Bushwalking

Central Queensland Adventure:Day 3

| flynny101

Continued from day 2

Day 3 would see us back on the tourist trail for the most part. We’d planned to get up to Battleship Spur, nearly 600m above our camp, before the heat of the day. Then check out Boowinda Gorge and it’s side creeks

Both were listed as star attractions. The young couple we had shared camp with came back raving about how beautiful Boowinda Gorge was and a steady stream of people had made their way either up to or down from the spur on their journey along the great walk.

So up we go. The path up to the spur starts up Boowinda gorge but we don’t really take notice as we’re nervously excited about the haul up to the spur.

A side gully acts as a pass out of the gorge. It’s steep, reminiscent of the scramble out of Tigersnake canyon. but once through the lower cliff line a well maintained trail makes it’s way up and along an amazingly varied spur.

Think the Thuratt Spires with a tourist trail…

Wide open grassland alternates with almost razorback spur. Fine white sandstone changes to conglomerate and an out crop what appears to my uneducated eye as quartzite. Speculation around the geology distracts from the slog up.

And the views from the top?

Worth every grunt and groan
Gadget looking back over the lower end of Carnarvon gorge. The mouth of which is 10km away and 700 or 800m below.

Now back down for lunch in the cool of Boowinda gorge.

Running on a high we start making our way up the gorge.

It’s a bloody soul destroying slog

Think of walking up the Wollemgambe. Only it’s dry as a nuns nasty and instead of sand it’s littered with baby head sized river stones. And the river stones haven’t been tumbled enough to make them smooth so they are jaggered. And they move beneath your feet. And the bigger ones give false hope with 3 or 4 holding firm then the next rolls just to mock your ankles.

Still so many Carnarvon glamour shot are from Boowinda gorge.

We press on.

Several times we consider just turning around but we’re a stubborn couple.

I guess the PC term would be “determined” but it was pure stubbornness (and a view of our white slot at the start we glimpsed from the Spur track) that kept us going.

Finally we get to the junction towards the top of the bloody Boowinda gorge and by some miracle there’s clear running water. Not much but more than we’ve seen in the side creeks since Wards Canyon.

We take the right branch. It’s a low quality slot but it has clear flowing water. So there’s that.

The water is far clearer than this shot implies but I was well and truely over this bloody Boowinda gorge to bother trying to photograph it well.

We get to a point we could have scrambled in from the top (It would have been much easier) but it got far too steep for us the reach the mysterious white walls a few hundred metres up the escarpment.

We retreat back and try the right branch. It was shit

We trudge back down and check out all the side creeks along the way. Some had canyons like sections but after the quality slot canyons of yesterday they were a major disappointment.

Back down past the Spur exit and I don’t know if it was the different light or just we were paying more attention but we had to admit the bottom was nicer than we originally gave it credit for.

Like, if you had never been in a proper slot canyon before you’d be impressed

Like a wider, version of The Dry Canyon

If you are going to do Carnarvon gorge try a cooler month and hope for a good bit of rain in the days before you get here.

Finally out of what my mind I will always call Bloody Boowinda Gorge we paused for a bite to eat. All the trudging over loose river stones had zapped our energy.

It would have been easy just to return to camp but it was barely 4:30pm and there was another long gully about a kilometre down stream that had a name (At least on one map we had stumbled across) so we couldn’t help ourselves and went for a look.

The gully was scrubby and hard going but it keep promising to canyon up just up ahead. So we pressed on.

At least it was wet

We trudged on until we started to loose light and so left this intriguing chasm to its secrets and made our way back to camp.

Continue to Day 4

Central Queensland Adventure: Day 2

| flynny101

Continued from Central Queensland Adventure Day 1 part 2

Ever since my episode of heat stroke/ dehydration a few years ago I struggle a bit in the heat and yesterday was hot.

We plan a lazy start for day 2 and then some exploring.

There’s a waterfall marked on the map, googling before we came showed some photos of a fairly shit looking waterfall but with the other side creeks being so dry we though we might as well check it out.

We boulder hop and scrub bash up stream.

Canyon 6

The mouth of the side stream is bone dry, it’s not looking promising but we head up. A cool breeze comes down,then we round a corner and…

Bam!

If it had a couple of inches of water running down it would be a match for the section in Claustral between the Hulks Fist and Thunder canyon.

And it kept going

I wanted to call it Betty. Kylie wanted to call it Jon. Which is ridiculous. Everyone knows the correct response to calling it Betty is to call it Al.

