Great Uncle George canyon fell out of favour for a bit.
A change of land ownership saw the start of the Ingar fire trail locked up but also restricted access for canyoners to the quickest way into this on.
The alternate route in was a scrub bash that made an average quality canyon barely worth the effort.
But then top bloke and local legend, Blue Philips stepped up to the plate, contacted the owner and, convinced the him to trial allowing canyoners access across his land.
The conditions are explained by Blue
“ Permission this time from the owner (now sometime resident), Warren, stipulation is: keep as far left as you can, away from the house/environs, once you walk around the locked gate/fence, head down near the two abandoned caravans to the lower gate, close it behind you, locate first abseil (slings on tree), and off you go. We’re effectively ‘on trial’, so as long as no-one’s a flog and spoils our access privileges, GUG is back on, via the easiest and simplest ingress route. If you see someone else acting suspiciously, call them out, the owner has endured a lot of negative stuff over the years; bushrock theft, building material theft, motorcycle hoons hooning, fires, drugs, you name it. Us canyoners need to be as pure as the driven snow:-)”
Anyhoo we thought why not take advantage of Blues hard work.
Retracing the entry I’d used years ago with Julie and the Cooks, it took no time to get to the start.
And before long we were at the exit point that cuts back up to the Areoplane Hills picnic area.
We stop for lunch then scramble up onto the ridge. From there it’s an easy stroll up the ridge, made easier from a hazard reduction burn earlier in the year that has cleared out the scrub
GUG might not be the most exiting canyon but finding a patch of wilderness close to suburbia has a vibe all of its own.
When Surveyor General Mitchell was making his map of NSW he asked his surveyors to, where possible, use the traditional place names.
(When he wasn’t naming stuff after Macquarie, that is)
His map had the northern branch of this creek system marked as Bungleboori Creek. Clew’s 1930’s Military Survey had the branchs labled “Bungleboori 9 mile” and “Bungleboori 12 mile”. They later became known as Bungleboori North and Bungleboori South.
This suggests it was a mistake when the Geograffic Naming Board renamed the Northern Branch to the rather less evocative “Dingo” Creek.
While tame camp dogs were called Dinggu by the Dharug people of the upper mountains, and thats where we get the term Dingo, wild dogs would have been more commonly called Warragal by the Dharug and Wiradjuri.
The Gundungurra may have used that term too. So why Dingo Creek?
Anyhoo that is nether here nor there as we are headed for the southern branch, now officially “The” Bungleboori creek.
This was a very last mintue decision. After a couple of hectic weeks we opted for (what we thought woud be) a slightly less committing trip.
I hadn’t done Arthurs before, nor Hailstorm Retreat for that matter, and Kylie hadn’t done many canyons in this section of the Bungleboori at all.
We had a quick puruse the the maps the night before and decided that was the plan.
the bright eyed anticipation of adventure
The road out to Waratah ridge is rough as guts at the moment. It’s the roughest I’ve seen it since the 2002 fires. If you are heading out that way a car with high clearance is recommended.
the wild flowers though…
We head up the usual track but soon spear off on a side trail.
I was expecting an old 4WD trail out to views and this matched my expectation though the trail looked more well used than I thought it would be.
And there I was blindly following the trail down into a gully when Kylie called, Hey this isn’t right. We should still be on a ridge.
She has an uncanny ability to map out a route and picture it in her head.
We stop to look at the map. This was our first time using lidar overlays, courtesy of Rob’s Maps, they are an awesome tool. Thanks Rob H for creating such a wonderful resource.
Yep! we shoud be on the ridge and, if anything, dropping off the other side. We debate heading back up the trail or dive off and traverse across.
If we traverse the topoline aroud the top of that gully it’s only 150m across and half the elevation. Argue I.
Gadget reluctantly agrees, loath to dive into the scrub this early on what is sure to be a scrub bash.
But I’m the the scrub master, usually. Little did I know.
Back on course we follow the ridge until near the end then opted to descend a creek line. I’d read the gully wasn’t too bad….
Let’s just say we should have got out of the creek line early and looked for a nose. The scrub along the creek was horrendous. Anyone who has been on one of my infamous scrubbashes knows that’s a big call.
It was a relief when we popped out of the bushes onto a very pretty section of Paddys…. I mean the Bungleboori.
then, steadfastly avoiding anything that slightly resembled a creek line, we pop up the nose on the other side and with a couple of short scrambles break the first major cliff line suprisingly easily. We traverse down to cross a creek line then, again easily up the nose to break through the upper cliff even easier. Its rare I find the up 10x easier than the down whch just goes to show how bad the scrub in the creek was.
