Ellenborough Falls & Rainforest Walk
Drive inland from Port Macquarie to Ellenborough Falls — one of Australia's longest single-drop waterfalls at 160 metres — through the magnificent Comboyne Plateau rainforest.
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Comboyne Plateau Drive
The Comboyne Plateau rises behind Port Macquarie to 800 metres — the basalt soils support dairy farming and subtropical rainforest remnants, a completely different landscape to the coastal plain below.
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Ellenborough Falls Lookout
The lookout at the falls crest shows the full 160-metre drop — water slides off the plateau edge in a single unbroken fall to the rainforest-choked gorge below, one of Australia's most impressive waterfalls.
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Valley Floor Walk
A steep 400-step track descends to the valley floor and the pool at the base of the falls — the journey into the gorge reveals the scale of the water drop and the ancient rainforest that fills the sheltered valley.
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Pool at Falls Base
The pool at the base of Ellenborough Falls is crystal clear — the spray from the fall creates a perpetual mist in the gorge, and the rainforest that surrounds the pool is in constant motion.
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Rainforest Loop Track
A loop track through the rainforest above the falls passes giant fig trees and towering strangler figs — the buttress roots of some trees extend 3 metres from the trunk base in the rich volcanic soil.
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Comboyne Village
The tiny village of Comboyne has a hotel and general store from the 1890s — the community hall hosts the Comboyne Plateau Festival each year, celebrating the farming and dairy heritage of this elevated community.