Month: April 2026

Thunder

| flynny101

17/04/2026

wild_elly, dw3lla, freedom_runs, mshbee, estonian_pirate and meeeeeeeeeeee

Most people visit Thunder Canyon from the bottom, wandering up from the junction after absieling in from Claustral or Ranon.

After all you get to visit the best bit while also doing another of the Classic 3. The tops not worth it. Said they.

By they are all worth doing once say I.

We’d actually planned this several times. Once we canned it because Gadget and H couldn’t make it.

Then they canned it because I couldn’t make it.

Then we canned it because Jason couldn’t make it.

And we all but canned it this time because Kris and Muz were going to a running race.

But the race fell through so at the last minute Thunder was back in business. Baby!

We head out along the ridge with a couple of options of where we might drop in.

Stupidly I ignored my own advice about wearing long pants in favour of lighter weight and more room in the keg. This meant by the end of the walk in I’d have a bit less skin to carry out too…

About mid ridge we gain a rocky outcrop. The views were stunning and the walking a lot less cutty.

We have more scrub to push through but it’s not as bad from here out.

Finally we get to a spot we think we should drop in so as not to miss a short uppersection of canyon. We follow a minor tributary down hoping it offers an easy break but it cliffs out much too high for our ropes.

We push back out and gain a small nose that leads down, down, down, cliff out.

At least there are ledges below us that have decent trees to reanchor from. Still we seem to be a long way up.

We set a rope and I absiel down and spend a stupidily long time looking for options to get us into the creek. Problem is I can see another ledge below but still can’t tell how far down the creek is. It sounds like a fair cascade or waterfall below.

I have the irrational thought that we are directly above Westaway Falls. The eap shows them a fair bit down stream but I’m second guessing.

I call Jason down for back up. He shares concern about the water echoing below and whether we are missing a good bit of canyon. I show him a couple of options including one a little up stream.

I can see the creek bed there. Says he. He has better eye sight than me but I make out the rocky creek bed amid the dark shadows.

Come on down we call.

We get everyone down to the ledge and Kristo leads the abseil to the Canyon.

Oh Wow this looks like the start of Empress. he calls.

We’d gotten our entry spot on at the start of a short but pretty section, that as Kristo said, had the start of Empress Canyon vibes.

We make our way down stream. some tricky ledge walking and spidermaning keeps us dry for the time being.

The canyon opens a bit and we make our way down a pretty gorge. There’s some scrambling, wading and downclimbs. Basic good fun.

I have the anchor, calls Kris from down canyon right.

But there is an awesome looking slot up here. Calls Jason from back abit canyon right. We check out the slot. It looks great and jason is super keen to drop in but Kris has already set rope. Wait til you see this abseil thou, He calls.

We head down. He is right this abseil looks amazeballs.

Of course this means we’ll need to do a second trip to do the slot option.

Kylie fishing for glowworms
Ms H Bee dropping in

once down…

Glowworms behind waterfalls

While I have visited this section many times from below it always blows me away and coming in from the top was just a bit extra special .

And before long we come to the Claustral Junction. From here down the canyon is well known to all of us and the rest of the trii is prettt cruzy

Remember just like it takes 7 wipes to know for sure you only needed 6, you need to do the canyon yourself to know whether it’s worth it.

They are all worth doing once and I’d definately repeat this one.

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Koombanda Afternoon

| flynny101

09/04/2026

Gadget and meeeeeeee

How about we pack and picnic and do a run through Koombanda this afternoon, says Kylie.

TBH I’d enjoyed a rare lazy morning so it took a bit of a prod to get me going. But finally, Sure, says I

You get the canyon gear ready, I’ll pack the food. Should we take wetsuits?

Na, says I. There are only two short swims. Lets go light and do an Undie run.

Cool but pack my rashie just in case.

And in no time we are off.

The cutty grass on the way in was cutty but we make our way down and find Tom’s pass that avoids the abseil out of the side creek

Some easy creek walking down the pretty uppersection and we get to the first abseil. I set the rope and Kylie leads the way.

I’m trying to avoid the plunge pool. She calls. It’s slippery. Oh F$#%! there’s a snake!!!

A bit of swearing ensues.

Are you Ok?

I’m wedge directly above it. I can’t move. I must have almost stepped on it

I gingerly descend down to wedge myself in next to her.

And down there on the rope end a very cold and not very happy little Tiger Snake stares up at us.

Bloody gate keepers

Tiger Snake, Notechis scutatus (meaning Southenrn (Notos) Echis (Genus of snake), Armed with a shield (Sutatus) (shield shaped scales)) Almost certainly I scared it down as I threw the ropes or Kylie knocked it off the ledge as she scrambled under the log….

What are we going to do?

You need to bridge out and jump into the pool.

what if it comes after me?

If anything you are going to scare it back towards me.

The thing about baby snakes is just about everything eats them. And most of those things swoop in from above. So sitting above one like this generally a good way to get it very defensive.

Contary to the popular myth that Australian venomous snaked can’t climb (they all can) tiger snakes are great climbers.

The side of the canyon was very slippery though which was preventing it coming up to us but this made bridging out over it f#$5ing difficult. 1 slip and we’d be landing on the poor little dude, which wouldn’t end well for either party.

Kylie carefully bridges out and jumps.

