Marriott's Falls and Growling Swallett

Marriott's Falls

Thursday 18th June 2015

The weather had been grim all week, so rather than waste time doing an alpine walk where we would just get cold, miserable and probably no views, I thought a few short trips around Mt Field would be more appropriate.

First stop was an attempt to do Brown Mountain (Ellendale) which is one of the more obscure peaks on the peak baggers list.  But I had some information from another blog which made it sounds relatively easy and short.  We followed the instructions I had, turning left onto Holmes Rd just outside Ellendale.  We drove for about 5 km before coming across 2 forestry workers and a digger machine of some description.  We stopped for a chat and asked them about Brown Mountain and whether they knew where the track started.  They seemed bemused with us and informed us that we were on the wrong road, and it was unlikely we would be able to access the correct road as there was a lot of forestry operations going on at the moment.  We decided to skip Brown Mountain and instead turned back and towards Marriott's Falls.

The Falls close up.

Marriott's Falls is located just past the turn off from Mt Field near the small town of Tyenna.  There is a sign indicating the turn off.  Follow the dirt road for a while until the parking area by the river,  A relatively short walk of approximately 40 minutes brings you to the base of the falls.  It's quite a spectacular site!  Similar to Russell Falls as the water falls like a veil.  However, it's much less developed and free from the crowds that tend to congregate around Russell Falls. It's a nice spot for a lunch break and you can explore the base of the waterfall.

The river that flows into Growling Swallet.

Next stop was Growling Swallet.  We had to drive back to Mt Field to pick up the key to access the road to Growling Swallet.  It would make more sense to pick up the key on your way to Marriott's Falls to save back tracking.  The national park office at Mt Field take a $300 key deposit.  However, the money doesn't actually come out of the card, they just take an imprint of the card and only take the money if you don't return the key.  They also give you vague instructions on how to access the track. Basically drive through Maydena and turn off onto the Florentine Rd.  Follow the Florentine Rd for approximately 16 km until you come to a small side road on the right called 'F8 East Rd.'  The road is locked with a gate (hence the key).  Follow F8 East Road til it ends, approximately 2km.  Florentine Rd is in relatively good condition and easily used by 2WD, however F8 East Rd is not in very good condition but still passable in a 2WD.  If you are precious about your car, you may chose not to take it on this road, instead leaving it parked on the side of Florentine Rd (then you needn't bother with the key). As it's only 2km to walk it wouldn't take that long.  We however got the car all the way to the end with just a few bumps.  There is a small parking area at the end, but you wouldn't want to have too many cars.  The track starts at the end of the road and is marked with coloured tape.

Cave Entrance

Cave Entrance

Top of Cave

Follow the taped track for approximately 30 mins until you can hear the 'growling' of the water.  A steep climb down takes you to the river bank and to the entrance of the cave.  The water drops straight down into the cave and its quite a dramatic and remarkable spectacle!  The entrance of the cave looks like the entrance to some sort of temple.  Photo's don't do it justice. The water drops into the cave and then reappears at Junee Caves, at Maydena.


Both Marriott's Falls and Growling Swallet are perfect walks for mid winter and rainy days as after heavy rains both become more spectacular and dramatic.