Nelson Falls

Easy

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An easy 1.4km return, 20-minute rainforest walk to the cascading Nelson Falls, one of the most accessible walks in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

0.62 km

Est. time

14 min

Elevation gain

43 m

Route type

Out & back

Steepest stretch: +33m over ~300m (around the 0.3km mark)

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In an emergency

Call 000 for police, fire or ambulance — Australia's emergency number works even with a weak signal, and without a SIM if any carrier has coverage.

You're in Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, Queenstown, TAS. Mobile reception in this area is not guaranteed — this is exactly why the offline map and GPS position on this page work without signal.

Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you set off. A PLB is the most reliable backup where there's no reception at all.

Tracks & plans

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Species to look for on this trail

Ancient trees and rare flora confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Huon Pine

Lagarostrobos franklinii

Ancient conifer — individuals exceed 2,000 years old▾

Ancient conifer — individuals exceed 2,000 years old

One of the world's longest-lived trees: individual Huon pines exceed 2,000 years old, and a genetically identical clonal stand on Mount Read has been dated at over 10,500 years. Convict work parties felled huge Huon pines on the banks of the Lower Gordon River in the 19th century.

How to spot it

A slow-growing conifer with arching branches, pendulous branchlets and tiny scale-like leaves 1-3mm long. Typically 10-20m tall. Found beside slow, dark rivers in the wet south-west, historically prized by boat-builders for its fine, oily, rot-resistant timber.

Family Podocarpaceae · Source: Wikipedia — Lagarostrobos franklinii; Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service — Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park

Photo: JJ Harrison (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Orites milliganii

Near Threatened — TAS: Near Threatened▾

Near Threatened — TAS: Near Threatened

Orites milliganii, also known as Milligan's orites or the toothed orites, is a species of flowering plant in the protea family that is endemic to Tasmania, Australia.

How to spot it

The species grows as a dense and rigid shrub up to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in height, or more in sheltered sites. The thick, oval leaves are 15–30 mm (0.6–1.2 in) long, with short stalks, toothed margins and sharp, pointed tips. The cream-coloured, scented flowers are clustered on spikes at the ends of the branches. The dry fruits are about 15 mm 15 mm (0.6 in) long, splitting open along one side to release the seeds.

Family Proteaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Orites milliganii

Wildlife you might see on this trail

Animals confirmed in this park. Spot one? Add it as a sighting pin below.

Orange-bellied Parrot

Neophema chrysogaster

Critically Endangered (EPBC Act)▾

Critically Endangered (EPBC Act)

One of the world's rarest parrots, breeding only near Melaleuca in Tasmania's south-west before migrating across Bass Strait to winter on the Victorian and South Australian coast. The wild population fell to just 14 birds in 2017 but has since recovered to roughly 90 through an intensive captive-breeding program.

How to spot it

Bright grass-green upperparts, yellow underparts and a distinctive orange belly patch (duller in females), with a two-toned blue frontal band. Look for it feeding low in coastal dunes and saltmarsh in autumn and winter.

Family Psittaculidae · Source: Wikipedia: Orange-bellied parrot

JJ Harrison, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons