Aphrodite Abseil

May 30, 2026June 9, 2026 | flynny101

30/05/2026

Hywaida, Ed, Kylie and meeeeeeeeeeee

The Pool of Aphrodite is a well published spot in the Gardens of Stone that doesn’t get lot of traffic due to it being a bit of a scrub bash to get to.

Yuri referred to it as the Heaven pool (Thanks Matt M for that info) but Keats officially named it Pool of Aphrodite with the geographical naming board.

When they published it in the Gardens of Stone Guides people would bash their way around from the more popular Pool of Diana, But it was a long, leg slashing slog.

A while ago I punched a more direct pass down through the cliffs oposite it but got foiled with a last little cliff I didn’t have rope for.

Anyhoo a few weeks ago Gadget and I had a rare spare afternoon and as she hadn’t been to the North Bungleboori Arch we thought why not go for a quick look at that and then pop over the ridge to see if we could make it down to Aphrodite.

We scramble down to the bottom of the arch and phaff around with the camera for a bit before heading back up to drive a bit further down the road to see if we could work our way down to the Pool of Aphrodite.

We get down to the cliff edge with a fantastic view to the slot that hides both the pool and the waterfall that feeds it. But for the life of me I couldn’t find the break in the cliff had got me so close many years ago

Kylie pulls out the topo and studies it momentarily. I reckon theres a pass upstream on the other side that will get us there, says she.

We slip back up to the car and drive around the head of the gully.

Her pass was a winner and before long we are at the pool.

It’s barely shin deep, a little underwhelming as far as pools go. But it’s a pretty spot.

Looking up at the slot cutting through the towering cliffs above we agree it would make an amazing abseil. The satelite image suggested there might be a small slot above it.

Keats describes it as being fed by a 30m waterfall. It’s a lot higher than that.

We file it on our list of things to do when we have nothing to do.

Which brings us to today. We had a big overnighter planned but circumstances lead to it being canceled and suddenly we had nothing to do.

And on top of the things to do when we have nothing to do list… that abseil.

A last minute, late night invite was thrown out to see if anyone else would like to join us and to our delight both Ed and Hywaida were keen.

We were expecting it to be a short trip so it was close to 11am when we roll into our car park.

It’s a 600m bash down the ridge, skirting the swamp until a pinch in the cliffs force us into the thickests of scrubs.

Ed resorts to his tried and tested method. Turn, use his pack a a shield and throw himself backwards into the wall of vegetation.

I’ve missed scrub bashing with Ed.

In no time he had bulldozed us a path to the top of the falls.

Unfortunitely there’s no slot above them. Also more scrub and a slippery slope is preventing us from getting a good look at the drop.

Facing a wall of scrub and a slippery rock slope about 5m from the edge ©Kylie

We slip up the pagoda next to it to get a view over the impressive slot dropping into the pool somewhere below.

A loooooong somewhere below.

It’s a substancial cliff and the best anchor tree is a long way back from the edge We start to wonder if our ropes are long enough.

We decide to set up and send the first abseiler to the edge to get a better look.

Belatedly I realise I’m the first abseiler!

I’m not scared.

Honest.

Ensuring I have my ascenders at the ready I get on our 75m rope and work my way down to the edge. It’s set as single strand with the 60m attached to the other end in case they need to lower me further.

I can see the pool, calls I.

It’s an impressive if somewhat intimidating drop.

Does the rope reach? Call they

I can’t see, there’s a slope to an overhang then maybe a ledge. I’m going to head down to see.

Living up to Aphrodite’s name its a lovely, beautiful, and pleasurable abseil.

Alternating between steep, near verticle slabs and long overhangs.

And the 75m reachs with about 6 or 7m to spare.

The top of the slot feels like it wraps around and encloses you before funneling out. After 5 days of drizzle there is enough flow that you can’t really get out of the spray. Prefect on a late Autumn day.

And just like that we are all down.

All that’s left now is the traverse around to the exit gully and a quick punch back up to the road.

A grand micro adventure indeed.

“Not knowing is half the fun,” Aphrodite said.

