adventure

Bangalore

| flynny101

31/12/2023

Kylie, Jason, Vince and meeeeeee

It might sound like a tacky German porno from the 80s but Bangalore is a fun canyon/wet abseil trip.

TBH I wasn’t sure what to expect as I had heard it described as more creek than canyon and after yesterdays slip’n’slidefest in Urumbilum we were a little battered.

Once again the forecasts was for rain and severe afternoon storms but the river gauge was still sitting at around a modest 30Ml range and we knew it was more open terrain.

With Jason and Vince carrying the ropes and sharing anchor duties I got to play tourist and take a metric crap load of (mostly bad) photos.

I’m not sure where the creek walking rep came from as you are pretty much straight into it after hitting the creek.

Despite the creek being more open the abseils are in some nice flow. And at these water flows they were pretty chill.

And once again the sunshine defied the forecasts

Kylie in the froth
I always thought the blessed by good luck saying was “hit up the bum by a rainbow” but apparently smacked in the face by a waterfallbow works too.
Or maybe “whacked on the todger“
For an “open creek” it had some nice canyony bits.

The stench at the out flow of this one was spew worthy. Something very dead but yet not dead enough was caught in the log jam.

No drinking the creek water today.

Kylie into the cave
And out the other side 🎥©️Jason

Then we come to the one that contains the log you can squeeze behind but poses a big risk in high flow.

There’s a line of traverse bolts we decide to check out. Vince has never set a traverse before so of course we send him first (we did talk him through it)

Jason is shaking his head.

We normally just sling off that tree over there. Says he

And he has a fair point. The traverse is a bit of dicking around when the tree is far easier and safer to get to and (looking back from the bottom of the drop) gives a far better line anyway.

Moral to the story: Don’t just blindly follow the bolts kids. Sometimes there are better options.

Anyhoo it gave us a bit of practice on a traverse in a non threatening environment.

Vince and Jason at the anchor at the end of the kinda pointless traverse. The low flow line goes behind the log. The tree anchor comes down a much nice line just out of shot to the left (canyon right) and you can walk to it out of the flow easily

There’s an option to exit here. We opt to keep going as it’s a bit of fun

A short creek walk gets us to the next bit

Another odd traverse bolt to get out to a weirdly placed anchor. Jason bemoans the original bolt placement on the other side of the creek had been removed.

The new anchor appears to be for better pulldown but Jason says the other had no issues and was a funner line. 🤷🏻

And still the wet abseils keep coming.
So much fun

And just like that we are at the Jade Pool and our exit. There is 1 more optional drop we could do but as you just go down to come back up we decide to skip it and head out.

The track up is steep but a hell of a lot easier than falling over 2.5km of slippery river rocks.

If Rosewood is the Empress of the north. Bangalore is their Dione Dell (minus dry line options.)

Mr. Burns : You must find the Jade Monkey before the next full moon.

Smithers : Actually, sir, we found the Jade Monkey. It was in your glove compartment.

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Urumbilum

| flynny101

30/12/2023

Vince, Jason, Kylie and meeeeeeeeee

This cyclone might thwart out plans.

What cyclone?

Jasper.

Jasper has smashed far north QLD and the resulting weather systems are peppering the east coast with heavy rain events.

We keep an eye on the river gauges but the ones we are interested in are staying low.

A big storm rolled through the afternoon before and it seemed to rain steadily all night. The river gauge had gone up fractionally.

Drizzly rain was predicted all day with afternoon storms.

Jasons has done it before at batshit silly high flow so at the current water levels we knew had plenty of room to move and opted for an early start to get through the more committing sections before the afternoon storms.

We park the car, suit up and we are into the creek in good spirits. The drizzle has lifted and the sun is out. The rocks are slippery as a well oiled hag fish.

It was my first time meeting Vince in person but he slotted straight in to the group dynamic.

We get to the first drop. Setting up the rope I somehow ended up with an overhand knot around the anchor. I shrug at Vince. I’m really good at this canyoning caper, honest. says I

Luckily he laughs.

