Waterfalls Nature Walk (Ferntree Falls)

Easy

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An easy/moderate 1km, 45-minute return walk from the Ferntree Visitor Area, per the parks.vic.gov.au / official visitor guide, through manna gums and blue gums via bridges and boardwalks with handrails on steeper sections, ending at Ferntree Falls.

☰ Trail details

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Distance

1.95 km

Est. time

37 min

Elevation gain

77 m

Route type

Out & back

Steepest stretch: +47m over ~300m (around the 1.6km 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 Mount Buangor State Park, near Ararat, VIC. 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.

Manna GumDocumented on this trail

Eucalyptus viminalis

Near Threatened (IUCN)▾

Near Threatened (IUCN)

A tall, well-watered-country eucalypt of southeastern Australia, listed Near Threatened by the IUCN. Mount Buangor State Park's Wikipedia entry names manna gums among the varied eucalypt forest covering its creek flats and escarpments in the Pyrenees Ranges.

How to spot it

Smooth, powdery white-to-pale-brown bark that sheds in long ribbons, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of three or seven and white flowers. Can reach 50m (rarely 90m in Tasmania). Look for it on the moister creek flats rather than the drier ridgetops.

Family Myrtaceae · Source: Wikipedia: Eucalyptus viminalis; Wikipedia: Mount Buangor State Park

Photo: Pru.mitchell (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons

Hairy CorreaDocumented on this trail

Correa aemula

Endangered — VIC: Endangered, SA: Rare▾

Endangered — VIC: Endangered, SA: Rare

Correa aemula, commonly known as the hairy correa, is a species of shrub that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has broadly heart-shaped leaves arranged in opposite pairs, green or greyish green, pendent flowers arranged singly or in pairs and ageing to mauve-purple.

How to spot it

Correa aemula is an erect to spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) and has woolly-hairy branches. The leaves are papery, broadly heart-shaped, 10–60 mm (0.39–2.36 in) long and 5–35 mm (0.20–1.38 in) wide on a petiole 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and covered with star-shaped hairs. The flowers are arranged singly, sometimes in pairs, in leaf axils or on the ends of short shoots, each on a pendent pedicel 5–30 mm (0.20–1.18 in) long. The calyx is cup-shaped with four

Family Rutaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Hairy Correa

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY 4.0 (Int)), collected by grampianshiker

Grampians GrevilleaDocumented on this trail

Grevillea confertifolia

Endangered — VIC: Endangered▾

Endangered — VIC: Endangered

Grevillea confertifolia, commonly known as Grampians grevillea or dense-leaf grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the Grampians in Victoria, Australia. It is a spreading, often dense shrub with linear to narrowly oblong leaves, and reddish-purple flowers.

How to spot it

Grevillea confertifolia is a spreading, often dense shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in). Its leaves are linear to narrowly oblong, 10–45 mm (0.39–1.77 in) long and 0.7–2.0 mm (0.028–0.079 in) wide with the edges turned down or rolled under, obscuring all but the mid-vein on the lower surface. The flowers are usually arranged in groups of more than thirty on the ends of branchlets and are reddish-purple, the pistil 10.5–12.5 mm (0.41–0.49 in) long with a pink to reddis

Family Proteaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Grevillea confertifolia

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY-NC 4.0 (Int)), collected by pomona-sh

Williamson's Bush-PeaDocumented on this trail

Pultenaea williamsoniana

Endangered — AUS: Vulnerable, VIC: Endangered▾

Endangered — AUS: Vulnerable, VIC: Endangered

Pultenaea williamsoniana, commonly known as Williamson's bush-pea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of Victoria, Australia. It is a slender, erect shrub with its stems covered with white hairs, and has cylindrical, grooved leaves and yellow to orange and red, pea-like flowers arranged in clusters on the ends of short side branches.

How to spot it

Pultenaea williamsoniana is a slender, erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 3 m (9.8 ft) and has its stems covered with white hairs. The leaves are cylindrical with a groove along the upper surface, 6–15 mm (0.24–0.59 in) long, 0.2–0.5 mm (0.0079–0.0197 in) wide tapering to a sharp point and with dark brown stipules 1.5–2 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long at the base. The flowers are yellow to orange and red, arranged in clusters of three to five on the ends of short side branches with s

Family Fabaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Pultenaea williamsoniana

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY-NC 4.0 (Int)), collected by classicone

Rock Coral-FernDocumented on this trail

Gleichenia rupestris

Critically Endangered — VIC: Critically Endangered▾

Critically Endangered — VIC: Critically Endangered

Gleichenia rupestris is a small fern growing in eastern Australia. Referred to as one of the coral ferns. The specific epithet rupestris refers to it being seen growing near rocks.

How to spot it

Real occurrence confirmed near Mount Buangor State Park (Atlas of Living Australia, 2025) — no separate physical description was available on Wikipedia for this species, see the source link for more.

Family Gleicheniaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Gleichenia rupestris

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY 4.0 (Int)), collected by grampianshiker

Mountain BeautyDocumented on this trail

Hovea rosmarinifolia

Critically Endangered — VIC: Critically Endangered▾

Critically Endangered — VIC: Critically Endangered

Hovea rosmarinifolia, commonly known as mountain beauty or rosemary hovea is a shrub in the family Fabaceae, native to Australia. A small shrub bearing attractive blue-purple or mauve pea flowers from August to November.

How to spot it

Hovea rosmarinifolia is a shrub to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) high. The stems and branches are thickly covered in brownish coloured soft hairs that may be wrinkled, curly or straight. Leaves are long and narrow 1–4 cm (0.4–2 in) long and 1.2–4 mm (0.047–0.16 in) wide either rounded or squared at the apex. The leaves are a deep green above, paler on the underside and arch downward on either side of the midrib. The surface is either smooth or sparsely covered in rough hairs with a network of prominent raised

Family Fabaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Hovea rosmarinifolia

Photo via iNaturalist Australia (CC-BY-NC 4.0 (Int)), collected by Alex

Upright Spider-OrchidDocumented on this trail

Caladenia stricta

Endangered — VIC: Endangered▾

Endangered — VIC: Endangered

Caladenia stricta, commonly known as the upright spider orchid or rigid-combed spider-orchid is a plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae and is endemic to southern continental Australia. It is a ground orchid with a single leaf and usually only one pale green flower with red lines along the sepals and petals.

How to spot it

Caladenia stricta is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber. It has a single, dull green, hairy, linear leaf, 60–100 mm long and 10–15 mm wide with reddish blotches near its base. Usually only one flower 25–40 mm across is borne on a spike 150–400 mm tall. The flowers are pale green with central stripes along the sepals and petals which taper to fine points The dorsal sepal is erect, 25–33 mm long, 2–3 mm wide and curves gently forwards. The lateral sepals have about

Family Orchidaceae · Source: Atlas of Living Australia + Wikipedia: Caladenia stricta

Messmate Stringybark

Eucalyptus obliqua

Keystone forest tree▾

Keystone forest tree

A tall stringybark that dominates the wetter gullies of the Adelaide Hills, capable of reaching enormous heights in the best Victorian and Tasmanian stands. It was one of the first eucalypts ever described by Europeans, collected on Bruny Island in 1777.

How to spot it

Thick, rough, fibrous stringy bark covers the trunk and larger branches right up into the crown, while the smaller branches are smooth greenish-grey. Glossy lance-shaped leaves and buds/flowers in clusters of 7-15+.

Family Myrtaceae · Source: Wikipedia

Photo: Russell Best (CC BY 2.5 AU) via Wikimedia Commons