You mean Al, says I

Jon, says Gadget.

What ever

Further up it had a Bowen creek feel. Only dry as an English backpacker waking up on Bondi beach in the noon Sun on New Year’s Day.
You could see by the moss that it had water recently.

The map showed this creek cuts its way up high up the escarpment but so far a few easy scrambles were all we needed to make our way up.

1 thing I learnt this day though was the location of the creeks on the topo were accurate. The contour lines in the gullies however, were a guess at best and complete fantasy for the most.

We made our way up a kilometre or 2 of slot canyon before getting blocked by a large chockstone. No shitty waterfall to be seen.

We could not believe several blogs had photos of the waterfall but we had found no hint of this anywhere. I guess bushwalkers use a pass up beside the canyon to access the falls and maybe as another pass up to the great walk.

We head back to the gorge and onto the next.

Canyon 7

Further up stream our next target didn’t look like much. A scrub bash into a wide gully. Then a gap in a side wall gave a hint of something.

I almost didn’t bother but I’m going to duck up here for a look, says I.

I’ll come too, says Gadget.

It’s a shallow canyon but it won’t go far. It’s running parallel to the main gorge cutting back downstream but going up…

It might not be as pretty as the previous one But again it is deceptive and just keeps going. Twisting and turning, cutting deeper into the walls.

It took a couple of sketchy climbs but we made it up to where it begins to open out and then retraced our steps to once more bash up the gorge

Canyon 8

A beautiful big Carpet Python guarded the way. It’s curled up in the shade with a full belly getting ready to shed.

The next canyon started with promise

But a few hundred meters in we are blocked by a 8m dry waterfall.

There’s some promising looking lines on the map further up the gorge but it’s getting late and we are fairly cooked from all the boulder hoping. We decide to head back down to camp.

But along the way there was 1 gully we had skipped, originally planing to do it tomorrow. But we were here now so pop in for a look.

Canyon 9

Another dry slot canyon greets us

The map showed this as one of the longer ones on this side of the gorge upstream of the big bend camp but as tired as we were from all the boulder hoping in the heat of the gorge we were keen to see how far up we could push it.

More dodgy scrambles/climbs were needed. We took a bit 3mm amsteel rope as a hand line to assist getting back down.

Finally we couldn’t get any further up so made our way back to camp content with a big day in the heat.

Continue to day 3

Central Queensland Adventure:Day 1 part 2

| flynny101

Continued from day 1 part 1

We make our way back to the camp ground and park in the over night car park.

Our plan now was to hike up to the remote camp ground at the Big Bend , a bit over 9km up the gorge.

Along the way we’d do the side trips to the touristy stuff.

It was already 35°. We stock up on water.

Canyon 4

The Ampetheter.

Is it a canyon? I don’t know

Is it touristy as all hell? I don’t care.

I was pretty keen to see this one. It’s just off the main track.

It’s a short but impressive slot
Kylie climbing the ladder access
A short but impressive Hall leads to an otherwise enclosed chamber

Back on the main trail we head up stream.

The next thing on the tourist map is Wards Canyon. Just before it is a break in the cliffline and a small stream, the first we’ve seen with clear water.

And if you are good at spotting trails you may spot a vague track leading up beside.

We dump the packs and go for a stickybeak.

The soil is the finest white sand I’ve ever seen. Almost as fine and white as the cliffs towering above.

The trail continues up but it’s a wide gully. I guess it’s used as a sneaky short cut up or off the great walk or sumfink, we head back to the trail

Canyon 5

Wards Canyon.

Wards canyon looks like the most adventurous canyon in the lower gorge. However you can only access the very lower bit. I think tour company’s might run trips through it so it might be worth applying for a permit

It’s pretty and hosts the only known non-coastal population of King Ferns, Angiopteris evecta, in Queensland.

The Art Gallery

I couldn’t find the indigenous name for the art cave which is a shame. It looks like it was painted yesterday but archeological studies found evidence it’s been in use for at least 3500 years, sites just over the hill date to 19,000 years.

And on we go.

Pitjara Cave

It has another name on the tourist map but this is the name on the old topo. The art is top notch.

And finally we make it all the way up to the camp and stumble into one of the only semi secluded spots at the camp. Winning!

We haven’t done a huge amount of Ks, probably only 15 or 16 but it’s bloody hot so the myriad of No Swimming signs at such a beautiful hole were a little soul crushing.

So we set camp and relax in the shade

Home for the next few nights.

