One of the lesser known features on the West Moorabool are the Granite Falls. Situated downstream of the Moorabool Falls below Salt Creek they are characterised by a curtain of cascades over a broad granite span. The right hand section facing upstream has water springing from fissures in the face. The area is badly infested with blackberry bushes but despite this the beauty of the site is quite evident.
On the 29th of December 2016 a group of us met at a site on the Moorabool below Meredith to view the annual movement of hundreds of juvenile short finned eels up the river. These creatures, barely 20cm long, are finishing their several thousand kilometer journey from the Coral Sea. The peak of the migration occurs between Christmas and New year.
This beautiful section of the river with its deep pools, tumbling falls and high cliffs made for a perfect place from which to observe this remarkable event.
We were also keen to measure the depths at the site as the CCMA is currently undertaking a project identifying habitat pools and were interested in a comparison. With a rudimentary setup (boogie board, 2kg weight and 10mts of 10mm rope) we took over 20 soundings in each of the two pools. The depth in both was impressive with the lower pool measuring and astounding 8.85 meters. At this time we believe it is the deepest natural section of the river.
Our thanks go to Peter and his family for allowing us to visit this amazing section of the Moorabool River.
After a week of substantial rainfall the river finally got going. Lal lal falls were spectacular as were the Moorabool Falls. Visiting the river at Batesford the next day revealed a silent, muscular river making its way toward the Barwon. These flows have definately provided the scouring action the river has sorley needed. While there was some evidence of overbank flows it wasn't all that widespread.
Below is a series of short clips taken on the 14th and 15th of September. The lens on my phone suffered a wee accident so apologies for the spotty nature of the footage.
After visiting a little over a month ago and seeing only a few drips of water coming down the face of the falls despite reasonable rain it was heartening to find the falls in action.
This had been what we found in late May after a week of showers. Nonexistant flows.
It is a stark reminder of how much water is needed to first fill the onstream dams along the Lal Lal before flows are able to make their way downstream.