As part of our mandatory stop at The Three Sisters at Katoomba, we arranged to meet up with my friend, Mat, who lives at Blackheath. Mat knows the Blue Mountains like his own backyard. Actually, I think Mat knows every single walking track in The Blue Mountains! I always count on Mat to take me on fantastic walking tracks that are readily accessible, though rarely visited by the hordes of tourists who visit Katoomba.

Many people visit the Blue Mountains, but often only manage to enjoy half the experience. The total Blue Mountains experience is both visual and auditory. Most tourists are limited to visiting Katoomba, along with bus loads of visitors. They arrive at the point lookout and see one of the most spectacular sites in OZ, but never fully experience the magic that the Blue Mountains offers, thanks to the noise made by their fellow travellers.

Mat came to our rescue and we left Katoomba. We drove 15 minutes west of Katoomba to Govetts Leap, at Blackheath.

The lookout overlooks Govetts Gorge. This gorge runs north from Blackheath, meeting the Grose River Gorge at the Blue Gum Forest.

According to local legend, a bushranger (highway robber) called Govett rode his horse over the cliff in preference to being captured. A statue of this fictional character is located near the lookout.

In reality, the name refers to the leap of water (waterfall). Discovered in 1831 by surveyors William Govett and Francis Rusden, it was named some time later.

When we arrived at the point lookout, we immediately knew we were going to experience the full 100% visual and audio magic. We were alone...

Not only was the view breathtaking - but the sound of the wind, the birds, and the leaves fluttering in the wind made us stop and interact with their whisperings.

I had only managed to see the waterfall from the top during my last visit. This time, however, we decided to walk down to the falls, the round-trip taking 1.5 to 2 hours.

The walk down was not too difficult, but at the same time it wasn't as easy as the walks within Katoomba. Maybe this is why it's so peaceful. There are sections with steel ladders and walkways, but most of the time you walk down a dirt track.

When we reached the bottom we looked up at the waterfall, and it was at this point that we realized how much the walk down had been worth the effort. It is one of the best small waterfalls in the area, and definitely worth the trip down.

Being one to fully experience any activity (although it was freezing) I was determined to immerse myself totally! Off came the clothes down to my birthday suit and WOW, was the water cold! It was exhilarating! Here I was, having a natural shower of freezing water (melted snow from the previous night) amongst the boulders, nature and my friends! When he saw how much I was enjoying it, Mat stripped off!

We managed to endure the cold for about 40 seconds. Due to the fact that our body temperature had dropped, when we came out of the water we felt warm, compared with the surrounding cool air. It was then back into our clothes for more photos, and the 45-minute trek back up!

Overall experience (out of 10) I would give it a 9.5!