Continue to day 2

Hassans Wall Undercliff track

| flynny101

Access: Easy access to the start of the trail then steep and vague in spots

Navigation: Navigation is fairly straight forward .

Map: Lithgow

Time: It takes about 1.5hrs

Traditionally known as Gnallwarra, Hassans Walls was named by Governor Macquarie who thought the stunning pagoda topped cliff line reminded him of the hill forts and Hasanamba temples of the Hassan district of India.

The Under Cliff track began construction in 1916, Largely the work of Richard Merrick and the Lithgow Progress Society, and stages were added over the years.

It largely fell into disuse but was reopened for a short time in the late 90s or early 2000s before being closed by council due to concerns over the stability of the cliffs above (I think a cliff collapse may have taken out part of the trail so be warned or whatever)

Its a shame because its a great walk under some spectacular coloured cliffs with little alcoves of rain forest hidden in the nooks. Just beware of falling rocks, small and large.

Getting there: Head up Hassans Walls Road. Before you get to the top there is a spot people park on the right near the imaginatively named “First lookout”. Park here and look for a road angling back up to the right.

Most of the gullies between here and the lookout will give access to the track but head up to the right passed the locked gate.

The easiest access is in a gully to the left as the road starts up the steep hill https://goo.gl/maps/BcPjZqdgfqBtjD1

But for a more adventurous start keep heading up the hill. Take the left fork at the top of the hill and the next left fork as well.

The road dips down into a saddle, just before the bottom it flattens out. Head into the bush here and find a break in the cliffs to the right of the main gully (main gully cliffs out) https://maps.app.goo.gl/NyPxTjhz5dGzcgQZ9

Alternatively go to the bottom of the saddle and just before the road climb up the other side go left into the bush and find a break to the left of a great lookout. But note the undercliff track is vague at the point.

Once through the cliff line follow the base of the cliffs around to the left. The track can be vague in spots but if you loose it follow the base of the cliff and you’ll eventually pick it back up.

The colours of the cracked and errored cliff line is stunning in afternoon light and you will find small pockets of rain forest in their shadow, unfortunately the biggest section of rain forest is below the car park of the lookout so littered with shopping trolleys, toilet paper and other crap shit humans throw off the top.

Eventually the track will take you around King Georges head ( AKA Indian Head or Iron Dukes head) and it appears to peter out. But continue around and head up the ridge keeping near to the base of the cliff and you will pick it up again on the otherside of the lookout.

This will bring you past the table and chairs in Gannon cave before winding back up to the road near the turn off to Hassans walls Lookout. A short walk down the road will take you back to the car

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Note 1: Taking care  While reasonably well known these spots are still wild places and care needs to be taken around cliff edges and on the steep trails.  Carrying the right gear as well as having adequate food, water and clothing is important. Always tell someone where you are going and when you expect to get back.

Emergency beckons (PLBs) can be hired from Katoomba Police for very little.

Note 2: First aid A basic first aid kit is essential bit of kit whenever heading into the Aussie bush. A basic first aid is highly recommended

Note 3: Maps and Navigation Having the right map, a compass and knowing how to read them is very important when heading into the bush. If you are new to bush walking joining a club or accompanying more experienced walker for you first few outing is a very good idea. I found practicing map reading on well defined trails was helpful when I started out.

The Maps mentioned are the 1:25000 series. They can be purchase at Lithgow tourism information center, from outdoors shops or online for around $10 each.

Note 4: These are wild and beautiful places, respect them. If you are able to carry something in you can carry it out. Don’ be a tosser. Leaving your rubbish behind is a sure way to ruin it for every one else.

A Blue Mountains canyon

| flynny101

Marcia, Geoff, Madie and Meeeeeeeee

06/04/2021

So I wanted to checkout a couple of small, less visited creeks in the mountains. The above mentioned legends joined me. I had a tip one creek had a small canyon section but I wasn’t expecting much. We packed ropes just in case. We didn’t pack wetsuits….

©Geoff
©Geoff

Our creek soon starts to develop a little canyonette

©Madie
©Madie
©Madie
©Geoff

The creek contained two small, but very pretty canyon sections.

Our original plan was to continue down through the clifflines then skirt around and walk up another creek. But changing plans is what we do the bestest

I reckon the gully might give us a short cut over the ridge, says I

Lets do it, says Madie

It would save a couple of kilometres of creek walking, says Marcia

Geoff looks sceptical

I scramble up and drop a rope down

©Madie
©Madie

And then we had lunch and made our way back to the cars

As always a great day exploring new things with good mates

And remember….

