Newnes Plateau canyons

September 30, 2018June 3, 2019 | flynny101

29/09/2018

Madie, Chardi, Tim, Marchelle Gabby and meeee

I often browse websites, blogs, trip reports and photos looking for inspiration and in doing so years ago I stumbled across a name of a canyon I’d not heard of before. My interest was pipped. More research revealed nothing but another name of a second canyon close by.

After some assumptions, deductions, guess-work and staring at satellite imagery I mark 2 points on the map with question marks. But at the time I didn’t have a group I thought would be willing to go in search of a probably low quality canyon through thick scrub just for the hell off it. And, well life got in the road And that was the end of that.

But the other week I pulled out my old map and those 2 question marks burned into me. I put out a call to see who’d be keen on an exploration trip that would probably involve a wet canyon but probably not stunning or wow material.

To my surprise the above mentioned folk said yes and so we found ourselves parked on a seemingly random bit of otherwise highly trafficked firetrail and we headed off into the untracked scrub.

Only then we stumbled over an old vehicle track that was heading right where I’d marked would be the most likely easy way to enter the creek.

The track stopped at a rock outcrop and while there was no obvious path down it was an easy scramble into the creek. Surprisingly there was a footpad of sorts along the creek edge. OK this must get more visitors than I thought.

And then

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Just like a chocolate milk shake only crunchy

I was pretty sure I was looking at a small Wollemi Pine. But this isn’t where they were suppose to be. I fire off a few photos to compare images later on but I convince myself it was something else.

What going on? says they

I thought that was a Wollemi pine. say I

The plaque says it is a wollemi pine.

OK I missed that. It seems it was planted in 2008 as a memorial to two people who enjoyed the area. OK that explains that.

From here the faint track disappears and is replaced by not so faint scrub.

Scrubby Scrub.

At some point the conversation turns to buggery and bestiality. WTF? the weird conversations you have in the bush. Those who recognise where we are may get the reference.

Anyhoo Chardi, who missed the memo that it was going to be a wet trip until Tim picked him up and asked if he had his wetsuit packed, is not impressed with the scrub so far. He makes comment on our 6 dope trip and threatens to wipe me off his list if things don’t improve dramatically

Luckily we round a bend and are greeted by a drop into a heavenly looking pool. Well it would be heavenly looking if it was 28° summer day instead of at 14° mid spring day…

How’s the water?

Bathy and only knee deep, or sumfink…

What follows is a delightful little Sheep Dip style of canyon with lots of slides

Abseils

and Jumps

Chardi forgives me for the scrub on the way in.

And in-between were some surprisingly nice bits of canyon. Not mind=blowing wow but nice

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And after another little drop we find a spot in the sun to warm up and have a bit of morning tea. There are signs that this spot is more visited. I point out there is a popular walk in the area and this bit could be visited from the bottom up before the waterfall stopped you.

We continue down a track of sorts but now I’m looking for a pass out to try to link up with the other possible canyon. I’m starting to think there wont be one when a steep gully appears that looks like it might go.

Tim and Gabby follow Madie up a steep bit of scrub out of the creek. Chardi and Marchelle follow me a few meters down stream where I think looks to be an easier ramp.

I scramble up a steep rock using a small sapling as a hold and reach out with my other hand to grab a reasonable size tree root.

That’s not a tree root. Tigersnake! Big one. Now I’m generally pretty good around snakes so I slowly stand and be as non-threatening as I can be. Old mate has flattened out but on a cool spring day I doubt he is going to waste energy on me if I don’t threaten him. I slowly reach for my camera. The bugger stands up and comes straight at me. I jump back off the rock.

Did I mention the rock was steep. so now it’s on top of the rock where I was just standing and I’m at the bottom of the rock which pretty much puts us eye to eye about a foot and a half away from each other.

It comes at me again. Shit!

Ok so snakey people know that Tigersnakes put on pretty good threat displays but unless you try and pick one up or step on it they’ll often do a bit of bluff where they launch a closed mouth headbutt to scare you off. This one had it’s mouth closed. I highly doubt it was looking to bite but when it’s coming at your face all that goes out the window. I launch myself backwards down the hill.

Chardi is wondering what the hell is going on, surely I didn’t fall of that bit of rock, did I break and handhold or…. Oh Snake.