We are now at the base of the Mini Arthurs.
We have a decision. Gadget had mapped out a route that skirted around the outcrops and dropped into the creek closer to where Arthurs was meant to drop into a canyon however that meant missing weaving through the maze of the Arthurs themselves and potentially missing the upper section.
We weave up through the Arthurs and into another scrubby creek.
This one isn’t as scrubby as the previous (yet) and we soon reach a scramble into a very tight slot. Its jammed full of sticks but I clear them out as I work my way in. 1 very tight squeeze and it opens back up. Just downstream it drops into another short squeeze to what looks to be an abseil but this is so jammed full of debris we were forced to retreat up and around the next side gully.
And here’s where the scrub decided to step up a notch or ten.
On a scale of 1 to 10 how bad was it?
to use a 30 year old meme
Holy cutty spikie grabby shit fight batman.
At times I couldn’t even tell if we were in the creek or on the bank or what. Even heading up the slope onto what should have been a spur between two creek lines offered no relief.
Finally we came to a spot where the creek bagan to drop through boulders. and a slot of sorts openned before us.
It’s not much to look at so far.
but just downstream we are surprised
The creek twists down through a pretty waterfall into a stunning chamber.
With care the pools could be avoided but by this stage Kylie had no cares left to give and opted to frolick in all of them with reckless abandon.
And just like that it opens up.
Kylie didn’t agree with me but I did say if that canyon section was in the middle of Claustral it would be the nicest 20metres of Claustral. Maybe the 5hrs of dense scrub bashing had me delusional but certainly not delutional enough to ever want to come back. Arthurs is defiately a oncer.
OK, “best bit of Claustral” is probaby a stretch. Maybe Grand. If it was in the middle of Grand it would be the best 20 meters of Grand.
But we still had more dense scrub to bash through down to the junction with the ‘Boori. then a further engery zapping boulder hop down to where we would camp for the night.
We got the tarp set up just as the storm hit. And hit it did.
As my mate Russ would say it pissed it down.
Interestingly the creek didn’t rise that much with the storm but come morning we watched it rise about 50mm in 20min while we ate breakfast. The lag effects of water running down tributaries and soaking through the ground was cool to see.
We were pretty beat up from the previous day (and hadn’t done any big trips recently so a little off our canyoning game fitness) The temperture had also dropped over night, I think we had forgotten how cold the ground stayed at this time of year and only bringing our summer kit was optimistic. So we opted to have a lazy start then exit out rather than forging through another day and camping again.
From our camp down to our exit the Bungleboori was much more forgiving. Boulder scrambles were mostly avoided with easy walking on the banks and the couple of deep wades actually felt good as the water took the load of our packs.
Smiling again. for now
and then it was up.
Steeply up.
Scrubby up.
And into Hailstorm retreat.
Doesn’t look like much to start but its a pleasant slot that carves all the way to the top of the upper cliff line.
And from there its a relatively easy stroll over the tops to the Waratah ridge track and the monotonous trudge back along the fire trail.
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.
“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
Kylie, Jason, David, Wisey, Rakesh, Tanya and meeeee
We had been tossing around what canyon to do today before settling on 1 none of us had done before.
We all pile into Jason’s ute and head across the range.
Ah shit, I meant to reach out to Tanya and Rakesh, Says Kylie. They are up here somewhere.
We pull into the car park.
Hey that’s Tanya and Rakesh…
5 become 7 and we waste no time suiting up and making our way down the creek to the first abseil.
I set up rope and everyone by passes it and scrambles down beside it.
I pull the rope up and follow.
The next couple of drops are a little lame. I’m starting to feel bad.
We had convinced Jason to do this one rather than one of his favourite, high adrenaline, high flow trips and this wasn’t really shaping up. but then we came to the first of the “Spicy Slots”
Just as you are able to see again you realise you are about to drop behind a chock stone and you most defilately don’t want to drop down behind the chock stone.
It’s a battle to resist the push and swing yourself over.
You emerge back into the light then drop off the chockstone into the noise once more.
I scramble down the next one but signal up to the others that it isn’t worth it as there looked to be a nice exit from the ledge they are on.
The exit began on a steep loose scree slope but soon got steeper and looser before getting looser and steeper….
Other than the steepness and the looseness it was fairly easy going. The notes said to get to a certain elevation and then traverse around. While that would cut off some elevation gain it looked long and convoluted so we just went straight up and over a minor nose then dropped down onto the road not to far from the car park.
I nodded, pretending to be a hundred times more courageous than I felt. Lisa Tawn Bergren.
Veering slightly south we thought we’d check out Killen falls as a spot of cool off
Killen Falls if a nice little waterfall in Tintenbar, near Ballina. It’s very touristy but worth a look.
