I’m really not one to go for a hike, at least in the traditional sense. I do very much enjoy seeing new things, trail running and photography however. This lends itself well to solo missions to points of interest that are only accessible on foot. One of the most famous attractions in the Blue Mountains of Australia, less than 2hrs outside Sydney, is Wentworth Falls, a 614′ three-tiered waterfall. I decided to made a clockwise loop on the National Pass and Overcliff trails, which is a 3+ mile long extremely steep hiking trail, which is posted to take 3-4 hrs. I did the whole thing in about 2 1/2 hrs, and nearly half that time was taking photos. The far end of this loop is Empress Falls, and is where you hike up and back out of the canyon, after the steep descent at Wentworth Falls at the beginning of the loop. I highly suggest a tripod on this trip, like my trusty Joby GorillaPod, which I sadly left in the car. I did the hike after a few days of rain in order to capture the most impressive volume of water going over the falls, but sadly there wasn’t much in the way of that, although the track was quite muddy and littered with big puddles. While the waterfalls of the area didn’t really impress me all that much, the trail itself and surrounding area are quite spectacular. I highly suggest this trek into Australia’s Blue Mountains.
For more info on the deep history and hiking options in this area visit this WEBSITE.
I shot the entire photo series below using my Nikon D600 and my new Nikkor 16-35 f4 VR lens. I did it entirely handheld, but did brace myself and/or the camera a number of times in order to get the longer exposure shots of the water in motion. I hope you enjoy the photo tour below and get a chance to check out this spectacular area yourself sometime.