Every song has a “you”

A “you” the singer sings to

and you’re “it” this time. Ani DiFranco: Dilate

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Lake Gooch

| flynny101

Tal and me

ding ding. I get a message.

Heads up

There’s a photo attached. My eyes light up

Many years ago I came across a video of a little lake that had formed in Goochs crater and and ever since I have wanted to see it in the same state . \

Many times Mandy and I have headed up in the pouring rain in the hopes of witnessing this rare phenomena (Do doo be-do-do) without luck

Now here I am looking at a photo of it full

As soon as I can get out of work I do

Grab your shoes, I say to Mandy.

I have to work this afternoon lets’ do it tomorrow

Oooooo. But it might be empty by then. pouty face.

Take Tal

Woohooo.

We head on up, anticipation grows

What will we find? will it blow my mind or disappoint me a again?

Looking down on the “Crater” It’s full of brown water” I the video that first inspired me shoed crystal clear water. With run off from post fires and what not what greeted us was a murky brown lake.

but a lake non-the-less. Happy boy

The wild flowers are out too

We Phaff about

And finally we duck down to check out a nearby canyonette

Do do do dodo

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Rediscovering back yard gems

| flynny101

2/8/20

Mandy And Me

When I was a kid a lot of amazing adventures started or finished at 166 Bells Street. We are 13 or 14 popping wheelies on our BMXes, or hanging out high up in the climbing tree, or digging tunnels in the river bank or making home made fireworks out of stuff you could still buy or find when we were kids or sumfink.

Let’s go yabbying.

We grab some string, stuff some form of meet into our pockets, race off on our bikes and head up to some long forgotten little dams in a long forgotten gully right at the edge of town. It all sounds very Huckleberry Finnish. But it’s nothing so grand, just a day in the life of me and my mate Smiddy some time in the 80s. Nothing overly memorable except we didn’t catch any yabbies and on the way back while bridging through what I’d now call a canyonette (but back then was just a nice bit of narrow creek) Pat slipped in. We are wearing jeans and jumpers, it was an icy winters day (the yabbies had been smartly tucked up in their nests) and it was cold ride home for Smiddy.

Anyhoo, fast forward mumblemumble years. (Would you believe 10? No? How about 20? Ok it’s closer to 30, and by closer I mean over 30) Mandy is keen for a small walk and thinks Ida falls might be the go.

Pulling up in the little car park it’s packed (well 4 or 5 cars but enough to ruin the uncrowded feel I like.)

Hey there’s another gully we use to frequent and from memory it’s kind pretty too… says I

Understatement!

Especially after we’ve had a bit of rain through the week.

Memories are Golden. Get out there and make some

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Empress and Grand

| flynny101

01/02/2020

A quick run through Empress with Russ and Libby then a slow trip into the Grand at night with Russ, Mark, Ethan, Jamie, Marc and Ariadna.

I can’t believe it’s February and this is my first canyon trip for the year.

Mark invited us out on a night trip through The Grand Canyon so to make a bit of an afternoon of it Myself, Libby and Russ decided to hit the only other canyon in the Bluies that is officially open, Empress, beforehand.

It was a stinking hot day and I get a message, “Car park is full. Russ parked like a dick so we could save you a space. k.”

They straighten up and I pull in next to Russ and do the meet and greet.

Stuffing ropes into pack or odd pre canyon rituals or sumfink.

Did I say it was hot? We quickly make our way down and enter the refreshing coolness of the canyon.

It felt so good to hit the water

No surprises we weren’t the only ones to have this idea today… We’d passed a couple gearing up at the entrance and come across a group at the little jump just after the matrix jump.

Want to go through? They offer

If you don’t mind, say I. But we’re not in a hurry.

Oh come through we are just practising.

They’d set the drop up as an abseil with a very awkward start.

We jump on past

It almost felt secluded
And then we ran into the bottleneck at the end

We climb up on to the ledge to wait our turn. Only to learn later earlier in the day some dirty grub decided that was where they really needed to drop a turd. Lucky some guides saw it take place. Chastised old mate and cleaned things up

A group just in front said they waited inline for an hour…. It’s a 20min canyon…. Luckily the crowd had thinned a bit and about 20min later we set up on the left and dropped on down.

