Leaving Girraween and dropping back into NSW we are aiming for Warialda but decide to take a bit of a detour into Kwiambal NP for a look at Macintyre Falls.
Macintyre falls are located about an hour out of Ashford, near the Ashford limestone Caves (which at the time of writing were closed to the public).
The falls aren’t massive but they are impressive none the less, check out the little whirlpool near the top of the main falls in the top view. hate to get stuck in that in high flow.
the view from the lookout is impressive and a tourist trail leads down to the pool below
large Murray Cod could be seen swimming in the waterhole and fishermen are setting up so we opt not to swim and disturb their hunt for dinner
We spend a bit of time rock hoping and exploring then head across to Lemon Tree Flat for a swim in the Severn River.
This is a beautiful little camp ground I got zero photos of…
Then it was onto Warialda and the very cool little council run camp ground at Cranky Rock.
At $20 a night for a powered site it’s a great low cost campground with hot shower and clean toilets.
And an impressive swimming hole
Now I have to be honest, being spoilt in the crystal clear waters you find in Blue Mountains canyons the water hole here did have that agricultural run off look and slight whiff but on a stinking hot day with no better publicly accessible swimming holes within cooee it’s an oasis.
Sure, I wouldn’t drink it but there is no hesitation at jumping in and cooling off.
and the colours in the rocks pop at sunset
With the battery in my head torch now charged I thought I’d have another go at spot lighting.
The creek and waterhole was weirdly devoid of frogs and their predators. I spent a bit of time poking around but was giving up and heading back to camp when this little guy came out to say hello
Spotted Black Snake, Pseudechis guttatus, aka the Blue Belly Black snake
this species comes in range of colours, from creamy grey to shiny black but how good is the camouflage of this speckled version against the blotched granite.
Back at camp Kylie had luck with the furries. Spotting several sugar gliders running amuck in the trees behind our camper.
and also managed to
1. find this little burrowing frog
and
2. find it a second time to show me
But it is getting late. We are mindful of our fellow campers so call it a night.
we also have a long drive tomorrow.
Our next stop will be Waa Gorge (It’s pronounced “War” not “Wah”)
Returning from The Sphinx as the heat began to ramp up a visit to the underground creek sounded ideal.
If nothing else the name was cool.
A short drive from our camp took us up into the surrounding hills. The car park is well signposted and gives access to both the Underground creek trail and Dr Roberts Waterhole.
The walk out to the underground section the creek is just over a 1km and fairly flat.
So what the hell is it?
This section of creek drops down through boulders into a a short section of old lava tube
If you find the top secret… I mean really obvious entry it’s such a cool feature
of course we spend no time scrambling down
It’s a short section but well worth exploring a bit.
Just upstream we scrambled up past this feature. Belatedly we found an easy trail that bypasses around the little cliff line up to a sunny platform that’s worth a look
iddy biddy baby canyon
iddy biddy baby water dragon
big dyke
On the way back we made the detour to Dr Roberts waterhole. It’s a nice spot for a dip.
We’d spend another night in Girraween before hitting the road and head towards Cranky Rock
It’s pronounced “Bunoo Boonoo” Thou tbh I had to ask Kylie how Bunoo was pronounced differenty to Boonoo.
One is “bun” and one is “boon”. She explains patiently to her favourite idiot.
Anyhoo
After a pleasant morning at Bald Rock the day has heated up and so we drive past the campsite and head to the main falls.
The road runs along the creek as it tumbles through a little granite gorge. It looks like it would have plenty of nooks and crannies to explore.
From the car park tourist trails lead to rock pools above the falls or down to a viewing platform over the main drop.
We head down to the lookout. It’s an easy 5min walk.
A 260m cascading waterfall tumbling into the steep sided gorge below.
Beyond the fenced path glimpses of old trails hint at adventure. If it wasn’t so hot or dry we may have been tempted.
Instead we make our way up to the rock pools intent on a dip.
The main pools at the end of the trail are beautiful, but why stop at there when there’s so much to explore.
We make our way upstream
A bit of rock hoping leads us past a series of cascades and semi hidden water holes
You can see just how low the water is by the waterline on the rocks. But still enough for a cool dip on a hot day.
And we choose a plunge pool below a little waterfall tucked into an alcove and play in the current of the falls wondering just how nasty the hydraulic would get in higher flows
From here its a short drive back to the camp ground where we set up for the night then explore the camp ground
The camp is upstream of the gorge and gives access to the river
We spend the twilight chilling out on the bench by the platypus pool. Unfortunately we didn’t catch a glimpse of any this time around.
An evening storm is our first real test in the Alucab in heavy rain. Lessons learnt: the make shift rain gutter works well but even with it on leaving the door open wasn’t a great idea…
Next morning we get up early and head to BasketSwamp Falls for sunrise.
Kylie below the lower falls
Even after last night storm the water level is low but at least there is some flow over the falls.
Kylie had gifted me a Potensic Atom 2 drone for Christmas and had been forward thinking enough to also apply for permits to fly it in various national parks we’d be visiting .
