A Hidden Gem

I love visiting new places when we go hiking and that happens quite often because of where we live.  There is so much unexplored beauty within a days drive of our home and I think we will spend the rest of our lives finding such places.
On Sunday our friend Joan picked us up for a trip to a place that we were privileged to visit.  You see everyone that knows about this place keeps it very much to themselves.  It is somewhat off the beaten track and you would not find the entrance to it without knowing where it is.  It is a short walk compared to a lot of other places that we have visited with Joan and at this time of the year it is quite beautiful.  The waterfall is unnamed as far as we know but it should be named teacup because the waterfall falls into what looks like a giant cup.  There was not a lot of water flowing over the falls at this time of the year and I look forward to revisiting the falls after the wet season.  But what is most appealing about the falls is the number of orchids.  They live in every nook and canny surrounding the falls, and that is the reason that everyone keeps quiet about this place.  You see there would be a lot of people who would come in and steal these beautiful orchids and that would be disastrous.  I love seeing these magnificent plants in their natural environment.  There is a large variety of orchids living here from giant to pin head size.  There are only a couple that are flowering at the moment and Joan said that the majority will flower in September/October.  That might be a nice time to re-visit.

Spectacular Orchids

Philip and Joan walked to the top of the falls while I recuperated after my tumble!

I had a bit of fall on some slippery rocks at the falls (Grade 2 MCL ligament sprain) so it cut short the time we would normally spend in a place like this but we found this lovely spot to park and have a cup of tea and lunch.  It was, as always with a Joan, and lovely day.