Luckily it had cooled down slightly for the walkout but we were still hot by the top. So After chatting with a few people we head to the servo for a frozen coke. Except their frozen Beverages machine wasn’t frozen…

Here we say bye to the Libster and head around to Evans Lookout to check out the views over the Grose

Tiger stripes. Foreground: “Normal” Bushfire damage, burnt understory with the random bursts of where it crowned into the canopy. Distance: The Blue Gum forest seems to have been spared the worst. Middle: Devistation where even pockets of rainforest have been reduced to ash. It will trake these areas far longer to recover

Anyhoo, We are soon met by Mark and Jamie, followed by Ethan and then Marc and Ariadna and spend some time chatting and waiting for darkness before doing a car shuffle back to the entrance track and heading on in

Once again we aren’t the only ones and there is a couple dropping in as we reach the abseil point. We Phaff about to give them time to have the canyon in peace

Marc gearing up next to glow-worms
Ethan dropping in

Once in we spend a fair bit of time just soaking in the ambience

Glow-worms and Night skies through the canyon walls
  • Worms and Reflections

Making our way down there is a constant feeling of awe as we stop often and for long periods just to sit in the darkness and admire the glow

I fall behind a little taking photos. When I catch up they have stopped in one of the more spectacular chambers. Mark, Ethan and Jamie sit quietly talking on one side of the canyon. I set up some photos then sit talking to the Spaniards on a ledge on the other side.

I have no idea how long we stayed there, certainly longer than I normally like to sit still, but I figure its such a beautiful night and atmospheric situation that everyone is just blissing out

Some time later I hear. Do you think we should go back and look for them?

Russ turns on his light. Oh there you are. We thought you were still back there taking photos.

The two groups were about 4m apart from each other 🙂

We though you guys we just enjoying the stillness

  • I wish I were a glow-worm, they are never glum. It is hard to be sad when the sun shines out your bum
  • Marc and Ariadna under the glow-worms

We have a bit of a laugh and continue on our way

Towards the end we start to come across the first evidence the fires encrouched the canyon. The smell of ash and burnt logs.
But even here the glow-worms survived

And then we continue down to do the loop out to Evans lookout. I haven’t been out this way for nearly 20years. The impacts of the fires are more noticeable beyond the canyon proper. What was more disappoint was a wall completely covered in new graffiti, If scrawling your name can be call graffiti. I don’t get it.

Anyhoo. We slog back up to the lookout and stare out into the darkness. The stars are out. An orange glow to the south east reminds us the fires have finished with us yet.

Back at the cars we say good bye to the others and wait for Libby to come back to pick up Russ. She brings beer and Cherry the dog. I like Libby.

Another two emerge from the track followed shortly thereafter by 2 more we say hi but in the darkness don’t take much notice. Towards the end of the beer Russ looks up and says, Is that Kylie?

The same friend of theirs we’d been chatting too at the end of Empress.

It had been a great evening with truly awesome people but its time to go home.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill: We are all worms, but I do believe some of us are glow-worms

Time:

Empress: A bit over 2hrs with a long wait for the abseil

Grand: About 4 hours with lots of just sitting in the dark.

When evening closes nature’s eye, the glowworm lights her little spark, to captivate her favourite fly and tempt the rover in the dark: James Mongomery

 

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Deep Pass

| flynny101

1/09/2019

Mandy and Meeeee

We thought we’d make the most of the pleasant first day of spring weather with a little jaunt down to Deep Pass AKA Gawaymbanha Ngurambenggu

Working your way up from the bottom this is the first pool you encounter.

Mandy at the base of the water fall. Its a great place to hang out on a hot summers day. WOuld the allure drag me in? I’ve been coming here since the 80s and that’s the least amount of water I’ve seen trickling over the falls. It doesn’t bode well for summer
The narrow bit. For as long as people can remember log have been tied across this narrow section to allow you to get across without getting wet.
It’s not exactly the prettiest and considering the water is only waist deep…

More rope to help stay dry. Where it crosses around the corner is the only spot where you have to get your feet wet
One the way back down I couldn’t help myself. Even in the height of summer I reckon the water at deep pass is some f the coldest I’ve swum in. Today was no different.

After a quick bite to eat in the warm sun at the camp ground we poke around some of our other hidden gems

There are various pieces of rock art around the site. A lot of it is genuine

There are little nooks and crannies and dry slots scattered around the cliffs
Split rock is pretty amazing. This narrow hall branches off at right angles from another hall that is only slightly less narrow
Mandy at the bottom of Split Rock

“If you don’t turn your life into a story, you just become a part of someone else’s story.” 
― Terry Pratchett,

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