Just back from a three and a bit day walk up Yarrunga Creek to Lady Hordern Falls and back. Left the car at the top of Meryla Pass, then down to the ford before heading east along the old logging track above the north bank of the creek. Followed this until it petered out after a small creek crossing, then dropped into the creek itself.
Followed the creek past an enormous rock fall where it swings to the north, before encountering some unbelievable storm damage. A 500m stretch of the east bank has been shredded. Probably 25% of the trees have been blown over, and half those still standing have been snapped in two. I've never seen anything like it, and unfortunately most of the damaged and fallen trees are lying in the creek bed. The damage is so limited and so clearly defined I can only think a super cell storm has descended into the valley.
Set up camp for the night on a convenient sand bar, then started the second day with a metre deep wade through an unavoidable waterhole. Reached the valley below Lady Hordern Falls about midday where I had a shower under a cascade before a leisurely lunch. The landscape here is simply majestic, with a curtain of water running over the main falls above you and a series of cascades in the valley below.
Wandered back to the campsite, which I had left set up, then on day three walked back to Griffins Farm where I overnighted before the slog back up the Pass.
Have to say this is without question the most relentlessly lovely walk in the Highlands, simply beautiful from start to finish. Not simply a walk in the park by any means, although sections of it are very much like this, but the reward for effort is outstanding. Probably 50% of it is rock hopping, and climbing over, under, through and around fallen trees nearly drove me spare at times. You will inevitably do a fair bit of wading, either through necessity or for the sake of convenience. I anticipated this and wore a pair of Merrill Ventilator shoes and lightweight, quick dry hiking socks, which allowed me to avoid the shoes off/shoes on routine. Although my feet were always damp, a few steps out of the water all the excess had drained away, and my feet pulled up fine. Saw plenty of black snakes, as you would expect on a creek walk in summer, but as usual they were all bolting for safety before I even saw them. One pleasant surprise was no mozzies and no leaches.
If anyone is interested in doing this I would highly recommend it if you're comfortable with off-track walking. As to access, it would be an easier walk from Jack's Corner, but coming from Moss Vale Meryla Pass was a lot closer. The old logging road above the ford is not immediately obvious, but it starts before Griffins turns parallel to the creek, and becomes fairly obvious once you find it. One thing I would also recommend is leaving a marker where you drop into the creek. I tried walking all the way back along the creek to the ford, but it actually becomes quite difficult and I gave it up after a fairly solid fall that shook me up a fair bit. As you are traveling up stream you come to a massive rock fall, which needs to be bypassed to your left - it looks easier to the right, but you quite literally hit a rock wall. The storm damage mentioned earlier will need to be bypassed on the eastern bank. As mentioned there is a huge amount of rock hopping, and most of them are covered in moss. Okay when they are dry, but I would definitely avoid doing this in wet weather, it would be seriously dangerous.
Happy hiking!