Kylie at the bottom of the first abseil
Jason getting ready to descend into the devilish slot. The water might be lowish but the excitement levels are high
Kylie heading down

The top bit of Urumbilum is spectacular and at these water levels it’s fun without being overly spicy.

A couple of the abseils reminded me of Danae but overall it had more of a more Kalang on the wet line in high water feel.

Vince having a shower
Jason on a more open abseil
Kylie cooling off
Vince and Kylie down below. It was suppose to rain all day. I’m getting sun burnt
Product placement fail.

Then comes a section of creek walking.

Did I mention it was as slippery ?

Slipperier than a greased pig on an ice rink.

The creek walking bit sucked fetid arse.

But then came the next bit.

Jason getting it
Last slot was schaaaa weeeeet. Would be epic in high flow 📸©️Jason.

And now we just need to walk down the creek. How goods this we think. A down hill exit to the car shuffle….

Did I mention how slippery it was ?

It was slipperier than the worlds slipperiest thing winning first place at the world slippery championships.

Never have I fallen over so much walking down a creek.

Fun times.

practice your flow state by getting into some dangerous positions: Andy Anderson

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South Bowens.

| flynny101

02/12/2023

Jason Muz and meeeeeeee

When I first did a trip through the upper middle section of South Bowen creek with Ed I thought it was a spectacular canyon and I’ve been meaning to repeat it ever since.

But, despite having a look through the exquisite upper section I haven’t revisited this section until now.

Jas scrambling into a side canyon
Muz abseiling into Bowen creek
Almost plate size

We took a quick look up the Corkscrew section.
©️Jason

We then make our way down stream. There’s a bit of creek walking down through pleasant coachwood forest before it drops into another dark canyon section.

Jason and Muz making their way down the canyon
The cool misty day made the light sweet

It was every bit as beautiful as I remember but now there’s nothing left to do but to scramble out

We are not nouns we are verbs. Stephen Fry

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Crikey

| flynny101

18-11-2023

Continued from Bubblebath

We have a lazy start to the day.

We weren’t expecting the others until 9:30 at the earliest and given our slow going on the ridge we decided to wait til 10.

A couple of cooeees and we thought we heard a faint reply. I slip up the gully a bit to guide them down. More cooees and whistle blasts but no response.

Back at camp we scratch a note in the dirt and head for Crikey. it’s 10:30.

We cross the ‘Boori (dingo creek) and start making up way up the opposite gully. It’s full of dead fall and scrub. It’s slow going and we’d already had a late start.

I spot a break in the cliffs and decide to try to climb out. Kylie is skeptical but we escape the gully and make heaps better time along the ridge.

Dropping into the creek at Kent’s entry (well downstream of Jamieson’s grid reference) we encounter walls of dead fall. So much.

It was a real punish. by the time we get to the canyon we are bruised and bloody and just a little over it.

There are several breaks in the cliff further down. I’d suggest future party’s explore their way down the spur and drop in closer to the canyon proper.

Anyhoo Crikey is deep and dark and our timing wasn’t conductive for photos but Kylie managed to get a few crackers

We reach the ‘Boori…. Bloody “dingo” creek.

We are bashed up and exhausted from battling the dead fall, sticks and scrub.

My memories of my previous trip to crikey was some hard going up the creek to get back to camp.

We have lunch and start making our way up stream

Somehow we pick our way up the banks and avoid strenuous swims or boulder hopping.

It’s about 4:30 when we reach the base of the pass up to camp. We strip out of the wetsuits, wash down in the creek and dry off in the sun before making our way back up.

Below camp we call out and are delighted to hear Dick reply.

Camp.

Unfortunately Sunday morning dawns with me and Kylie having grumbling in our belly’s.

I’m careful where I collect water from and have never had issues before but that’s all we can put it down to.

A bit of running off into the bush and we decide it’s best to skip canyoning today and head back to the cars.

It’s a shame for Dick and Monica to walk all the way out and miss the stunning canyons but it is the wisest choice.

It was a tough walk out. Kylie did it real tough. She’s a trooper.

We have a tough next couple of days. It hit us hard.

Anyhoo

There is a hidden message in every waterfall. It says, if you are flexible, falling will not hurt you!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

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Bubblebath

| flynny101

17-11-2023

Gadget and me

We were planning a weekend out on the B̶o̶o̶r̶i̶… I mean *hackspit* Dingo creek.

