Federal Pass

In the heart of the mountains, the spectacular Wentworth Falls plunge into the Jamison Valley over sheer, giddy cliffs. A thin layer of claystone half way up the local cliffs have eroded quicker than the surrounding sandstone, resulting in an extraordinary ledge which runs for miles along the middle of the cliff, often overhung where now unsupported sections of the tougher sandstone have yet to crash into the valley below. Along this ledge runs the remarkable Federal Pass track.

The track descends through dense dry woodland into a narrow chasm at the head of the Valley of the Waters. A long series of steps, at times rock hewn, at others metal suspended over thin air, leads down into the darkness.

The Federal Pass track alternates between starkly exposed and heavily vegetated sections. At one point we crouched uncomfortably through a narrow passage of low overhang. Further on, we sidled over slippery stones behind a waterfall, its fine spray wafted like (diamonds) in the gentle breeze. You enter a huge, irregular horseshoe of cliffs.

The trees become lusher, ferns appear, and you emerge under the Wentworth Falls in their deep corner of the cliff.

A long haul up a grand fissure in the cliff face, steep steps cut from the living rock gets you to the top of the falls.