bats

05/10/2024

Gadget, Leo, Madie, Russ, Gibbo and Vince with cameos from Aleasha, Random Chris, Pippa and Oban.

To be honest caving hasn’t really been on my bucket list. I had worked as an underground miner so time off in the sunshine appealed more than spending my time off in another hole in the ground.

Sure I’d done the touristy ones and crawled into some Glowworm caves but that’s different.

I’ve since moved to an above ground role but being a little on the portly side full on caving made me a bit nervous.

Anyhoo, I asked the crew, do you have any plans for the long weekend?

Wanna come caving at Wee Jasper, they replied

why the hell not. I thunked. Time to push my comfort zone a notch or two.

The hills around Wee Jasper are riddled with limestone caves. Some, such as Carey’s are paid tourist caves. Some are wild and technical. We were aiming for somewhere in the middle. Well explored holes requiring rope work for access and optional squeezey sections.

First stop was the Dip series.

At the car park we run into Chris who shall forever more be known as Random Chris. He is heading into the Gong Cave, which is connected to the Dip series but the connections are too tight for human passage.

We chat briefly and go our separate ways.

Dip is a series of 5 parallel caves with interconnecting passages. 1 and 2 are usually walk throughs but some low life dumped asbestos at the mouth of 1 so it’s temporarily barricaded up.

4 and 2 have openings to the sky so we set ropes in them.

About now I’m starting to think it’s a good day for fresh air and sunshine or sumfink

I absolutely do not bow to peer pressure and we drop into 4

we work our way over to explore 5

We play around crawling through passageways and poking around holes. In the immortal words of Garron Noon: this one is tiny and it has spikey things. It doesn’t want you in there sir!

There are all sorts of mnemonics to remember the difference between stalactites and stalagmites but the best one for me is to think of a ballerina dancing on a termite ridden stage.

When the mites go up the tights come down.

Anyhoo

Back to 4 and more exploring.

Then rather than abseil into 3 and be committed to whatever squeeze is required to get from there to 2 I opt to jug back out and Kylie joins me.

We meet the others a short time later as they ascend out of “the day light chamber” of 2

Of course they regale us with tales of magical chambers, wide, crystal filled passageways and a super easy ascent and sparkling unicorns farting fairy floss…

A quick bite to eat and we head into the Gong

We’d read the entry to the Gong was harder to find but it wasn’t. Grotty clothing back on and in we go.

I’d heard this one was a lot more straight forward with less crawling so I take the good camera hoping to get some pretty stuff. I did, but then somehow formatted the memory card 🤦‍♂️

The others go off exploring while I snap away.

A trail of fresh blood has us worried Random Chris has done himself a mischief

we head for the camp showers which were gloriously hot and clean.

Luckily we run into Random Chris and enquire about the blood. Seems he cut his finger on a shard and hadn’t realised it was bleeding so bad.

Day 2 and we go looking for the Devils Punchbowl and find it just as Random Chris arrives.

You might as well share our ropes if you want. We offer.

He has done the cave before and tells us the must do chambers. And we sort of just absorb him into the group.

Looking back I’m not 100% sure it was consensual.

I’m a little more comfortable after yesterday’s introduction but still not overly keen on the tighter stuff.

Luckily it starts with a massive chamber

There are passageways heading off everywhere

We crawl down a few before taking Random Chris’ advice and head for a great adventure

We get to a squeezey bit.

I baulk.

Common! It’s a short squeeze then it opens out and keeps going.

I suck in my gut, think thin thoughts and shimmy on through. It’s actually not too bad. If you are a bean pole.

Back into a passage of sensible dimensions I round a corner.

Manic laugher erupts. The crew is hiding with lights out. It’s a dead end but they knew I’d be able to do the crawl. it’s their way of safely encouraging me to push my limits. I laugh with them.

They are laughing with me not at me. Maybe.

The crew at the dead end. Random Chris at his rightful spot as a semi captive in the middle. Stockholm syndrome has well and truly kicked in

A more sensible sized crawl.

We explore more passages. Squeeze through gaps and clamber up and down ropes.

We are in a side circuit that’s quiet pretty

Um this is a bit tight says Russ

Um is it Flynny size asks Madie

Sure says Leo.

Hmm says Vince. Not sure if forward or backwards is best.

This is awkward says Gibbo

Hmm there use to be a wider passage up there says Random Chris. I don’t remember this.

Seeing them squeeze into a narrow hole. I’m out of here says Flynny. And I back out like Iggy Pop out of a shirt.

Gadget accompanies me back the way we came and we meet the others back at the start of the circuit.

Some more bats. More exploring and we head back for fresh air.

Ascending out. A largish scout group was coming in thus all the ropes.

And with that me and Gadget bid the others fair well. They were going to visit Signature cave in the afternoon but we decide to hit the road.

Another fantastic adventure and over due catchup with these awesome peeps.

Surround yourself with awesome people. Experience awesome things.

Back

07-10-2017

Ed, TJ, Sav, Tina, Rob, Autal and me

Most people do Newnes ( or Starlight) Canyon as a round trip, climbing up the pipeline trail, working their way around the ridges and abseiling in. And don’t get me wrong that’s a great way of doing it but there is a lot to be said about doing it as an up and back from the bottom.

The canyon is off limits over winter as it is an important hybernation cave for bentwing bats and disturbing them during their sleepy time invariable leads to a percentage of them dying as there is no food around food them to replenish the energy it takes to come out of hybernation.