It’s accessed from Friday Flat road and there is plenty of signage to get you to the car park.
From there it’s about a 400m walk to the base of the falls along a nice tourist trail.
There’s a large plunge pool at the base that is a popular swimming hole.
Being use to the crystal clear waters of Blue Mountains canyons it’s little brown and agricultural run offy but it’s a nice enough spot to cool off on a hot day if you are over the beach
On the drive back Kylie asks, Have I shown you the quarry
No, says I
Yeah I have, says she
No you haven’t, said I
Bexhill quarry is an old brick quarry that operated from the 1890s through to the 1940s. When operations ceased it filled up with water and became a popular swimming spot.
With no through flow the water became quite acidic and was found to have high levels of dissolved metals, such as Aluminium and magnesium, so in 2016 it was shut off due to “safety concerns”.
No sooner had the fence gone up than locals cut holes in it…
But nature seems to have found it equilibrium, subsequent testing found acidity levels returning to normal(ish) levels and plans were submitted 2021 to turn the area into a public reserve.
That hasn’t happened yet so in the mean time you’ll still need to climb through the holes in the fence. To be fair though, it’s more hole than fence.
The Quarry is accessed of Coleman Street (Bangalow Road) Bexhill. About 10km from Lismore
Not sure if the starling green water will give us superpowers or just melt the flesh from our bones..But the Lilly Pads and Dragonflys seem to enjoy it
And Kylie isn’t scarred
Water was quite pleasant indeed.
It’s a great spot for photography and a nice dip though, I recommend proficient swimmers only because I have no idea how deep it is.
Kylie, Jason, Beck, Robin, Alex, Dane and meeeeeee
We were in northern NSW and it was too good an opportunity not to have a New Years Day play date with Jason and his QLD crew.
Every one else had done this one before but it had been on Kylie and my wish list for a while.
Pictures of it pumping in previous years had us frothing.
However, recent photos look like a trickle.
A storm the night before got our hopes up.
We meet at the top secret location (note: location may not be top secret) and skirt private property boundaries to access our canyon.
The storm had done nothing. Nothing !
The creek was dry as a nuns nipple.
Well not quite. There was water flowing, just
Jason wondering where the water went.
Alex on rope while Dane waits
Kylie thinking, well at least it’s a little wet
It might be a trickle but still pretty
Taking on Vecna
Robin wondering if he should avoid the pool or plunge in
There is a teeny tiny lathe you can unclip and jump from
Coming last I made an error. I didn’t unclip it just did the usual Empress release the brake hand and jump.
I knew my centre mark was just beyond the anchor.
I figure I jump out and when I reach the end it will pull the pull strand with me.
I’ve done that before, but I unclipeped first.
This time I’m sailing through the air, there’s “a bit” of a jolt snap the plastic lug it was tied to and the end of the rope recoils up And is now on a teeny tiny ledge 4metres above the pool.
Up I jug to retrieve it.
Lessen learned, double check your centre mark, especially when doing abseils exactly as long as half your rope. And keep an eye on your end of rope markers
I have marks at the 10 and 5m points to let me know I’m getting to the end. I didn’t even look for them. Dumb arse.
Anyhoo all good, no harm, rope retrieved. Let’s never speak of it again.
One more abseil and she’s all over.
Beck doing it in style Only slightly rinsed but Happy canyoners
There’s some great side canyons along the Wollangambe with the most popular ones clustered around Mt Wilson.
Of those accessed from the Fire Shed there are a couple of outliers that get less traffic due to being a little harder to get too.
Whirlpool canyon is one of these.
Expecting a stinking hot day and a long scrubby walk in we meet early and head off.
The others had obtained a GPS trace of the entry, I had my usual plotted way point for the canyon start and sometimes/usaul/mostly wackily off gut feel…
Banter made the walk in pass in a flash, well not really but it was surprisingly simple, even if I did get completely turned around at one point, thankfully Clare and Kylie kept us on track. Though when H suggested we try a short cut I was all in.
It was also relatively scrub free(ish)
Slipping down H’s side gully hoping to cut off a fair bit of the GPS trace.
And soon we find ourself at the start of the canyon.
We weren’t expecting much out of this one but a short abseil gets us into a surprisingly nice slot.
Kylie sussing out the first abseil
There was some interesting anchor set ups and a couple of the abseils have very tricky starts. This problem solving aspect is part of what I really enjoy about canyoning.
Don’t get my wrong, on popular trips where hordes of foot steps compact tree roots and pulling rope after rope wears grooves in the rock well placed bolts are a Good Thing (TM) but they do take something away from the overall experience of problem solving. That’s probably not a major draw for most, but for me it’s a big part of it.
