived at the campground about 10:30am. Took a quick look down at Mulligan’s Hut and snapped a few photos of the day use area before heading on up the trail. Really cool spot and well worth a visit even if you’re just looking for somewhere to camp.

The weather was amazing with clear blue skies. We’d had lots of rain and floods recently so the ground was kind of boggy in sections and the creeks and side streams were flowing nicely.

The trail itself was easy going but I took a wrong turn along the way and ended up at Dandahra Crags which is worth a look and an easy “side loop” if you take the junction on Mulligan’s drive then rejoin the main track.

Got to boundary Falls at about 4pm and was welcomed by some new age campers who had a guided meditation track playing at full volume across the whole campground. This, accompanied by someone opera singing down by the falls thanks to the amazing acoustics down there, was my soundtrack as I drifted off to sleep.

Day 2: Boundary Falls to Grassy Creek Campground

Dry boots became wet boots in the first 100m thanks to a fast flowing creek-crossing at the top of the falls. Other than that it was a beautiful misty morning with the sunlight shining through the treetops highlighting the spiderwebs.

Apart from the handful of campers at the campground it looked like I was the only person on the trail which was nice considering it was school holidays and I expected it to be pretty busy.

The side trip to Duffer Falls is well worth it but leave your pack at the junction. The view off the escarpment is as impressive as the falls themselves.

The rest of the walk was steep undulations most of the way with a final drop down into Grassy Creek camping area. It’s a cozy spot with clean water and well stocked fire places.

Stopped for lunch and contemplated pushing on to Coombadjah Campground.

Day 2 (part 2): Grassy Creek Campground to Coombadjah Campground

Decided to make it a double day and headed on. Passing my first person on the trail, a mountain biker heading in the opposite direction (have fun with that uphill section buddy!).

15 minutes later and I was thinking to myself what a fool that guy on the bike was and how he should’ve been going the other way when karma struck, I had a blowout and lost half the sole of my beloved Scarpa’s. I tried taping it up with strapping tape but that only bought me another kilometer or so before it gave way completely. Honestly they’re probably more comfortable without the soles anyway.

The trail was a steady uphill to O’Hara’s Rock. I’m not sure what I was expecting but after making the short 30m detour, sure enough, it was a rock. (I even went the additional 5m that was signposted to see the other side of it, yep still a rock). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Onward to Moogem trail and it was downhill all the way to the bottom where it was nice and boggy. I don’t know how I didn’t step on a snake but it was prime snake habitat with plenty of leaf litter on the way down, definitely jumped at a few sticks that I flicked up.

Went for a swim at Coachwood Pool. (Anyone who knows how much of a wuss I am when it comes to cold water would be proud that I actually went in).

Followed the creek for another 500m and set up camp at Coombadjah Campground.

Day 3: Coombadjah Campground to Mulligan’s Campground

So on the first night at Boundary Falls I noticed the seam sealing was flaking away on the inside of my tent and the outer fly. I didn’t think anything of it as the weather was pretty good and the tent was still fairly new. At about midnight I realised how wrong it was to dismiss it so quickly, waking to a constant drip directly on my face I could feel the whole floor of my tent was soaking wet.

Half asleep and not really in the mood to deal with anything I kind of mopped it up a bit up with a towel and decided that if I could make it to 4 or 5am I’d just shove everything in my bag and bail, as long as the creek didn’t flood, which was a real possibility considering how much rain we’d had recently. Eventually I fell asleep again and was gently dripped on for the next 4 hours.

Woke at about 4am, decided things weren’t going to get any drier in here so did a speedy pack and stomped off into the darkness. I knew I just had to follow the road so wasn’t too concerned about getting lost in the dark and the sun was coming up soon anyway.

This was the uphill section that a few people on-line had mentioned, even suggesting that it was worth doing the loop in reverse to avoid such a huge uphill. Maybe I was still half asleep, or maybe the uphill slog was better than being water-boarded but I managed to power through to the park entrance in about an hour without too much trouble.

Crossing the highway and another uphill section, this time the ground was quite soggy and I was really starting to wish I had two soles on my shoes instead of just one. I was still making pretty good time so I made the most of my new found energy and charged on through to the finish at Mulligan’s Hut.

Stop thinking you can eat two servings, you can't. It doesn't matter how hungry you are.