Anyhoo, I had planned to do this earlier in the year on the last weekend before the closure except in the week leading up NPs put out a notice that they were hazard reduction burning and all the canyons in the area were closed…….

Fast forward to the other end of hybernation season and we were good to go.

The plan was to ride down the maintenance trail from the locked gate, stash the bikes then make up way up to the cliffline and into the canyon.

I’ve done it this way several times and have always been able to get all the way up to the bottom of the abseil point (the top of the canyon) no dramas. However, last summer people were reporting deep swims in the tunnel and while that is normal after heavy rain the fact that the water hung around post rain had me thinking maybe something in the floor or blockage had changed.

Not tha I was too worried about long swims after the dry winter we’ve had but the thought of a deep wade through stagnant, bat shit filled water wasn’t that inviting. I needn’t have worried as the tunnel was as dry as a nun’s nasty.

But I get ahead of myself

While bikes arn’t necessary they do turn an hour long fire trail walk either way into the 20min ride and the ride down was uneventful, almost. Tina had a small off at the bottom of a loose down hill on a sandy corner and hurt her elbow. As a mad trail runner that didn’t bother her. a sore elbow would not stop her from running so no worries. We hide the bikes in the thick scrub and head across the river which is about as low as I’ve ever seen it.

Up the hill we went taking a bit more of a meandering route than I usually take which made the climb up fairly simple, then we took in the views down the Wolgan from the base of the upper cliff before working our way around into the canyon.

Looking down the magnificant Wolgan Valley

Entering into the lower canyon is like entering another world. The micro climate is completely different to the scrub out on the exposed hill side

This is magical, Flynny, says Sav as we make our way up through ferns, coachwoods and vines so big that at first you think you are stepping over a fallen tree, only to realise its a living vine.

I smile to myself, this is just the appetiser and I think that is the reason I like doing the reverse trip of Newnes Canyon. The starlight section is so awesome that when you come through it from the top you are in such awe of the top section that you kind of over look how spectacular this bottom section is.

There are a few scrambling sections but everytime you would otherwise be blocked tree roots and vines have grown into the perfect pass up.

And then, just as you are thinking the walls are petering out and the canyon is about to open out the upper cliffs encroach and suddenly the canyon closes in

A lovely narrow section of canyon follows and again people remark how awesome it is. But again I know it gets better

Autal in the long section of deep, narrow canyon

Tina with head torch on as the walls get higher and the canyon gets darker

The canyon breifly opens out and what was dry, bare and sandy suddenly becomes damp, lush and green

And then we reach the Amazing Wallaby tunnel, better known as the Starlight section, high up the walls close in so much, become so twisted, and are jammed with chock stones that it forms a high narrow tunnel.

I feel on previous trips the glowworms were far more abundant, maybe that has to do with the dry winter, maybe it’s just the time of year as I think it’s around mating season for the flies, maybe it’s just modern headlights are so bright now you don’t notice the worms unless you tuen them off and give your eyes a few minutes to adjust, or maybe the bats had a wormy feast when they awoke

After 300m or so of tight twisting tunnel the roof opens back up and just around the corner is the waterfall that is the normal absiel in point.

I have known people to absiel in here but be blocked by deep water in the tunnel so they had to prusik back out and abseil in further down. I also know of at least 1 group who pulled their ropes without checking the tunnel was passable and were forced to spend a couple of days huddled here waiting for rescue…. When absieling in the first person need check all the way through the tunnel before getting others to absiel or pulling ropes.

And after taking time to enjoy just being there we leave Ed and TJ to get about photo phaffing with their good cameras and the rest of us make our way back down

Autal in a narrow squeeze admiring the bats far above

We have a bit of lunch and then explore up a side canyon called Upside Down canyon.

The bottom section of Upside Down involves some tricky climbs up through small holes. I made the first look far harder than it was mainly as I forgot had the go pro on a chest mount and had to do some contortioning so as not to scracth the crap out of it.

Rob squeezing up through one of the holes. It’s about 7foot straight down, if you squint you can make out Tina down below him

Our path was blocked by this small waterfall

I remeber the water fall from previous visits and started brisging up, the walls were a tad slippery, I had no doubt we could get everyone up, what I did doubt thou was getting people back down safely without ropes… I’m sure there use to be a log or something here to make the down climb simpler.

Anyhoo despite knowing the top section has some pretty bit I decide it’s not worth the risk today so we turned tail and headed back down.

Ed and TJ are still phaffing so we sit back and just take in the surrounds

Honey comb walls. we sat and watched the bird dart in an out of pockets and holes

I’d noticed this massive vine knotted around the base of the tree on the way up and was hope to catch it in the right light on the way back down. The light did not disappoint. Another advantage of doing the canyon as an up and back the changing light can be magical

And before long we are back at the Wolgan river

The ride back up the valley is a bit more difficult than the ride down but for a mountain biker it’s still better than trudging along a fire trail.

Party size: 7 mixed canyoning experience levels but all experienced outdoors

Timing: 6hr 20 with lots of photo phaffing and chilling out

People talk about their comfort zone as though it’s a place they want to stay don’t they realise your comfort zone is the most dangerous place to be

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	Popeye Canyon Lower… on Popeye canyon, upper
	Popeye Canyon Lower… on Banks
	Hole In the Wall… on Banks
	Banks – sleepw… on Nose Dive
	Banks – sleepw… on Hole in the Wall and Banks…

sleepwhenwearedead

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

Wee Jasper Caving

Newnes Canyon, AKA Starlight, AKA the Amazing Wallaby Tunnel