Anyhoo that’s off topic.
Back in the land of dodgy anchors, we check each one carefully (as you should every time). Replace what needs to be replaced and carefully consider the remnant dodginess
Before lone you could feel the warmth chimneying up from the ‘Gambe
H leads the way down the last abseil and soon we reach the Junction with the Wollangambe
But the day is not over. Our exit is about a kilometre and half downstream.
Having pretty much traced this enigmatic river from its source at Clarence to below Mt Irvine on various trips over the years I reckon this bit is the most stunning section of the ‘Game
Deep walls and beautiful pools.
That’s said it’s not easy going with deep sand and boulder hoping between long swims zapping your energy after an already longish day .
Having less foot traffic it’s also a lot slipperier in spots.
Just before our exit we catch a group from the central coast who had completed Geronimo.
We chat at the exit, cooling off at the sandy beach before making our way back up to the shed.
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable day but it was also a long day for a shortish canyon so I wouldn’t rush back to repeat the trip.
Whirlpool itself was nice and as stated it’s a beautiful section of the Wollangambe so worth doing at least once.
But Having a much larger catchment it can be a disappointing trickle or a wall of white water death.
We got it almost perfect.
We meet up and waste no time walking to the end of the fire trail and making our way down to the upper falls.
We bypass the first cascade and its inviting plunge pool.
Kent leads us pass an anchor set mid river left to find another just to the left of the main flow.
All abseils except the big one have easy escape routes back to the exit trail so you can pretty much choose your own adventure with doing a part or the whole.
Our first 3 slabby abseils are between 8 and 15m high. They are a bit of fun and nothing technical.
It’s a beautiful series of falls interspaced with plunge pools
Joel and I have the long ropes and get sent ahead to set the big drop.
From Kent’s description I’m nervously looking for a narrow ledge I need to traverse across which may or may not be slippery.
I’m standing on the edge of a wide slopping platform with heaps of grip looking for something below.
Bolts are behind you. Says Joel
I look at the wall behind me.
On the ground.says Joel.
Oh
I know this particular drop was pioneered by members of one of the caving clubs a few years ago.
2 odd looking bolts are set on the ground 7 or 8m back from the edge. 1 is a 8mm cap screw. The other a type I’ve not seen before….
A nice shiney new glue in has been added and all 3 equalised using D shackles.
We set up and Joel leads the way down. We have about 76m of rope out and by the time he gets to the next big ledge and traverses across to the rebelay there is maybe 3m of tail left.
As Kent heads down the rope snags behind a nub of rock which gets dislodged as he traverses at the bottom. He calls up a warning over the two way.
Dave about to descend
The rest of us get down no drama but Kent is reluctant to pull rope from directly below.
Joel devises a plan which will allow us to descend the next 12m abseil on a biner block, tie the pull cord for the previous ropes to the biner and pull rope from both pitches together from a safe spot on the far side of the plunge pool
We all head down. Most swim across the pool. Joel does a nice traverse climb to avoid the swim.
Pete follows Joel but does not avoid the swim…
I stay dry, just
The main falls. Around 90m
We start to pull and the system works perfectly
1 rope down.
2 two ropes down
3rd rope clears the anchor the end tumbles down and lands in a ledge. I start to pull.
It comes.
It comes .
It does not come.
Joel and I spend a bit of time trying different angles and stuff and it’s stuck good and proper on the only ledge not accessible from the exit track.
Next time we think we’d set this drop, leave the rope there and collect it on the way out. Not only would it avoid a stuck rope but it would avoid the need for 2 x 76m+ ropes and carrying it out the bottom half of the exit.
Joel looking further down as storm clouds begin to roll in.
Kent on the next one which passes under big boulder halfway down
Looking back up the main series of drop. Can you spot Dave, Cotter and Joel?
Finally we get to the wetter part of the trip. We are not quite 3/4 of the way down, still 150m or so above the Kowmung.
Below a series of falls and plunge pools
Above thou, the sky is cranky.
Dark clouds, thunder and a spattering of rain.
Big storms were predicted for later in the day. It looks like they arrived early. Standing on exposed granite in a lightning storm probably isn’t the best idea so we opt to abort the trip and scramble out to the exit track.
The storm doesn’t really hit in full, thou I later learn it hit the mountain with a good smash of hail. While disappointed not to complete the trip to the bottom we are comfortable with the call.
Besides, it gives us a good excuse to comeback and finish the journey.
“A river cuts through a rock, not because of its power but because of its persistence.” – Jim Watkins
