It was my last day in Tasmania.
For a five day trip in June 2017, I had done pretty well. I visited ten waterfalls, made plenty of friends and drove well over 500kms. My trip was a true representation of ‘grabbing life by the balls’, for lack of a better expression.
My last day, I just had one final waterfall to see. And it was a special one, because I was meeting up with a fellow travel photographer that I’d formed a friendship with on Instagram, but never met in person.
It was a bit daunting, to be honest. Would we get along? Maybe she was a serial killer! (She wasn’t). Some friends I made at The Pickled Frog Backpackers (review in the footnotes of O’Grady Falls blog post), Amy and Catherine were coming along with me for the ride. They sat in the back seats, making me feel like a taxi driver. We’re not sure why, and we had a laugh about it about halfway through the drive.
We left Hobart, heading South towards where my Instagram friend, Casey (@the_meanderings) lived. After some nifty navigating from the backseat, we soon pulled up next to a quaint little homestead house. Casey came out to the car, and her mum waited at the end of the drive, clearly checking us out (probably to make sure WE weren’t serial killers)! Casey opened the door to the passenger seat and sat in. And we all got along instantly. Four smiling girls, we started our journey.
Driving directions to Snug Falls from Hobart are as follows (I actually poached this pretty much from Casey’s blog, because being a Tassie local, she knows the roads better than I do. Check out her blog full of amazing, well described stories and travels).
- Leave Hobart heading south along the Southern Outlet (A6)
- Stay in the right hand lane at the Kingston Bypass and continue on this
- Take the 4th exit for the Channel Highway (B68) at the roundabout
- Continue for 10km along the Highway until you reach the town of Snug
- Turn right onto Snug Tier Rd, just after the “School Access Rd”
- Follow this road for 4km and then turn onto Snug Falls Rd
- There are spots for parking shortly before the trail head
So, with driving directions from Casey the local, we headed along some dirt roads (though these roads were in great condition, and the unsealed road to Snug Falls is very good – at June 2017 – so it wasn’t a stressful drive).
We followed the signs for Snug Falls, which were well placed throughout the drive. The road to Snug Falls is a single lane, though there’s plenty of little side bays along the left hand side to aid if there’s oncoming traffic. Soon, we had to park in the widest section on the left (pictured below), which resembles a carpark, and walk a bit further along the road.
We kept to the left, afraid that cars would come whizzing by. But soon we found the start of the track.
The track may only be 2kms, but the steep descent ahead of us told us it wasn’t going to be the easiest thing we’d done. Having hiked every single day of my trip, I was hoping my legs would give me some mercy.
We chatted as we walked, bonding over travel stories from our various parts of the world (Amy from London, Catherine from Scotland, and Casey and I from different parts of Australia). There was a definite ease of companionship among our newly acquainted group.
The track was uneven, resembling cobbled concrete (perhaps a man-made path that has been eroded by extreme weather), and tree roots overtook the ground, making for a very uneven walk.
We crossed the first small bridge/walkway.
And had to duck under fallen trees.
Then cross another bridge…
We then hit a small clearing with a shelter. It had ‘The Pub” scratched into the wood. But we couldn’t work out what it was actually supposed to be for.
The path continued further downhill, so we had no choice but to persevere.
Soon we were engulfed in thick forest.
The end was visible, though it didn’t seem like a waterfall was anywhere in sight.
Down some final stairs…
The gorge suddenly opened up into a wide, beautiful clearing filled with luscious, green ferns, mossy rocks, and Snug Falls.
The above photo is taken from the opposite side of the gorge – note the stairs on the left hand side.
The falls weren’t flowing particularly strong, but are fuelled by a number of streams in the surrounding area. This means you’re likely to see them flowing no matter what time of the year you visit.
Having said that, I’ve seen some pretty hectic videos of what happens here during a wild storm with heavy rainfall, so make sure you plan ahead and check the recent rainfall. Tasmania can experience periods of drought, and then flash floods. In these cases, the waterfalls will run with a thick, brown water. It’s best to wait a few days/weeks until they run clear for a really beautiful experience, so do your research so you’re not disappointed.
In our case, the low water levels meant we could cross small sections of stream and curve our way around the mossy surroundings to get closer to the falls.
I loved this, because it meant I could experiment with different angles for photographs. The nice, sunny morning we were experiencing was beautiful, but it wasn’t being very forgiving when it came to taking photos.
So I had to compromise a little with long exposure shots. Though the moody, darker areas of shadow and fern were great in contrast.
Snug Falls is about a 25meter drop, which puts these images into perspective.
Some shots of the incredible, green surroundings:
It was wonderful to share my last Tassie waterfall experience with these three girls.
With rumbling tummy’s, we decided it was time to leave. Instead of leaving us to find something to eat around Snug, or heading back to Hobart, or using menu log (Uber eats isn’t in Hobart yet, so menu log was the next best thing. Please note, if you use this link I am entitled to remuneration from an affiliate program) to fill our hunger, Casey kindly invited us back to her house, where her lovely mother made us tea and lunch. We all sat around their dining table, talking intelligent conversation about travels, politics and life. It was a day I will never forget, and I look forward to crossing paths with these girls in our future travels.
And that’s a wrap! That’s all the waterfalls I visited in June 2017 in Tasmania. From O’Grady Falls to Silver Falls, then Russell Falls, Horseshoe Falls and Lady Barron Falls, to Myrtle Gully Falls and Secret Falls, Strickland Falls, the journey to Liffey Falls, and finally Snug Falls! There are over 200 waterfalls in Tasmania, so I’ve barely scraped the surface. Huge thank you to Waterfalls of Tasmania which helped me immensely and which shares my passion for waterfalls.
They say when you leave a place, you leave a little piece of your heart behind. Well, for me, Tassie got a whole damn chunk. And I will be back.
Quick Facts
| Last visit | June 2017 |
| Best Time | July-September after rainfall or snow melt |
| Start / Finish | Snug Falls Track from Snug Tiers Road |
| Unsealed Roads | Yes, great condition |
| Walking distance | 2km return |
| Time | 1hr return |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Facilities | None, Snug town nearby |
| Lat & Long | 43.0834° S, 147.2071° E |
| Nearby | Pelverata Falls (not yet featured on this site) |
| Watercourse | Snug River |