BACK

Mill Creek

March 13, 2026May 15, 2026 | flynny101

04/03/2026

Kristo, Dave, Jason, Kylie, and me

3hrs drive to do a 3hr canyon? Are you mad?

Well, yeah, but there was a method to our madness.

And to be honest this one turned out to be a bit of a surprise highlight, partly because I wasn’t expecting much.

Anyhoo, Jason put it on his must do list for this trip and we all just went along with him. The description sounded cool and after Wilsons it was a bit of a rest day.

The diving would break up the trip a bit and give us a chance to restock supplies and eat out in Wanaka.

The pass up was steep but not too difficult and we make good time.

We are too high calls Kylie, We are a few contours above the trace

There’s marking tape here though, replies Jason

It looks like a rough trail, Says Kristo

we push on, or down. or sumfink

I’ve been down some goat tracks in my time but this was up there in the goat trackiness. And all the while the roar of the water is churning int he back ground.

still there are signs someone at some point has come this way.

It doesn’t feel right. Says Kylie. I’m sure this was run during the festival. the track should be fresh.

There’s a landline here.

The old hand line was possibly more a short abseil but Jason and Kris get down.

I start to hand over hand.

Whatever I’m standing on gives way and suddenly I’m free hanging on a skinny cord and can’t quite get my feet back on the wall.

Below nothing but steep scree, soiled underpants and a sense of dread.

No choice but accept a bit of rope burn and slide down.

I’ll say up front this little episode put the wind up me a bit.

Still we scramble down a bit more before coming to what looks like another small cliffline.

Below us Mill Creek Tumbles through a series of complex boulders.

According to the trace the start is 50m down that way.

Will we get past that pool? It looks horrid,

Maybe if we can cross above it?

Problem is we can’t see what the water is doing directly below us.

Phuk this say I, still shaken from my near fall. Let’s head back up a bit and cut across to where the trace is.

We ascend back up above the dodgy hand line and follow Kylie’s trace down over the next knob and pick up a much clearer trail, and less dodgey path down.

Reaching the creek we see that had we have abseiled in before a narrow ledge and bit of scrambling would have gotten us across to the first anchor.

Anyhoo, setting up an anchor and getting us all down would have taken just as long. So alls well that ends well.

We pause for a bite to eat, suit up and take in the surroundings.

What a spot.

We bypass the first anchor and traverse bolts which appear to be high-water options and set up at the first drop.

The guide wasn’t wrong.

Some of the drops are very intimidating from above.

Most end in deep pools.

Most of those pools have wash-over risks

But whoever set the route has done a fabulous job. shout yourselves a beer or two.

The anchors are in the perfect positions to get you into a safe spot to assess the eddie and choose your swim line before committing to the water.

It’s such a diverse canyon too.

The top is open, yet intimidating. And the further you descend the more the walls close in.

And it is just stunningly beautiful ©Dave

With plenty of options to jump and slide ©Kylie

Kristo looking down to where the water disappearing into a deep slot

And we make our way back across the flats, wade the river and meet back at the car.

More photos just because. Feel free to click on them

Mine.

Kylie’s

Daves

Do the thing. A Honnold

Back to the Canyoning page.

Or onto Mathers Creek

Wilsons Creek

March 13, 2026March 13, 2026 | flynny101

02/03/2026

Jason, Kristo, Hywaida, Kylie and meeeeeee

Woot Woot.

This was the one I was really looking forward to.

Spoiler alert: It didn’t disappoint.

Rated as an A5 in the Kiwi Canyoning guidebook and website a land slide in recent years has resulted in some of the pools silting up a bit. The Hydraulics are still there and you have to know how to avoid/deal with them but they’re possibly not as hectic as they once were. Coupled with stunningly good weather it may have been on the easier end of A4 but I think A4 is still fair.

Of course that silting up has also affected the jumpability of the pools too.

Anyhoo I get ahead of myself.

We had had (hadhad had, had) a lot of fun yesterday in Robinson and Cross Creek, the team had just clicked and was working together with barely the need for verbal communication (Other than jokes and taking the piss) so we were really looking forward to today.

