03-09-17

Mandy and I

A long time ago dad told me about this timber chute up a slot that gave easy access to the cliff tops above the Wolgan. They use to slide logs down it, said he. It’s somewhere around here, it’s an easy road up to the base of it and you can sit on the cliff edge at the top and see the whole valley.

So I’ve been looking for it on and off for years, well not really. I’ve always hoped to come across it in my travels but hadn’t really done any detective work  or set out with a goal to specifically go looking for it, just had it in the back of my mind that it would be cool to stumble across.

Once I found an old timber platform hanging over the Wolgan cliffs out past long swamp and thought maybe that was it, may be dad had is spot mixed up and they accessed it from the top rather than from the valley. No, he said, it’s down past the pub somewhere.   We went there with the Germans.

“The Germans” were two couples who were touring around Australia in the late 60s/mid 70s. Apparently they were financing their travels by filming docos and sending them home. The story goes they turned up to spend two weeks in the Valley but liked it so much they built a shack stayed seven years, Dad’s motley crew of Willies Jeep nuts befriended them, taking them down food and even helping one get a job in the mines near Lithgow to help with finances.
In return “the germans” shared their Goanna stews and amazing finds and adventures, including a jeep trip down to the Colo junction (Well not quite, they had to walk the last 2km)

Another mate’s dad recalled the two worst jobs in a long life of back breaking job, One as a young man in the Timber chute where horse after horse went to slaughter. The other, much later, reclaiming the pipes from the Pipeline track…

Anyhoo, That left a big somewhere. Not sure what it was we found, someone suggested a hang glider launch… Anyhoo

Last year while flicking through an old climbing guide that I had read and read again back when we had first gotten into climbing, one that has been sitting in my draw for the last 20 years, Lo and behold there it was staring me in the face. “The Timber chute walls”. You eeejiot Craig!

How had I missed that?

So I dragged Mandy out for a walk and we followed the cliff lines around and found a likely creek. But just up stream we were blocked by a small water fall. Our up and down route along the cliff had sucked up too much time and we needed to beat a retreat. Next time Gagdet.

12 months later I was keen as keen for another look.

This time we followed the old road up the gully before spearing off and making our way up to the cliff line. The lower cliff line here is more a jumble of broken slabs and each time we got into the creek we were stopped by another unclimbable waterfall so we traversed back and forward up through the scree and finally reached the base of the upper cliff. From here it was an easy walk around into the canyon.

And what a little ripper it is.

Party Size. 2 Both experienced

Time: 3hrs car to car with lots of photos and a long lunch

You have Nothing to loose and a world to see. What are you doing in here?

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