Lane Poole Falls Walk Trail, Northcliffe

The Lane Poole Falls Walk Trail starts at the Boorara Tree day use recreation site about 18km south-east of Northcliffe.  Follow the signs off Boorara Road to the tree, which, until 1977, was a fire lookout tower.  The Boorara tree, which has had its cabin removed, is surrounded by a shady picnic area.  Here you'll find the start of a 5km track to the misty veil of Lane Poole Falls on the Cantebury River. 

The trail was once a firebreak, designed to bring a raging wildfire to a sudden halt.  These days all it will stop is you as you pause to admire the tall karri trees keeping quiet sentinel over the creepers, vines and mosses, scrambling across the dense forest floor. 

In spring, the awakening wild flowers peep over the blanket of undergrowth.  As you near the falls, the track descends steeply, before you emerge to see the fast flowing water tumbling over a granite wall to a pool, 12 metres below.  

Granite outcrops along the trail support a rich diversity of fragile plants. Take a rest at the lookout shelter near the falls and enjoy the sounds of the forest.In summer the flow may be reduced to a trickle but you can still soak up the unspoilt atmosphere of this hidden valley with its towering river banksias.