Wilsons Creek has an almost mythical status as the quintessential Haast Pass canyon. Last year, on a road trip in the depths of winter Kylie and I had stuck our noses up the exit chamber and were blown away by the beauty. Finally we were back to do it from the top.

The entry track goes up, and up and up (over 9000! (not really)) then we descend the landslide of certain death to cross a side creek. Then it’s down, down, down a steep razor ridge between the side creek and the Wilsons. At times I wondering if we should be using a rope, or a parachute, but it goes easy enough.

And finally we arrive at the top of the canyon.

Nervous excitement.

Grins.

We suit up.

eat eggs.

and get into it

Jason sets the first anchor.

I head on in

Looking back up to the start of the canyon. Already it’s an awe-inspiring place to be.

Next up

And soon we get to our first hydraulic challenge, the roundy roundy pool.

With the dry weather it’s not pumping too hard but you can still see it would be an issue if you drop into the wrong spot.

The advice is to jump over the swirl, problem is with the silting up of pools we don’t know how deep it is for a safe jump.

Kristo set the rope. Jason lead the way, abseiling part way down before making the leap,

He makes it look simple.

The rest of us follow.

You can’t put into words just how insignificant you become when emerged in a place of this grandeur

And soon we get to the “Julie Pool”

Hywaida and Jason showing how it’s done.

Being a little taller is definitely an advantage for bridging out across this one

Next up is the boil. Jason set the rope and I head on down.

I’d watched the Coalition of American Canyoneers video that discusses this hydraulic (16.11 mark) and it wasn’t looking anywhere near as nasty, but still I aimed for their suggested line and dove out with Leo’s voice ringing in my head “Now Swim hard!”

Once again, at these water levels it was fairly straight forward and everyone got across no worries. Still no one got a photo…

It’s then through Star War alley, a truely beautiful section of canyon, before 1 more tricky traverse line to the final abseil.

And then it’s on to battle the tourists in the exit chamber.

all in all an amazing experience with a great team.

more photos below. Click to enlarge them

Mine

Kylie’s

Hywiada’s

Surround yourself with awesome people. Experience Awesome things.

Back to the Canyoning page.

Continue to Mill Creek

Robinsons Creek

March 10, 2026March 11, 2026 | flynny101

01/03/2026

Dave, Jason, Hywaida, Kristo, Kylie and meeeeeeeee

A canyoning trip to New Zealand has been on the wish list for years but just hadn’t popped to the top of the priority list.

Until now.

The lead up was a bit chaotic and at various points it was looking like not all of us would make it but somehow the stars aligned and, thankfully, all 6 of us found ourselves making the acquaintance of every sand fly in Haast.

With the flies in a suitable frenzy over the taste of our blood we started our adventures off with a bang in Robinsons Creek.

a 15min walk up the hill and we are straight into it.

and some abseiling to check the depth first. This one was a bit too shallow to jump

The patterns and colours in the Schist was beautiful. Haast Schist is a metamorphic rock formed from sand and mudstones that have been reheated and placed under pressure then subjected to folding and uplifting to give it the patterns and swirls.

All good, gentle fun so far. A couple of small hydraulic features to be aware of.

The route is really well set. Unlike the typical Blue Mountain canyons we are use to there are times where you need to set traverse lines to avoid the hydraulics at the bottom of the waterfall, or loose log jams that act a sheives part way down. We are not unfamiliar with high flow canyons and practice this stuff a lot but it was a lot of fun putting our skills into practice in an easier canyon on day 1.

Then we come to the cavern pitch.

Jason sets the rope and I jump on, peering over the void.

It looks epic.

Then I notice a guy in board shorts below…. He’d scrambled up from the bottom but doesn’t hang around long. It was cold enough in the 5mm wettie.

Anyhoo, this pitch was amazebalz

Kylie at the top. The roar of the water beside you is awe inspiring.

More photos of this glorious little canyon. Click to enbiggen

Mine

Kylie’s

Hywaida’s

We scramble down the next drop on true right, walk around the corner and lo and behold there’s the car!

