deep

Morong Falls

| flynny101

13-12-2025

Kent, Pete, Joel, Tam, Cotter, David and meeeeee

I’m walking out of Butterbox and I get a missed call from Kent

I hadn’t heard from him for a while so called back straight away in case something was wrong.

Nothing is wrong he’s just been thinking about an abseil trip in one of his favourite places at Kanangra Boyd.

And so a trip down Morong falls is set up

Morong falls is a bit like big brother of Box Creek Falls.

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

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Box Creek Falls.

| flynny101

10-06-2023

Kylie, Jason, Aimee, Jen and meeeeee.

With cameos from Dave and Phill

It’s June. We are sleeping in and heading to Kanangra for a lazy half day of canyoning.

If that sounds odd we aren’t really “canyoning.”

The plan is to do the abseil trip down Box Creek falls. Ropes aren’t really necessary as you can scramble down right beside all the drops (as Dave and Phill did) or take an even easier walk down a little bit further right.

But anyhoo we had ropes so we were going to abseil.

Friday had been misty and miserable Saturday dawned bright and cold!

Like really cold.

It’s been ages since I’ve seen Jen so it was cool to catch up with her. And it was the first time meeting Phil and Dave.

It’s a pretty creek. But for an abseil trip… as Jason said you could ride a mountain bike down it.

Kylie psyching up for a cold swim at the bottom of abseil 1
Apparently I missed the bolts on this one as I walked down the slab beside it …
Jen wondering if it’s worth another cold dip
In the end she decided just to walk down and have a snooze in the sun while we continued to play with ropes
Aimee was keen to keep braving the water
Jason handled rope duties for most of it.
Phil and Dave walking down beside the “falls” to take photos of the idiots in the water.

And then we get to the top of the big drop.

Normally if I was at the top of a 65m abseil at Kanangra I’d be a little nervous. They are intimidating.

This one wasn’t.

It didn’t look to be that big or committing.

We set up.

There’s a series of ledges. Says Jason as he leads the way.

Going over the edge I see it doesn’t really get vertical at all. But it’s a bit of fun.

Dave decides to give the last one a crack
It would be cool to see with more water, thou I doubt it would hold water for long. Aimee says she walked up to the base in 2018 and it was bone dry.
Lunch in the glorious sun back at the top of the last absiel

So what did I think of it?

It’s kinda like an even less technical Dione Dell without the crappy walks between abseils. It’s not canyoning but a nice creek scramble between 2 optional abseils. It would be a nice spot for a swim early autumn.

Surround yourself with awesome people. Experience awesome things

4.5hrs car to car relexed pass

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Easter Epic ride

| flynny101

It’s been a bit of a tradition over the last 5 years or so that at some stage over the Easter long weekend we do a bit of a longer social ride. We’ve done the Lithgow-Glowworm Tunnels- Wolgan loop a couple of times. Lithgow to Capertee via Black Fellow hands trail, Long Swamp, Baal Bone Gap, Crown Station was a good one. Sunnyside ridge return. All good rides with a more sociable atmosphere

This year I thought we’d try something different, it would be a slightly shorter ride but broken up with a bit of a bushwalk up into the bottom of the delightful Deep Pass Canyon.

The idea gathered a fair bit of interest so even though i knew a few of the regulars had other commitments I was expecting a largish group. but when I rolled into the meeting spot it was just Shawie, Richard and Wiggo there.

We waited until the appointed time and with no sign of anyone else headed off just the 4 of us.

No dramas, we’re all about the same level of fitness so while not turning it into a race we were able to push a steady pace.

Dragon sky or some such thingie was on so the plateau was infested with 900 or so scouts and venturers out having a bit of fun. In times when people often whinge about kids sitting around playing computer games it’s great to so many kids out learning bush skills. We came across them in groups of 4s and fives as the navigated the maze of fire trials between check points.

Your going the wrong way! called Richard as one group came around a corner. We are not! replys girl with map and compass but no sense of humour. Her friends had a bit of a chuckle. Not her. Serious face. Eyes on the prize.

Anyway after a bit of a cold snap earlier in the week it was a pleasant day to be out riding and we covered the miles to the Mt Cameron fire trail turn off in good time and stopped for a bit to eat. From there it was down down and down into Deep Pass Clearing. An awesome walk in camp ground. The thought of lugging gear in and out the steep track on foot usually keeps the hordes at bay but today it was a little tent village.

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Gus Norris and Russel May carved out a bit of a clearing and built a hut down here under an occupational lease way back in the day. The hut was once a popular stop over camp for 4wders, motorbike riders, walkers and partyers. It was dismantled in the 80s(?)

After a bit of a look around the clearing we stashed the bikes and made our way up the head waters of Nayook creek to the bottom of the very pretty Deep Pass Canyon. It was on a very similar excursion (Riding, bush walk, swim) I first visited this canyon on a school camp back in the days of my misspent yooff.

A bit of time soaking in the ambiance then back down to the clearing for lunch then pushing out bike up the steep track up to Deep Pass Saddle and then the steeper trail up through the cliff lines before remounting and taking the back roads homes.

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The little waterfall and deep plunge pool at the exit portal of Deep Pass canyon is a great spot for a dip on a hot summers day

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Richard using one of the fixed lines to scramble up into the next section

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the Second last waterfall is an even better spot for a swim and cliff jump

This was as far up as we went to day. It’s possible to scramble up into the canyon proper with out getting wet via fixed hand lines and an assortment of logs tethered to the walls in the narrow bit but cycling shoes aint the best option.

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Shaggadelic baby!
Shaggadelic baby!

 

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Clarence Dams 11-01-17

| flynny101

With all the people who visit the Railway dams on Dargan crk at Clarence now days I wonder how many have ventured up into the backwater. It had been ages since I’ve done it.

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As well as leaps of faith the main wall is also great for deep water soloing

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There are lots of climbable lines on the wall, however most involve a blank section 3/4 the way up that require a long stretch or balancey moves on tiny climps while trying to smear with bare feet.

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If you have a bit of reach the green route is by far the easiest. For someone around the 180cm mark it’s only about a grade 16. Where the higher climber’s elbow is in the pic is a sneaky under cling. By stepping down and to the left  you can then come back up right, use your right hand to pull you into the wall with the under cling, this allows you to push up off your right foot while stretching your left hand straight up. A seemingly small hold just within reach is in fact a very nice jug. The black line is the hardest I have managed to do, way back when I was climbing lots. It involves a cool move to get over the shelf and a big dyno further up where the wall gets blank. I only managed it once. the Blue and purple traverse lines would be around 17. The red and Yellow lines were always a bit beyond me.