I stumble in the loose rocks and fallen branches, I’ve put a good couple of meters between us but I look up and it’s still coming at me. I’m all tangled up on the ground and have nowhere to go. Shit Shit! Shit! I’m f#$ked.

It gets to within about a meter and veers off. Shit!

Marchelle cottons on to whats happening. The Snake coils around. Takes another good look at us, sees there is now 3 big things not just 1 and takes off into the undergrowth directly towards the other group.

Watch out! Angry Tigersnake coming across towards you.

They all take it nice and calmly and continue up the hill. I compose myself and do likewise.

Later, back at the cars Chardi brings up the snake encounter.

What? Where? Oh wow we thought you called out you couldn’t continue up where you were and were coming across toward us. Then we wondered why you didn’t

No wonder they were so calm about it.

But we get ahead of ourselves. For now we continue up and reach the top of the gully only to be blocked by a small overhang and the last little bit of the cliff. Using Chardi as a ladder a scramble up the overhang and the dirty, not quiet vertical scree and set a rope. I call,Rope below .

Don’t bother there is an easy pass up to the side.

Now they tell me.

Once through the cliffs it was an easy stroll through fairly open scrub down into the next gully along until we are stopped by a reasonable sized cliffline. We had plenty of ropes but as they say in the Bluies “The nose always goes! Sometimes.” Just up-stream on a bend I see a steep nose that looks like it would indeed go.

The scrub to get there was horrid but it gave us a way down. It was steep and slippery and at one stage Gabby slipped bounced into me and like a snooker ball I shot off down the next bit. Then again she slipped and landed on me…. Well she says she slipped but I’m taking it as a compliment or sumfink.

Anyhoo we reach the creek. The dry, dirty creek filled with razor grass and dead fern fonds and choss and disappointment.

We fight our way down stream. Chardi revokes his forgiveness and when we are sure this isn’t going to be a canyon suggested the creek be renamed Flynny’s Folly.

And then a trickle of water. Then a rocky bottom. And then, out of nowhere

I didn’t think the previous creek was as cold as I expected. This one seemed to make up for it.

At one point we drop into a pot hole to find the other side to be rimmed with a 2 meter high wall (Water must flow underneath but the passage was silted up with sand. I scramble up. The wall is about a foot wide and drops straight back down into a pool on the other side. I help Gabby up and then use her pack to lower her down until her feet touch the water and drop her.

I must admit I didn’t really pay attention to her landing. I help Tim up. Just slide down the wall and land soft it’s only about waist deep. says I.

Tim slides and disappears under the water. OK chin deep….

But just around the corner it opens up into a glorious amphitheatre and we warm ourselves in the sun thinking that’s it. But just just down stream

One more short swim through the darkest and prettiest bit of canyon so far on the trip

And then the gully opens out.

Near by was far more popular canyon and while we were in the area we thought why not

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And then it’s up the hill and back to the car.

Party size: 6 all experienced

Timing: 6hrs car to car

Life is more enjoyable and less oppressive with some mountain air, a little adventure and just the right company

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I like to wander

September 22, 2018September 22, 2018 | flynny101

22-09-2018

Geoff and me

Sometimes I like to just go for a look to see what’s around the next corner. Curiousity tugs at me to veer off the usual path. That tends to annoy Mandy, especially when we are off track and in dence scrub, but in doing so I’ve come across some great features, sometimes not too far off popular trails.

Anyhoo, armed with rumours, vague recolections and no real idea I wanted to go for a bit of a wander around near the Pogoda track between glowworm tunnels and the old coach rd and Geoff was keen to join me so off we went.

I’d picked out a couple of gullies on the satelite images that looks like they might be interesting. Gullies I’ve riden and walked past numourous times over the years but never ventured down.

It was a prefect Bluebird day with glorious sun shine yet not too hot an we made our way along the old rd before veering off into our first target.

Imediately we were greeted with relics from the fuel pipe line that pump feul refined from the shale works at Glen Davis, across to Newnes Juntion to be shipped out to who knows where.

Bridge for the pipe line made out of reclaimed rail tracks

Both Geoff and I were familiar with this piece of histroy but hadn’t ventured into the gully below it

So confident were the owners of the Newnes shale works in it’s longevity that when the built the Wolgan Valley railway to service it they used double headed rail track known as bullhead. More expensive up front but as it worn down you simply flipped it over

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We admire the dry stone wall supporting the road above as we scramble our way down into the gully.

