Moonlight Falls

^{Moonlight Ridge}^{GPS Coords: -43.4550, 146.7970}

Updated on 26 Jan 2026

Moonlight Falls
© 2015 - 2026 Photography: Caedence Kuepper

Grade 5 Hike ^{Suitable for very experienced hikers only.} 10km's10 Hours returnRough unformed track No directional signage ^{No Modification of the natural environment.}
	Dogs are not allowed
	Drones are not allowed
	Unknown if accessible with a caravan
	Unknown if accessible with a campervan or RV
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Rating	average rating of 7 out of 10 rated by 1 person

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By Caedence Kuepper

About Moonlight Falls

Moonlight Falls is a major, multi tiered waterfall where Moonlight Creek leaps off the edge of the escarpment towards Moonlight Flats below. With a 50 metre main plunge and 80 metre total drop the falls are among the tallest and most spectacular in Tasmania, however with no tracks accessing the falls they are very rarely visited. The most realistic access to the falls is from above via the Moonlight Ridge track, though this gives just a teaser of the impressive falls below, while accessing the base is only possible via a very long and arduous off track mission that should only be attempted by very experienced hikers.

Top of Moonlight Falls

To reach the top of Moonlight Falls, follow the Moonlight Ridge Track from South Lune Road near Ida Bay, climbing steeply until you reach Moonlight Ridge. From here, continue to a small campsite on the banks of the eastern fork of Moonlight Creek, in total a 7.7km walk from the trailhead. At this point you have to leave the track, and continue downstream parallel to the creek, travelling through an area extensively burnt in 2012 fires. After a little over a kilometre of walking, you will come to Moonlight Creek Cascades, which are well worth the trip on their own. From here, it is only a short distance to the main falls, so it is worth making the last extra effort. Stay just above the creek in the burnt area, until an opportunity presents to head into the rocky creek bed for the final stretch to the falls. This shouldn't be attempted when the creek is in flood, given the size of the drop not far further on. The views once at the top of the falls are spectacular, and a scramble to the base around the western side of the escarpment looks tantalisingly possible. The scrub is truly impenetrable, however, with the photo in the gallery on this page showing how far we made it in from the top in over half an hour of bushbashing. We were lucky to even get this good of a view, with a small gap in the scrub providing a window towards the falls. If we hadn't stumbled across this opening, the mission into the scrub would have been for no reward at all.

Despite the limited viewpoints, the falls are still impressive from above, particularly with the added bonus of Moonlight Creek Cascades nearby. It is recommended to attempt the trip as an overnighter, with at least 11 hours being required if you wanted to do the hike in a single day.

Base of Moonlight Falls

To attempt a trip to the base of Moonlight Falls, continue along South Lune Road past the Moonlight Ridge Track turnoff, then turn left onto South Lune Spur 3 and continue until a large bend at the point of the road closest to Moonlight Creek provides space to park. Walk a few hundred metres up the road until the point shown on the GPS route in the gallery on this page, then dive into the scrub and begin climbing uphill. The initial section through regrowth is a bit scrubby but as the climb enters national park it opens up into rainforest until the highpoint is reached after a 250 metre climb. From the highpoint, there is some thick scrub to negotiate whatever way you go, but try to avoid descending too far into a gully that appears on your right which contains some horrendous scrub lower down. Finally, just as it looks like you are about to break out onto the buttongrass of Moonlight Flats, there is a final 100 metres of the worst cutting grass and scrub you will find all day, but once you break through Moonlight Falls can be seen towering off in the distance and you are at the halfway point of the trek.

On Moonlight Flats, head across the buttongrass, then head right straight towards Moonlight Creek itself. Avoid the temptation to head throught the burnt scrub straight towards the falls to cut the corner of the creek as we did on the way in, as this strands you in the worst scrub on the flats. Heading towards Moonlight Creek takes you through more burnt forest and the first section following the creek upstream can be a bit nasty with the creek itself often choked with fallen trees. However, press on and the creek soon opens up, and rock hopping and wading through it becomes by far the best option. For this reason the hike should not be attempted after heavy rain as the creek may become impossible to negotiate. Continuing upstream, the creek soon climbs above the scrub of Moonlight Flats and enters gorgeous rainforest, and you begin to climb larger boulders and cascades in the creek. Eventually, you will arrive at the 20 metre lower section of Moonlight Falls, a mossy stepped cascade. While beautiful, it also presents the most dangerous part of the hike as you have to scale the cliff itself, not to be attempted in high flow. However, the main falls are only a few metres upstream immediately around the corner.

Once at the base of Moonlight Falls the sight is breathtaking, with an plunging upper tier over an overhanging cliff then splitting into a segmented lower section, at least 50 metres high in total. The photos on this page show the falls during summer with flows relatively low, and the happy medium in terms of long days, and moderate flow such that the falls are impressive but the creek still accessible is probably durnig late spring. The photos from the top were taken after heavy rain and may have been too much water to attempt the base of the falls. It should not be understated just how difficult this hike is, however, requiring at least 10 hours to complete, entirely off track and featuring some of the worst scrub you will find anywhere.

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