The others were meeting us in the morning but we headed out Friday afternoon

We made good time along the fire trail but slowed a bit navigating the twisting ridge as the faint trail came and went.

We got to the camp around 5:30. Dumped gear, set up camp and headed up for a quick run through Bubblebath Canyon. AKA Froth and bubble canyon. (There was difference of opinion in the first descent party over the name.)

Not wanting to put wet gear on in the morning we went light. I knew it was short so we decided to brave the cold.

Dropping in
The water above the canyon was surprisingly warm.
Gadget at the start of the good bit
Bubblebath is a beautiful little canyon. It’s a bit underrated compared to some of the others. The late evning light didn’t do it justice but it’s one of the more beautiful ones out this way. “Mini Crikey”as Kylie called it.

The deeper we got the colder the water got and we lost the light just before the end.

Getting to camp we rug up and settle in for the night.

Morning in camp.

How many worlds are in your world? Andy Anderson.

Continued to Crikey

Or

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Surefire Saturday

| flynny101

14-10-2023

Jason, Kris, Hywaida, Kylie and me

It’s been a while since I’d done Surefire.

For the others it would be their first visit.

A quick reccie on the bike a couple of days before suggested that while the old road was ridable there were a lot of trees down and the regrowth was so crazy at times I couldn’t see my front wheel.

So rather than risk derailleurs and spokes we’d be hoofing it out and back.

This meant a 7km walk out. TBH pushing through the overgrowth seemed a lot less tedious than marching along a flat boring fire trail… but I’m weird like that.

Anyhoo

After the Navman took the others down the wrong fire trail and we waited in confusion, before finally going looking for each other. we all managed to somehow find phone reception at the same time…

This meant a late start and some talk about changing plans or cancelling altogether

There wasn’t much arm twisting and we press on.

It takes us about an hour to get to the turn off then another 30 or 40 minutes to get to out the ridge and down to start of the canyon

The creek drops dramatically into a nice canyon but then drops again and rounds the corner
Sunbeam or tractor-beam?
The drops come in quick succession and most have awkward starts or tricky pull downs
It’s deep and narrow
Kris getting his squeeze on
I’m sure we down climbed this last time but the walls were smooth and glassy and slippery as snot this time around
wonderfull canyon formations
Once down the drops there’s a long flat section that’s just beautiful

We follow the impressive canyon along the flatter bit and find a spot where it begins to open out for lunch.

This was going to be my first time out the “standard” exit. We’d have to retrace our steps about 300m back up through the lower canyon section and exit up a side canyon

This would involve

  • Climbing up some tree roots
  • Then up a steep, slippery ramp using some slings.
  • Up more tree roots. These ones feeling like they are coming loose
  • Up a tree and bridging across to a dodgy slope….
  • Then a long walk up a beautiful gully , under amazing overhangs and beautiful coachwood trees

And finally 7km back along the old firetrail to the car.

Yep it’s a big round trip on flat, boring fire trail to get to and from the canyon.

but I reckon it’s well worth it and you could always combine it with Heart Attack (less worth the walk out to do on its own IMO) or camp on the ridge and explore some of other little canyons out that way.

Party Size.5

Time: 8.5-9hr car to car.

Work hard. Dream big. Don’t be an arsehole. Mike Shinoda.

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Nose Dive

| flynny101

Kris, Hywaida, Kylie and meeeeeeee

01/10/2023

It was a slightly cooler day which worked out perfectly as it’s a bit of a walk to get to this one

Pleasant banter ate up the fire trail and it didn’t seem too long before we were following the HITW exit trail down to Dingo Creek (but really North Bungleboori)

The old dodgy ledge that you could once use to stay dry seems to have washed away and so we stripped down to essentials and waded down to our exit on the other side.

Here we encountered the first of the many large tangles of dead fall we’d encounter today. b

After a bit of effort we were up North East canyon and had a morning tea break looking down over Banks.

The climb out of North East canyon, which runs South West….

We pick an easy path down to cross the head of Banks Canyon. Then over the next ridge to scramble into Nose Dive creek.