For our efforts we are greeted with some nice curved rock walls and plentiful thick scrub before our way was blocked by a drop into a short but dark slot. I’d bought a short rope believing we wouldn’t encounter anything too big out here. I was wrong.

Geoff above a sharp drop that was surprisingly deep.

Foiled we scramble out and make our way back up a ridge to the road.

The next gully I had earmarked was even less traversable and thus we worked our way around to the start of the pogoda trail and then followed the base of clifflines around looking for things of interest.

A tactic that generally pays off one way or another.

Some moderate scrambling and not so moderate scrub bashing bought us to this stunning overhang. I’d be keen to see it in rain with the waterfall flowing

The view from under the dripping waterfall

We push on and just aroud the corner Geoff calls for morning tea. That rock up there will do. We scramble up and discover and long disused humpy

An old pallet bed made out of felled timber with some fence pailing nailed to it. most of the pailing long sine rotten

Remains of a wind break

When the railway was being built there was a thriving town nearby complete with a pub and post office. This seems a little too far away to be assciated with that but maybe someone wanted a bit of solitude away from the rowdiness of Greens camp.

With the things we were hoping to find seeming like a bit of a chimera we changed tack and scramble up on the cliff tops.

Looking back across pagoda tops to the rock way holding up the old coach rd

Before visiting an more well know humpy

A rough home though probably more cosy than most had further along in Greens camp.

And so back up the coach road. A pleasant day for just having a look

Donkey mountain viewed down through the gap where the trail line cut through the tunnel and hence into the Wolgan.

Not all who wander are lost. Well I am. I’m often lost as shit and loving every minute of it

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Windows again

September 16, 2018September 16, 2018 | flynny101

15-09-2018

With Tim’s crew

So I wouldn’t normally repeat this one so soon as there are other trips nearby I prefer but Tim was back and his trips are always awesome, plus I was keen to see if it was possible to descend the side slot we visited from the bottom last time, also Ed still hadn’t done Windows and was free, and, well, what the hell

Anyhoo, Ed arrives at my place and we head off to meet the others. With a couple of extras the group was going to be over the max group size recommended by NPs so we decided to break into 2 smaller groups.

I’d head off with the first group and Tim would follow with the second group 15min later. Well I say Tim but we all know Chardie is the real leader, or so he says or sumfink.

We planned to take my pass up for something different. It adds about 30min-1hr to the trip depending on how long to spend soaking in the ambience as the route takes in an impressive bit cliff line that is riddled with slots and niches.

We spend a bit of time enjoying this and the second group breifly catches back up as I’m leading my group out.

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The plan is to meet up again at the top and stay reasonably close until we find the top of the side slot but first we need to get up my pass

morning tea with a view while we wait for the second group.

Now we had a breif bit of scrub to get through then we should drop down right on top of the slot I wanted to look down and, sure enough I come to the top of a slot except I turned off the ridge slightly too early and living up to the reason I orginally dubbed this spot Kenobi point, this was not the slot I was looking for.

I should have used the GPS….

Anyhoo. It was a tad scrub-bashy but the slot lead us down into the valley easy enough and while it did threaten to canyon up at one point it was nothing on the other slot

The Slot we descended

The slot I wanted to descend

Click to enbiggen

And then we split up again. My group would push forward with the bulk of the ropes and set the first couple of abseils. Tim’s group (Chardie’s group) would follow collecting the ropes which would then be exchanged again at the lunch ledge.

The best shot I’ve ever managed to get of the arch that has the window

Actually, I don’t mind this one either

I set the rope just to have it out of my pack and headed to the lunch ledge. Pointing the way to the ledge to those behind. Laurie missed the memo and as I was eating lunch I hear him call, On rope is any one on Belay?

NO, we’re up here.

I can here them down there but I cant see them. Is some one on belay?

We’re up here. No one is down there.

Oh, laughter

Crisis avoided…

Best lunch ledge in the Wolgan

Click to largify

We finish lunch and have a bit of time to soak in the ambience before we hear the second group behind us so we meet them at the base of the abseil, exchange ropes and continue on

Looking up through the arch

Trying not to make it a but shot of Marchelle in the arch

click to size up

Ev about 3/4 of the way down the 5th and final and most impressive and fun abseil

Once down we wait for the second group to catch up before all stringing out for the short walk back to the cars.

