Called either Joe Crafts Waterfall or Joe Crafts Creek Falls, this small but picturesque waterfall is reached via a short bushwalk from the end of Warrina St in Berowra. Joe Crafts Creek originates near the Berowra Oval, passing through a residential area of Berowra before entering bushland. After dropping over a wide rock ledge to form Joe Crafts Waterfall, the creek continues through Muogamarra Nature Reserve, before flowing into Half Moon Bay. (If you’re doing the Great North Walk from Berowra Waters to Cowan, you’ll cross Joe Crafts Creek downstream of the falls.) The walking track from Warrina St reaches the top of the waterfall, which plunges off the edge of a large rock ledge.
You can descend the waterfall on the left hand side (when facing downstream), to reach the base of the waterfall.
Venture a little further downstream and find a suitable spot to cross the creek (without getting wet feet) to reach the opposite side of the falls. There’s a small, sandy area here which makes a nice spot to look at the falls.
Getting to Joe Crafts Waterfall
The quickest and easiest way to reach Joe Crafts Creek Falls is from the end of Warrina St, along the Warrina St Firetrail (none of entire route to the falls is within a national park, so dogs and bikes are allowed).
(An alternate starting point is from the end of Mary Wall Crescent, which adds about 600m in distance.)
After about 0.6km, the firetrail ends beneath an electrical pylon… and while it’s not immediately obvious, a walking track on the left hand side of the pylon continues to descend to the creek. The track is steep in a few places, but fairly easy to follow.
After another 0.4km along the bushwalking track, you reach Joe Crafts Creek, just above Joe Crafts Waterfall. A rough track continues to the base of the falls, but a bit of (easy) scrambling is required – just be careful as the rocks can be very slippery.
Continuing down Joe Crafts Creek
There’s no track beyond Joe Crafts Waterfall, but you can follow the creek further downstream. It varies from light bush-bashing to thick scrub, so expect progress to be fairly slow. Unfortunately, as Joe Crafts Creek flows through residential area, it picks up urban run-off and litter – there’s lot of garbage stewn along the side of the creek. If you’re after some off-track walking along a creek, I’d recommend Kierans Creek which is a lot more pleasant. I continue about 0.6km downstream of the falls, before returning the same way.
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