Mermaids Pool & Tahmoor Canyon

This is one of the most beautiful hikes I've been on in Sydney - walking through canyons with a plethora of lovely waterfalls and cascades, and some enormous, turquoise pools and smaller pools with gorgeous reflections.  The only challenge was not holding everyone else up with all my happy snapping.  Thankfully I had some fellow partners in crime.

The stunning Mermaid Pool

Photo by Akshata

Beautiful waterfalls and whirlpools

Lovely reflections

Cool potholes

Great spots to sit and bask in the beauty

Fun to be had with the reflections

 

A friendly, fun group

 

Chances to leap and a photographer to capture it

What more could you possibly ask for?  All just an hour from home.  No wonder I look happy.  

Hike details

Length: 10 km
Duration: 5 hours

This stunning but relatively unknown hike starts from close to Bargo Station, about 75 minutes drive south of Sydney.  It's easy to find the way as a lot of it is signposted and marked.

From the Bargo Station, take the Great Southern Road north for 2.5 kilometers and turn right onto Charlies Point Road. After 3.8km , you will find a gravel parking area on the left.  Leave your car here and follow the short track to the Rockford Bridge. From here, the trail continues for a few hundred metres until you come to a fork. Take the left fork and follow the river to the stunning Mermaid Pools.

From Mermaid Pool, backtrack 100 metres back up the track and you'll find a steep path off to the left that leads up over the ridge. Make sure you stop off for wondrous views over the pool.  Follow the signs onto Tahmoor Canyon.

Related posts

• Mermaid Pools revisited  (September 2014)

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Fish River Canyon (Namibia)

We stayed at the Ai Ais hot springs for a few days on the way to The Orange River.  It was sweltering hot but fun, especially swimming in the hot pools when it cooled down at night.  We did a drive to the gorgeous Fish River Canyon on the one day.

Sanjay and I head for The Blue Mountains

The Grand Canyon

It was mostly raining when we did the three hour canyon walk but apart from getting very wet (including my poor camera), the rain added to the walk as the waterfalls were bigger and the river was flowing more strongly which created atmosphere and drama.

Here is Sanjay, about to walk along the path right behind a waterfall.  Very cool!

Walking along the top of the canyon, looking into the dark, deep abyss.

Walking right in the canyon itself - see how the water is cascading into the river from the canyon walls.  Made us wet but it was beautiful.

Walking along the river in the canyon.

The Three Sisters

The Three Sisters were completely covered in mist when we got there but after a patient wait, they teased us then finally showed themselves.

Pulpit's Rock

This was the highlight of the day - an amazing view from an amazing look out point from a rock that jutted out into the valley like a church pulpit.  The view was also swathed in mist at first but gradually revealed itself to us.  The photos do not even nearly do it justice.

The Canyon Hike (Blue Mountains)

This is a fantastic three hour hike along the top of a canyon, followed by a steep descent into the canyon itself and a walk along the river, followed by an inevitable steep walk out.  The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and the canyon itself, with its shady glens and ferns and lush vegetation, provides respite from the heat of the day.

It was very difficult to capture the essence of this hike in photographs. The canyon itself was quite dark and the sun above was very bright so there was too much contrast.  So, I focused more on enjoying the hike. But below are some of the photos I did take.

Here is a view out of the narrow canyon from the river bed below.

The river was gorgeous, in parts filled with colourful pebbles and rocks.

Here you can see some debris deposited by the river.  This place must be scary when the river rises in a storm.  In the photo, you can see the canyon walls in the background.

There were some lovely trees too.

This bright red parrot was enjoying the sun and feeding on the floor as I came out of the canyon.

The canyon hike culminates at Evan's Lookout which provides lovely views out across the Grose Valley.

I met this couple gazing out at the view.  The photo doesn't show it but they both held a glass of champaign.  That's the way to enjoy a view!