Making our way down stream there was lots of dead fall to negotiate.

The gully seemed to be openning out and I voiced concerns that we had dropped in too far down stream (I didn’t get the grid reference or study the map. I go by feel baby)

But then.

The creek drops down a hole. And so do we.
The second of the cavern like sections. It’s ok I guess.

Ok it was more than ok.

Dark yet somehow filled with beautiful light
Really spectacular and somewhat unique slot canyon
Such a cool little section
The water was like glass
Gadget with H in the background
Throw and go because, well you know.
Was it cold. Yes it was
H
K
G

And then we are in T̶h̶e̶ ̶‘̶b̶o̶o̶r̶i̶ Dingo Creek for lunch followed by a bit of creek walking and some long swims to get back up the the HITW exit at the big bend

It’s a gorgeous section of T̶h̶e̶ ̶‘̶b̶o̶o̶r̶i̶… Dingo creek

You should sit in nature for 20min every day.

Unless you are really busy then you should do it for an hour.

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Central Queensland Adventure: day 4 and 5

| flynny101

Continued from Day 3

We had planned to head back up stream to check those promising lines on the map (which looked deep and dark from the Spur) but trudging up and down bloody Boowinda Gorge had left us battered and weary. The thought of bashing our way further up stream for more dry canyons had lost its appeal.

We decide to pack up camp and head back to the car to look for something wet.

Kylie had worked out Blackdown Tablelands were almost exactly between Carnarvon Gorge and Rockhampton so it seemed like a good idea to check it out.

A quick google show some beautiful waterfalls and plunge pools, though the latest posts said it was much drier than usual.

The park had also been evacuated the week before due to a fire in a neighbouring park but as luck would have it it was reopening today. Winning.

We jump online to try and book a camp site. Qld NPs do a great job at maintaining the parks up this way, walking tracks were family friendly with informative signs and toilets were plentiful and clean, but their online booking system is a PITA.

Anyhoo we eventually get it working and the whole camp ground is booked out!!!

Hmmm, surely if the park is just reopenning some of those people would have canceled or changed plans.

I eventually find a number to call and convince them to reluctantly take my money. We’ll take the chance says I.

If the camp ground is full we’ll find somewhere else and you can keep the $15 as a donation…

There’s 2 other groups in the entire camp ground as we roll in.

We check out a walk to another art site then set up camp for the night

Day 5

Apparently Gudda Gumoo is a seasonal waterfall and we’ve got it as it’s drying out Anyhoo we are keen for a look.

Heading down the tourist track we cross a couple of creek beds. They are as dry as uncle Geoff’s sense of humour.

But wait!

I hear running water.

A steady stream of water tumbles 20 or 30m into a large clear swimming hole.

A less formed trail heads down stream.

We follow it down and catch a glimpse of the usual instagram pot holes. They look dry.

I’ve discovered Blue mountain anchors have a distinct lack duck tape.
And whatever this thing is

an even vaguer track continues along the cliff edge.

A couple of tracks head down to the various levels but we forge on. The track is now more a vague sense someone, or something has walked here before.

Finally a weakness in the cliffline allows a tricky descent.

Another very tricky scramble breaks the next cliff.

More secluded waterfalls and swimming holes reward our efforts
And yummy native raspberries

The valley has stepped down 20 or 30 meters at a time and it seems like there’s a hidden pool on each level.

We’ve made it down to one of the bigger shelves. Below us the arse drops out of the world

The water tumbles 100-150m down to another large pool. Below that we can make out another drop and another pool….

If this was anywhere near the Blue Mountains or Southern Highlands it would be a must do abseil trip. But it’s Queensland and well, Abseiling, stepping off track, not paying for a guided tour or wild swimming!!!

After a swim we linger in the sun and have lazy brunch before smaking our way back up through the cliffs to check out some of the upper terraces.

The locals have put some work in to get down to this one a couple below the usual ‘Gram shots.

And so ends our excellent adventure to central Q. L. D.

It been a blast and remember as Alice Roosevelt Longworth said…

Fill what’s empty

Empty what’s full

And scratch where it itches.

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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