northern

Killen Falls and BexHill Quarry

| flynny101

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.

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Wild wet Wollemi Wilderness 2

| flynny101

Continued from WWWW1.

Saturday dawned clear but heavy rain was predicted to set in late in the day.

All the comforts of home or sumfink

Today we would leave the camp gear behind and head to the canyon we came out here for. We navigated our way along the, well you can’t call it a ridge but lets say “convoluted yet connected spur” and down to our target creek, which soon canyoned up.

Doesn’t look like much yet but just down there…
It was as specularly beautiful as I’d imagined

Many times throughout the day we would, once again reflect on similarities to Carnarvon Gorge and some of the remote slots we had explored well upstream of the usual tourist hikes. Just all rolled into 1. And greener.

it was grand
Deep, narrow, and twisty
and it went and went
Before opening into a cliff lined oasis.

We wondered down through remnant Gondwana rainforest, in that moment we were content and complete.

There is not enough superlatives to do it justice.

Mini Hunks fist

But the day wasn’t done with us yet. We wound our way through lush coachwoods and ferns to the jaws of another deep and impressive slot.

We wasted no time roping up to drop in
Once again we are dwarfed by moss covered walls
and still it drops
and once we reach the bottom a beam of sun lights up the spray of a side waterfall. The photo does not do it justice but Magic happens.
It’s hard to feel anything but humble out here.
We explore side canyons, again struck by similarities to side slots in Carnarvon Gorge.
We go slow, carefully pick our footsteps not wanting to damage the thick, spongy moss carpet and just soaking in the experience.
And of course before the canyon was done with us it would give us one short swim.

A ways downstream we refill our water bottles and quit this creek via an easy pass onto another convoluted but connected spur.

The sky is ominous so we punch up the spur back to camp.

just over six and a half hours after we left we make it back to camp and attempt to dry things off a bit while cooking diner before retiring under the tarp just as the storm hits.

Sunday

We had some canyons planned but it had rained hard all night and was not letting up. The dump was predicted to get heavier through the day cumulating in a thunder storm after lunch. So we opted to retreat down our first spur back to the pretty creek. The flow had definitely increased since yesterday and by the time we waded upstream to the bottom of a canyon that would lead us back up to the fire trail we had walked in on the rain was getting heavier.

Knowing this canyon was deep, narrow and long and still expecting a storm we reluctantly decided to slip up a pass beside it instead. The ridge I was hoping to use to avoid dropping back into the head waters of the canyon proved to be far more complex than the topo map suggested but it eventually got us to the road via another spectacular knife edge.

With empty heads and full souls all that was left to do was to follow the trail back to the car and the long drive home.

At the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy, and your eyes sparkling: Shanti

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Rosewood

| flynny101

Continued from Wayper

Styx will be doable, says Leo over diner, a fairly ordinary steak at a fairly extraordinary price.

I’m excited as we head to find a camp.

Stix is the one I wanted to do when I suggested the trip.

But also… I don’t know. I’m not as excited as I should be. I’m feeling a bit shit.

Saturday dawns bright.

Me not so much.

I crawl out of bed and spew.

I struggle to walk down to the others. I’m going to have to tap out. Says I

I think you should harded up, says Madie. Then looks up. Oh, you look like death.

Thanks

Here, she hands me some pills. I take them and take a sip of water. I spew.

Yeah I don’t think you should come says Leo.

I find a tree to lay under and try not to feel too sorry for myself as the others head off for an amazing adventure.

At some point through the afternoon I scratch something out of my itchy ankle.

I think nothing of it.

I’m not in much of a state to think. I don’t even think to be worried the others are running late until Russ gets me a message over his InReach to say they are ok and have just reached the exit.

It’s almost dark.

Some time later they arrive back in camp with tales of amazing adventures.

I ain’t even care I missed it… but I take the first bite of food I have been able to without spewing

Next day I wake feeling a little worse for wear but much better.

Belatedly I realise I’d started picking up almost as soon as I scratched whatever it was out of my itchy ankle.

I can’t be 100% sure but I think I’d had a reaction to a tick. It was dumb luck that let me scratch the little fecker out without doing more harm.

Anyhoo I still haven’t made up my mind if I’m up to canyoning today.

We’ll do Rosewood, says they. It’s an easy half day. It’s like the Empress falls of the Northern NSW. You’ll be fine.

Well alrighty then

19-03-2023

Kylie, Madie, Leo, Russ, Jason and meeeeeee

I’m glad I listened to them. It’s pretty with action packed abseiling at the end.

The moderate water levels made it hella fun too

Suited up and excited for a cruzy day
Still there were some water hazards to negotiate
And some fun abseils
In a very pretty setting
With a little spice to keep us on our toes
And the final abseil down Cedar Falls was pretty nice.

Zero leaches or ticks were taken home by Flynny this day.

Winning

the dreamers of the day are dangerous, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes to make them possible.” – T.E. Lawrence

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