The Minyon Falls is a plunge waterfall on Repentance Creek in the

Northern Rivers Northern Rivers is the most northeasterly Regions of New South Wales, region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence Ri ...

region of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The waterfall descends more than over the huge

rhyolite Rhyolite ( ) is the most silica-rich of volcanic rocks. It is generally glassy or fine-grained (aphanitic) in texture (geology), texture, but may be porphyritic, containing larger mineral crystals (phenocrysts) in an otherwise fine-grained matri ...

cliffs which were once part of the

Tweed Volcano Tweed Volcano is a partially eroded Early Miocene shield volcano located in northeastern New South Wales, which formed when this region of Australia passed over the East Australia hotspot around 23 million years ago. Mount Warning, Lamin ...

. The water flow

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is disti ...

the rocks to create the waterfall. Minyon Falls is located in the traditional lands of the

Bundjalung people The Bundjalung people, also spelled Bunjalung, Badjalang and Bandjalang, are Aboriginal Australians who are the original custodians of a region from around Grafton, New South Wales, Grafton in northern coastal New South Wales to Beaudesert, Que ...

Location and features

The waterfall is a popular visitor attraction and is located within easy reach of the nearby town of

Byron Bay Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah'') is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of New South Wales, Australia (in Bundjalung Country). It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjac ...

in the

Nightcap National Park The Nightcap National Park is a national park situated within the Nightcap Range in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The park was created in April 1983 and is situated north of . The park was established following cam ...

, which was added to the

Gondwana Rainforests of Australia The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, formerly known as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, are the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world. Collectively, the rainforests are a World Heritage Site with fifty separate res ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1986. The National Parks and Wildlife Service manages the area as part of the Nightcap National Park, and provides facilities for visitors, including a boardwalk to the lookout which is

wheelchair accessible A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to Disease, illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health co ...

, several picnic tables and

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

facilities at the top of the falls. The National Parks and Wildlife Service do not permit camping in the Minyon Falls area, but a camping ground is provided west of the falls at Rummery Park. Visitors are able to explore the bottom of the falls and the sub-tropical rainforest along designated walking trails, all of which involve steep hills, with some

scrambling Scrambling is a mountaineering term for ascending steep terrain using one's hands to assist in holds and balance.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. It can be described as being between hiking and climbing, rock climbing. "A scramble" is a relat ...

over wet rocks at the base of the falls. One trail follows a route from the top of the falls, across the ridge, near Quandong Falls, down into the valley to the bottom of the Minyon falls, it continues to Minyon Grass, then joins the road for back to the falls car park to form a loop. A shorter, track runs from Minyon Grass to the bottom of the falls. Another walking trail in the area is the Boggy Creek Walk from the Rummery Park Campground to the top of the Falls (45 minutes each way).

Flora and fauna

The top of the falls is surrounded by wet

sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or ...

forest with some very tall blackbutt, tallowwood and flooded gum trees. Visitors to the falls regularly observe wildlife such as lace monitor (goanna),

kookaburra Kookaburras (pronounced ) are terrestrial animal, terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri language, Wira ...

satin bowerbird The satin bowerbird (''Ptilonorhynchus violaceus'') is a species of passerine bird in the bowerbird family Ptilonorhynchidae that is endemic to eastern Australia. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Ptilonorhynchus''. Taxonomy The sati ...

noisy pitta The noisy pitta (''Pitta versicolor'') is a species of bird in the family Pittidae. The noisy pitta is found in eastern Australia and southern New Guinea. It eats earthworms, insects and snails. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtro ...

eastern yellow robin The eastern yellow robin (''Eopsaltria australis'') is an Australasian robin of coastal and sub-coastal eastern Australia. The extent of the eastern yellow robin's residence is from the extreme southeast corner of South Australia through most ...

, pale yellow robin, scrub wren,

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known simply as the peregrine, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae renowned for its speed. A large, Corvus (genus), cro ...

, bobuck possum,

northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

and

long-nosed bandicoot The long-nosed bandicoot (''Perameles nasuta''), a marsupial, is a species of bandicoot found in eastern Australia, from north Queensland along the east coast to Victoria. Around long, it is sandy- or grey-brown with a long snouty nose. omnivor ...

tawny frogmouth The tawny frogmouth (''Podargus strigoides'') is a species of frogmouth native to the Australian mainland and Tasmania and found throughout. It is a big-headed, stocky bird often mistaken for an owl due to its nocturnal habits and similar colouri ...

, stony creek frog, red-eyed green tree frog,

eastern whipbird The eastern whipbird (''Psophodes olivaceus'') is an insectivore, insectivorous passerine bird native to the east coast of Australia. Its whip-crack song is a familiar sound in forests of eastern Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Heard mu ...

wonga pigeon The wonga pigeon or wonga wonga (''Leucosarcia melanoleuca'') is a pigeon that inhabits areas in eastern Australia with its range being from Central Queensland to Gippsland, eastern Victoria, Australia. Distribution and habitat Previously they ...

, white-headed pigeon, yellow tailed black cockatoo, little shrike-thrush, tree-creeper,

carpet python ''Morelia spilota'', commonly known as the carpet python, is a large snake of the family Pythonidae found in Australia, New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), Bismarck Archipelago, and the northern Solomon Islands. Many subspecies are rec ...

, and green tree snake. There are also occasional alberts lyrebird,

koala The koala (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), sometimes inaccurately called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only Extant taxon, extant representative of the Family (biology), family ''Phascolar ...

and

pademelon Pademelons () are small marsupials in the genus ''Thylogale'', found in Australia, New Guinea, and surrounding islands. They are some of the smallest members of the macropod family, which includes the similar-looking but larger kangaroos and ...

sightings. In wet weather conditions, visitors may be encounter

leech Leeches are segmented parasitism, parasitic or Predation, predatory worms that comprise the Class (biology), subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the Oligochaeta, oligochaetes, which include the earthwor ...

es. The Minyon valley is a sub-tropical rainforest, vegetation includes: Bangalow palm, brushbox, strangler fig, stream lily, walking stick palm, rusty rose walnut, blue quandong, broad leaved palm lily,

tree fern Tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk (botany), trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae ( ...

, red lilly pilly, white bark, birds nest fern, stag horn fern, brushbox orchid and native wisteria vine.

Access

Minyon Falls' proximity to towns such as Byron Bay, Ballina and Lismore make it a popular attraction, and the falls can be reached by car in approximately 45 minutes (1 hour from Ballina or Lismore). The falls can also be visited from the Gold Coast, which is a 2-hour journey via the Pacific Highway. The road to the falls is an unsealed road and can be difficult at times to drive. Various local tour companies offer trips to the Minyon Falls.

Water Flow

Repentance Creek (used to be called Boggy Creek) is the water that feeds the falls. Most of the time there is water on the waterfall, but the amount of water can vary. During drier times, the waterfall dries up and the plunge pool at the bottom becomes un-swimmable.

References

You can download a free copy of "Bushwalking in the Rainbow Region" from http://budjiri.biz.ht/

External links