Success.

Now my turn.

Not quite as graceful but neither snake or human were harmed.

woot woot.

and we make our way down to the drop into the gorgeous chamber that Koomband is renown for

Kylie, still wary of snakes but still leading the way.

And one more quick swim and the canyon opens out and we make our way down to the old Coal mine and set up a picnic.

All in all a great little afternoon outing.

Do the thing: Alex Honnald.

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Pipeline again

| flynny101

05/04/2026

Wisie, Jess, Brooke and meeeeee

After Devils Pinch and Starlight we opted for a lazy Easter morning then a quick trip through Pipeline canyon.

Kylie wasn’t feeling well so decided to sit out.

The rest of us retraced yesterdays steps up the Pipeline trail but speared off early into the side canyon I’ve always known as Drainpipe.

I’m sure I’ve used an easier way into Drainpipe with Tim that avoids all the scrub in the upper gully, but as with last time with Russ we bashed down the gully.

Jess and Wisie were on rope duties and had their work cut out as some of the anchors needed creative solutions. A few of the anchor trees were rotten or completely gone.

Drainpipe lives up to it’s name with trickling skanky sludge rather than water.

will Brooke avoid the sludge?
negative.

A few tricky abseils later and we reach the junction with Pipeline.

The water will be crystal clear from here, says I

I should not of said that.

We get to the first large drop and down I go.

There’s a very dead kangaroo wedged into the corner of the pool below oozing its essence into the atmosphere.

</Spewie face>

Emerging from the Roo Stew pool
The log slide

Making our way down the narrow canyon

And before we know it we pop out of the canyon on the last 2 abseils.

After a bite to eat we follow the base of the clifflines back to the Pipeline track passing this little cutie along the way.

Iddy Biddy Broad-headed Snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides) barely 100mm long.

“There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar.” — Lord Byron

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Devils Pinch And Starlight Canyons

| flynny101

04/04/2026

Gadget, Brooke, Wisie, Jess and meeeeeee

Some of my earliest memories are of 4wding and camping with my dad in the Wolgan Valley.

The valley has a Genius loci.

A sense of place.

An allure.

It’s history of occupation, both Aboriginal and European, hangs in the air and hides in the undergrowth.

It’s special.

I remember times when it was less known, camping far down the river on unexpected flats.

I remember the hight of popularity when you had to get there early (On the Thursday or even Wednesday prior) to get a good spot on a long weekend.

And I remember more recent trips, where the restricted access returned a feeling of being almost alone in the valley.

So when an old footy mate offered to let me camp on his block of land hidden deep up a gully rarely travelled by the masses I jumped at the chance.

It’s Easter weekend, we wont be alone in the valley. Many campers were utelising Thomas’s shuttle, cabins and camp facitlities at Newnes Cabins. A few more walked in and set up in the NP camp ground (Why they still require bookings and charge fees when it’s walk in only is beyond me).

The road up to our campsite was rough and overgrown in parts but passable. The old hut was no longer there, another casualty of the Gospers Mountain fires, but the block itself every bit as beautiful as always.

We could have been a million miles from anyone, anywhere, and anywhen.

We are up and on the trail early. The pass up via the Pipeline trail is straightforward and Kylie leads us out along the ridge top that separate Newnes from Glen Davis. There’s a good trail for much of the way but as we near the top of Devils pinch creek we veer off, taking a short cut over a knoll and down into the creek.

H leads us down the creek to the first drop, there’s nothing really indicating the deep chasm to come.

We bypass the first few scrambling drops, favouring the longer drop off the ledge to the right.

I set the rope and Kylie leads the way in.

I’d forgotten how spectacular the top section of Devils Pinch is.

Gagdet remarks it’s second to Crikey in feels of depth and narrowness.

The second abseil comes straightway and has a very tricky start but Gadget is on anchor duty and guides us down no dramas.

Brooke regales us with a song.
Just around the corner the deep channel is filled with light

The canyon walls open out and we make our way down to the lower constriction.

Some scrambling and careful bridging keeps us out of the manky water, mostly.

And soon we come to the 20m abseil into the drier lower hallway.

As the canyon opens out we pause for lunch, then dump our canyon gear and make our way along the base of the cliff for a couple of hundred meters to the bottom of Starlight Canyon.

While worth doing on it’s own from the top I think combining it with Devils Pinch in this way makes it a great day out.

We reverse up the canyon, there’s a couple of scrambles but nothing overly tricky, unless you decide to try an alternative squeeze up a chute rather than the easy climb up and along the tree roots like I did…

The bottom of Starlight is like a hidden world and you half expect triceratops to be grazing on the fernery.

And then the canyon closes in.

I get the camera gear out and send the others ahead.

Just a hint of what’s to come
A young eastern brown snake. Pseudonnaja (meaning “Fake cobra”) Textilis ( meaning “scales like my wife’s stockings”).
And soon the walls close in futher and all light is lost
Well not all light.

Your description of a tunnel section severely under sold this. They say when the meet up halfway through as they were coming back down. “Cavern” would be more appropriate.

Over head bats chittered and fluttered.

But we need to head back to the light.

It’s just the way we do it.

We follow the cliffs back around to the bags then make our way down to the river and back to camp.

“Because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing.” — Dr. Seuss

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