Another great day out with awesome people

Most of us are pretending to awesome while struggling to be normal. But what’s the point of normal? Normal never left it’s mark on anyone.

Time: A tad over 6hrs car to car

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Pagoda Canyons in the rain

September 9, 2018September 9, 2018 | flynny101

8-09-2018

Madie, Wouter, Meeee with a cameo from Jen

So with a bunch of other commitments I didn’t get out canyoning at all in August. In fact the last real canyon trip I lead was almost 2 months ago so I was frothing to get out.

I was keen for a couple of the Pagoda canyons on the Plateau before the weather warmed up and when Madie said she had the weekend off I thought why not combine a few of the smaller ones to make it worth her drive.

I also thought she’d might be nutty enough to join me for our first wet canyon of Spring.

Can I bring a friend, asks she.

Yep says I. And so Wouter, would be joining us for his first canyoning experience.

Jen had a morning free opted in for the first canyon too.

After a long dry spell a week of steady drizzle was welcomed by all and certainly made the first two usually dry canyons a bit more special.

The rain made the ledges a little more slippery

Wouter and Jen Tip-toeing along the tiny ledges

The Acoustic chamber could be called the TARDIS chamber. It’s bigger from the inside

The first recorded group through here called it Acoustic Canyon due to a series of these chambers. But as there was another little canyon out in the Nayook system already called Acoustic this one is now normally just called Sunnyside, though the Jameison guide also lists it as Wombat.

You can normally get through this one without getting your feet wet. Not today

All the little side waterfalls were amazeballs. Madie doing a “Supermodel” pose, Jen wondering what sort of nutcases she has gotten herself mixed up with

such soft light and textures in the mist

Back to the car we say goodbye to Jen and make our way to the next one.

After the amount of water in the last “dry” canyon I was expecting a bit more in this one

I normally don’t bother with a rope here but the walls were extra slippery so we played it safe

Not sure why we are trying to stay dry at this point

So do you guys want to slip over and check out the tops or make a dash for time and go and get wet in another canyon? Asks me

Why can’t we do both, replies Madie in her best el Paso impersonation.

Right on!

From the top you wouldn’t imagine that goreous, airy chamber is just down there

Then it’s back up the ridge, into the car for a longish drive around to our next stop. I have to say I was a bit excited for this one. Madie was so excited she wetsuited up while we were driving. I’m not sure Wouter knew what to make of it all.

We made the car park at a bit after 3. Starting a canyon, a wet canyon so late on a cool, wet, early spring day would normally not be sensible. But this one is super short, we managed to go car to car in just over an hour which is nuts.

But it is nice as a side trip on the way home.

So are we going to abseil down beside a waterfall? Asks Wouter on the way in

Um not exactly, says I

Now I’ve done this one at normal water levels. I’ve done it with Ed when the water was pounding. I’ve been there with Julie when the water was so big we decided to bypass the falls

After a long dry then a week of drizzle I wasn’t sure what to expect but as we short-cutted over the ridge we could here the falls roaring and as they came into veiw it looked just right.

41363529_720577098289876_2018296739747856384_n — To answer Wouter’s question, we wont be going down “beside” the falls. ©Madie

41440929_2132670233614589_5862282642782683136_n — He was more than up for it. ©Madie

41202523_2177116649229903_1711821454191886336_n — ©Madie

It’s a cracker of a abseil

41347748_2110291149223657_3800921502908416000_n — ©Madie

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All in all another great day in the bush

Millions long for immortality who don’t know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Party Size. 4 for Sunnyside/acoustic. 3 for Zorro and Alcatraz

Timing: I think it was about 2hrs car to car for Sunnyside (with a bit extra walking along the firetrail due to trees down). a fraction under 2hr for Zorro and 1hr for Alcatraz with a bit of time driving between the lot

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	flynny101 on Wollangambe Fire trail
	Jeanette Learned on Wollangambe Fire trail

sleepwhenwearedead

blue, mts, canyon, canyoning, mtb, mountain bike, gardens of stone, Lithgow

Month: September 2018

Newnes Plateau canyons

I like to wander

Windows again

Pagoda Canyons in the rain