Why you shouldn't swim at popular waterfall: OPINION

BUT giving a polite reminder to those who are breaking the rules makes you feel like the 'fun police', and can lead to a serious case of 'falls rage'.

Protestors Falls at Terania Creek. Picture: Contributed Peter Greenwell

ONE of the hardest things to do in life is to call out poor behaviour when you see it and not look the other way.

So on a visit to Protestors Falls on Sunday, my family and I faced an uphill battle to politely remind people of the no swimming rule at the base of falls.

When we got there, already one young woman was in swimming and several others were hovering in their swimwear, or with towels around their shoulders.

It would have been easy for them not to have read the sign at the start of the walkway to the falls.

It's not very big and includes a long blurb about the endangered Fleay's barred frog.

It's also only in English and there were several backpackers there with accents, so they are not to know.

Saying something, rather than letting it go, it not easy because you don't want a polite reminder turn into 'falls rage'.

So when we spoke up there was a range of responses from complete denial (even though three women were in their swimwear beside the edge of the pool), to a shrug of the shoulders, to 'oh, thanks for pointing it out and I'll get out straight away'.

National Parks and Wildlife could do themselves a big favour if they want the Fleay's barred frog to survive and simply put up a big 'no swimming' sign at the start of the walk to the falls.

That way there can be no ambiguity.

Potential swimmers will be forewarned and those that want to speak up won't feel like the fun police.

It's akin to asking people to stop talking in a movie, or stop smoking in a no smoking zone.