Peter Sands - Waterfalls

I have always had a fascination with waterfalls!

I wrote a poem, inspired by the Horseshoe Falls in the Mt Field National Park, Tasmania, but which could apply to any waterfall! Here I share that poem, and a selection of images of waterfalls, mostly in Tasmania, and some in black and white.

The Waterfall

In the realms of light
high on a Mountain side
it has its source in primæval ooze
and moss and fern.

A mountain spring feeds a stream
flowing amidst the trees
gathering power
on its journey to a river far below.
Over the aeons it impressed its
mark on an imposing landscape.

Since time immemorial
its gentle power sought bedrock
sculpting canyons rapids and falls
whose gentle majesty stir the hearts
of countless visitors to this sacred grove.

In days gone by this power would have
driven the engines of a society
enthralled by technological prowess.

But here the power of water invokes awe
and a sense of spirit
as the last rays of a westering sun
slant through the forest canopy
enlightening the surrounds of a
Creator’s masterpiece.

Peter Sands, September 12th, 1997

Horseshoe Falls, National Park, Tasmania

Russell Falls, also at National Park, is a classic Tassie waterfall immortalised on an early postage stamp. It has multiple terraces and is a hundred meters down stream from the Horseshoe Falls

This is a B & W image of Lady Barron Falls, also in National Park. These three falls - Russell, Horseshoe and Lady Barron - are linked by a beautiful walk through rain-forest, wet sclerophyl forest, and tree ferns that takes about two hours to complete - or may be four hours, depending on how long you spend taking photos of the falls, orchids, fungi, lichens, ferns ...

Below is a collection of waterfalls on Mt Wellington, Tasmania.