La La Falls (Warburton)

To reach the falls, follow the signs from Park Road along Old Warburton Road to the start of the track on Irruka Road. You can park your car at the end of Irruka Road to start the walk. Note: Google maps is wrong and doesn't take you to the falls, it takes you down a dead end street.

The walk goes along a well made track, through tall Mountain Ash trees and lush tree ferns, before reaching the picturesque falls. There are stone bridges along the way.

The falls are said to be named after past landowner Leila Ward, whose guest house 'La La' (meaning Welcome Welcome) was located in the area.

The La La walking track follows the old timber railway for much of its length. Constructed in 1909 it is believed that the railway was used to transport logs from the lower reaches of Mount Pride towards a local sawmill.

There is a picnic area at the start of the track but no toilets.

Summary
Skill Level: Moderate
Fitness Level: Average
Length: 3.2km, 1.5 hrs return

Review:

A pleasant walk on a well formed track which passes through areas of tree ferns and tall Mountain Ash trees. There are also a number of stone bridges to cross. The track rises steadily but is not too steep. In January we saw two copperhead snakes at different places, one on the track and the other beside the track. They were docile but it was a bit nerve-wracking for the kids to go past them.

There are distance markers every 0.5 km to give a good indication how far you still have to go to reach the waterfall. Although the waterfall is not huge, it did have a decent flow in late January. The water zig-zags down the rock face and then flows through arches in a stone wall which forms part of the viewing platform. To my mind, the patterns in the rock face has the face of an Aboriginal elder - if you can't see it, then just blame my fertile imagination.

Access for Dogs:

Dogs are permitted on-leash.

History

The eastern end of Warburton is referred to as the La La end of the township. Miss Leila Ward who once owned much of the land ran a guest house, 'La La' meaning 'Welcome Welcome'.

The track to the falls has been frequented by tourists since the 1880s when Warburton became a popular destination.

For many years Four Mile Creek provided the water supply for the township of Warburton and later the La La section of the town. However, the greatest utilization of its water power was initiated by the Yarra Yarra Hydraulic Gold Mining Company in the 1870s.

In February 1870 Gideon Scott Lang applied to register a water right to the creeks in proximity to his planned hydraulic gold sluicing operation on Yankee Jim's Creek at the Warburton diggings. By March 1874 Lang's company had commenced the construction of a water race over a distance of 7 miles (12 kms).

The water required to work the hydraulic hoses was collected from Big Pat's Creek, Four Mile Creek and their tributaries. The water was conveyed via the race and boxed flumings to the workings where 2300 litres of water per minute forced jets about 9 metres into the workings.

In June 1884 the Y.V.H.G.M.Co. suspended their operations and in February the following year John Clay applied to register the water right for their abandoned race. In 1890 the race was once again utilized by the Lady Hopetoun Gold Mining Company. Remnants of Hermon's tramway can be found on part of the walking track. With gold mining and logging activities prevailing since the 1860s one can only imagine what would have been the pristine nature of the bush without such damaging human intervention.

Plants

The La La walk is a steady, gradual climb up to the falls. For those who are interested in the vegetation there is certainly enough diversity to hold one's attention.

At the start of the walk Silver Wattle and Hazel Pomaderris are the predominant mid-storey plants with the beautiful yellow - grey trunks of the Mountain Grey Gum towering overhead.

There are many of the usual wet forest species like the Snowy Daisy-bush, Musk Daisy-bush, Blanket-leaf, Austral Mulberry, Banyalla, Bootlace Bush, Stinkwood and Prickly Currant-bush dotted throughout.

Spring is a good time to do this walk as the profusion of flowers is not only beautiful but also helpful for those who are learning to identify their species. The Handsome Flat-pea (Plaiylobium formosum) grows in profusion along part of the track - really beautiful in spring. If you're lucky, you'll hear a great rendition of bird-song from the lyrebird. He fills the forest with the sounds of the cockatoo, parrot, kookaburra, shrike-thrush, and whipbird - to name only a few. What a performance! Look for scratching along the track.

Then onward to the majesty of the tree ferns. Nothing like standing under a forest of tree ferns to soothe the nerves. Dicksonia antartica, when tall and statuesque, is like a stage setting for the faeries and a host for a whole ballroom of ferns, mosses and fungi. Do take a closer look at the massive trunks - in the wetter sites you might see some unusual epiphytes, ferns that cling to these magical plants. Some of the creepers, like Twining Silk Pod (Parsonsia brownii) or Clematis or Wonga Vine may be twining amongst them too.

Along the lower banks of the Four Mile Creek you will notice clumps of Scented Paperbark (Melaleuca squarrosa). An attractive species with small dark fragrant leaves. You might also notice the scent of the Christmas Bush (Prostanthera lasianthos) - one of our native mint bushes. The white gums (Manna Gum) are here too.

Further along the creek, the Melaleuca gives way to the emergence of the Myrtle Beech (Nothofagus cunninghamii). This species has very attractive foliage -shiny ovate, toothed leaves (1 - 2 cms) in fan-like sprays which are bronzy - pink when young. It is a slow-growing tree which only occurs in wet, sheltered gullies. Normally a species of Cool Temperate Rainforest, here it grows amongst the eucalypts - Manna Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis), Mountain Ash (E. regnans), and Mountain Grey Gum (E. cypellocarpa). Myrtle Beech is vulnerable to fire and disturbance and yet it has survived. On the other side of the creek, the dead eucalypts stand as testimony to a past fire.

There are certainly some special treats on this walk. The Tree Geebung (Persoonia arborea) grows here too. It is a plant which only grows in scattered locations between Toolangi and the Baw Baws. Don't forget to enjoy the Mountain Correa that surround the falls - and the falls too, of course!

Information compiled by Ellena Biggs & Gitta Petersen.

Photos:

Location

25 Irruka Road, Warburton 3799 Map

Web Links

→ The Best Family Activities in the Yarra Valley

→ The Best Waterfalls in Melbourne and Victoria for Family Visits