Fully psyched and eager for more we leave the wetsuits on and head down the road to Cross Creek

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. Will I Am Shakespeare

Back to the canyoning page

Cross Creek

March 10, 2026March 13, 2026 | flynny101

Buzzing from Robinson Creek we make the short drive down to the Cross Creek Bridge.

Now I may have been a little over hyped.

I may or may not have mis-read the notes to say “From the Bridge Walk 10min back toward Haast to find the obvious trail.”

Well we walked toward Haast for 10min…

What the notes Actually said was “Walk 10m (As in metres everybody) back towards Haast Pass (As in toward Wanaka- away from Haast, like der Fred ) You would have thunk the friendly guide having a chat with us while suiting up his clients might have said “Hey Bros you’re going the wrong way. It’s just there aye”

Anyhoo, we correct our (my) mistake.

what’s a Flynny trip with out a slight navigational hiccough anyway?

The warm up walk curbed our enthusiasm slightly so we opted not to go all the way to the upper sections and dropped in to the middle section a little early to get the jump on the guide group.

and we are pretty much straight into it again.

while the canyon was a little more open the colours were even more vivid.

And once again the canyon finishes pretty much at the car. We change and eat and swap tall stories about our first 2 NZ canyons then make our way back to our rented house at Haast where the lovely flies had told all their friends just how tasty we are.

Unfortunately the Haast river itself and some of its tributaries, including Cross Creek are infected with the invasive Didymo slime, AKA rock snot.

And while we didn’t see any it’s important to do the right thing, this means cleaning all our gear in diluted detergent and drying it off each day. Most parties we spoke to suggested we get a plastic tub each for this.

But Jason had a better idea

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all. — Helen Keller

Continued onto Wilsons Creek

Back to the canyoning page

Endiandra

February 5, 2026June 22, 2026 | flynny101

28/01/2026

Vince, Hywaida, Kris, Kylie and meeee

We had this one ear marked in case water levels were up. They weren’t up too much but we thought what the heck let’s do it anyway. None of us had done it before.

Making it more appealing was it was just a 15min drive from camp meaning a sleep in and trip to the cafe for coffee and stuff.

Notes say to park on next to the bridge and get in the creek.

We do our best billy goat gruff impressions. We are not trolls, honest.

A short walk down the creek brings us to the first abseil

TBH this one is a bit of a nothing abseil, but it does shortcut the top part of the tourist trail.

We get back onto the tourist trail and make our way down. There is a spot where it crosses to the left, now we are not sure if we were just a bit excited but it wasn’t over clear you needed to cross straight over and where we do cross doesn’t seem to be a trail. We make our way down stream a bit and I think I see a bit of flagging tape up the hill on the right.

The Kris and Vince see it too, or at least they think they do. we angle up to where we think the trail is.

No trail. We angle “down stream” a bit before deciding to drop back into the creek.

I put down stream in quotation marks because as we hit the creek and start “down” before Vince says

Isn’t the water flowing the wrong way?

We must have struck up the hill just before as a tributary came in and the main stream swung away.

anyhoo

We pop over the small ridge back into the right creek and pick the tourist trail up again and follow it down as the creek drops below us.

We take a guess at where the second drop might be and descend back down. Spot on.

From here down the drops come with just short walks between.

It’s a pretty creek and more canyony than I thought it would be.

The abseils are varied too, from easy slabs beside the flow, to stepped ledges through it.

Abseils 7, 8 , 9, and 10 were definitely the highlights though R8 has to be the slipperiest slab I’ve ever slipped slab down.

The infinity pool at the base of R8 is without a doubt the prettiest, most awesome natural cliff top pool I’ve been in.

And Absolutely none of us got a photo of it. We have to be fairly well gobsmacked not to get a photo.

Saying that I can see how it would be problematic in high flow.

R9 is the big one. 50m from an exposed, semi hanging anchor.

But it’s an easy run down a gentle slab

Can’t believe I took photos of this but missed the pool up top.

R10 is the most technical of the trip. It has a couple of over hung ledges right in the flow with some foot entrapment hazards to keep you on your game.

Kylie negotiating the second ledge. There a deep grooves here that just feel like they want to grab your boots.

Hywaida is in there somewhere as Kylie watches on

From here there is a long creek walk down to R11, then a longer creek walk down to the bottom exit. We choose just to forgo all that and just exit from the base of R10..

It’s a steep narrow, not quite knife edge ridge, full of wait-a-while and leeches but it goes easy enough. and gets us back into the upper section from where we pick up the tourist trail back to the cars.

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” — Phil Jackson

Back

GLOUCESTER

February 2, 2026February 5, 2026 | flynny101

24/01/2026

Jason, Dave, Wisey, Kylie and Me

Dr Forster went to Gloucester in a shower of rain.

He stepped in a puddle right up to his middle

and never went there again.

Ah English, where Forster rhymes with Gloucester and neither sounds like how they are spelt.

Anyhoo

What better way to pop my Barrington cherry than with a run through the upper section of Gloucester canyon.

Jason and Kylie had done it numerous times before at much higher water levels so today was shaping up to be fairy chill.

We had met Jason and Dave at camp the night before.

H had rolled in sometime through the night and we were all up early and eager.

It’s a short walk in and in high spirits we suit up and make our way down to the first abseil.

Kylie sets the rope and H leads the first drop

Jasons declares ropes are for the vanquished and jumps from a slippery stance

The next one is fairly basic down beside a smaller fall

A short hop skip and a jump down stream and we arrive at what we are here for.

The Famous chock stone abseil.

But to get there requires a short abseil and traverse

On their previous trips the water levels had been too high to attempt this one and there is the option to scramble out and do a dry line from high up just down stream of the chock stones.

Conditions today however are perfect so Jason sets a line and I traverse out and set the main drop

Jason follows me out and leads the big one

There are two redirects in place on this drop. The first gets you out, away from a sloping ledge that forms just as the water funnels into a ferocious torrent, the second keeps you out of the hydraulic that forms in high flow at the base. Jason sets them both for us to follow

it’s a stunningly beautiful waterfall.

And the view back up to it from just downstream is iconic

It was still early in the day. We were tossing up the idea of continuing downstream and completing the lower section. Jason had done it before and thought it was interesting.

The other option was to play around here.

It would be cool to get on top of the chock stone say Wisey.

There is the dry line option, said some one.

We scrmble up the start of the exit track and find our way across to the dry line.

It’s a bit down stream of the chock stones but I manage to swing across to the upper stone to help the following party with a stuck rope (Notes say to throw the pull cord over the chockstone. This lead to the stuck rope. If the flow isn’t too high just bring the pull strand down with you. it pulls fine.)

then drop in.

Jas, Wisey and Dave follow me. It’s a surprisingly fun abseil and we opt to run repeat son it for funzies.

Then we head on out and enjoy a relaxing afternoon at Camp

Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people: WC Fields

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Canyoning up north

January 8, 2026 | flynny101

01/01/2026

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

Kylie thinking, well at least it’s a little wet

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.

Only slightly rinsed but Happy canyoners

Back

Whirlpool

December 20, 2025December 21, 2025 | flynny101

20/12/2025

Gadget, Wisey, Brooke, Clare and meeeeeeeee

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.

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

The canyon starts with a crystal clear pool snaking through a beautiful twisted hall. Just moments before this shot Brooke was battling diner plate sized spiders like a knight slaying dragons ©️Kylie

The canyon had some pretty sections where the slot would close in

More monsters!
The water was so clear and the yabbies plentiful.

A couple of the abseils involved awkward over hanging ledges and careful rope placement was needed to protect from dragging across sharp edges .©️Kylie

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.

back

	Magnifying Glass Can… on Yileen Canyon
	Doug’s Canyon… on A little Blue Mts surprise
	A dabble in Dalpura… on Easter Epic ride
	A peaceful dapple in… on Dalpura Canyon
	Aphrodite Abseil… on Winter Wolganfalls Weirdos

sleepwhenwearedead

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

ropes

Aphrodite Abseil

Mill Creek

Wilsons Creek

Robinsons Creek

Cross Creek

Endiandra

GLOUCESTER

Canyoning up north

Whirlpool