We were denied permission as the first couple because it was peak tourist time over the New Years long weekend but even then they encouraged us to apply again.
Most of our requests were granted though. There were a few conditions on the permits but they were easy enough to comply with
So if you are taking a drone it’s worth planning ahead and doing the right thing. There were also a few times where we had permission but opted not to put it up due to not wanting to disturb other visitors.
Can’t deny the awesome perspective you get with them though.
This was one of my first flights.
From here we’d be heading west into Queensland… sounds weird but the border does a little curve here. Bald Rock in NSW is North East of Girraween in Qld.
Ash wanted to head to Surface Paradise so we thought it might be nice to drop him off for a day out and drive up to check out a couple of the touristy waterfalls on Tamborine Mountain.
We knew Jason was up visiting family in Brisbane so we threw him a shout out to meet us there.
Our first stop was Cedar Creek falls.
This is another popular swimming spot and it has limited parking. We needed to park way back at the turn off (Junction of Tambourine Mountain Road and Cedar Creek Falls Road.) which gave us an extra 800m walk each way.
Locals at the end of the road had set up a paid (donation) parking lot in their paddock and the kids had an esky set up sell cold drinks. Kylie half jokingly wondered if said locals rushed out of a morning on public holidays and filled the car park up with their own cars before the crowds appeared. Clever them if so as their paddock was just about full.
And to be fair, imagine having this place pretty much as your private back yard extension before the crowds discovered it and the tourists (like us) rolled in.
From the car park a boardwalk style trail leads you down past a nice picnic area beside the creek then down to a lookout above the main falls.
The trail then continues down to the base of a lower cascade and a nice swimming hole.
There are two main pools accessible from the trail.
A series of other cascades and pools are off limits due to safety concerns and rangers were on and to remind people of the need to comply.
We have a dip and laze about then head back up the mountain to check out Curtis Falls.
There’s a much bigger car park here but it’s equally full, luckily people are leaving and we get a park close to the trail head. Winning.
There is no swimming allowed in this one but is a lovely walk along a shaded creek and a very pretty waterfall.
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
We spend a bit of time making sure we get it right as the rock can be damn sharp in these parts. Canyon bags and rope bags are put to use as rope protecters, then I head on down.
It’s a great pitch, slippery start to free hanging in the spray, finishing on a slab into the pool
the sun was in the wrong spot so these photos don’t show the amazing colours of this place.
and the water was warm!
As my old mate, Super Goose, likes to say “It’s like getting hit up the bum by a rainbow.”
Whatever the hell that means. He made it sound like it was good or lucky or sumfink.
Jason and Jonathan
What makes it even better is a quick and easy exit back up to the top. So Jason and I opted for a second run. TBH I could have done this one over and over
But we make our way back to the car and head across to the Hell Hole!!!
Apparently we missed Henrik and his mate by a day here which is a shame as it would have been great catching up with him.
Hell Holes is a little more canyon like, but still just 2 (or 3) pitches down a waterfall.
Again the water is super low so Kylie and Jonathan decide it’s not worth descending.
Probably a good choice.
But Jason and I think we may as well.
More of a questionable choice.
There wasn’t much in the way in natural anchors at this one.
Good Luck. It’s bolted.
Bad Luck. P1 is with carrots.
Good Luck. We have bolt plates.
Bad Luck. We didn’t bring them with us this trip.
Good Luck. The carrots stick out a bit and I’m able to hero loop a sling.
Bad Luck. They want me to be crash test dummy….
And again the rock is super sharp so we opt to do the first pitch on isolated double ropes.
the anchor for P2 is solid though the top nut is starting to show signs of corrosion
the start of P2 is, um awkward. It’s a tight wedge with the rope trying to pull you into the wedge. I could imagine in high-water this would be very tricky indeed.
The water is barely a trickle.
You can do P2 all the way to the bottom as a ~52m drop. But the notes say it has a habit of trapping ropes so we had planned to split it into 2 and rebelay off the large ledge 2/3 of the way down.
Turns out my 62m rope was enough to double rope to the ledge which removed the risk of getting a knot stuck the wedge.
Looking over the ledge at a slabby P3 we opted to forego going all the way to the not so impressive pool and walked off the ledge river left onto the exit track, saving ourselves an extra 20meters of vertical to climb back up.
The exit back to the top of the falls was steep with lots of loose rock to be wary of, but it’s reasonably quick.
Back at the top we cool off in the pools and head on out.
All in all a pleasant day. Hell Holes isn’t somewhere I’d rush back to, but it was worth a look.
to top it off Jonathan made this awesome video of our day
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.
It had been a hectic week, we needed to get out and wanted to do something neither of us had done before but had limited time.
What about Hand Over Hand? It’s suppose to be a short half day.
Kylie did a quick bit of research and noted the trace on ropewiki did not match the description on ropewiki. While the notes mention several exit options the main description was for the shorter exit. The trace was for the longer exit if you went down South Bowen.
TBF the South Bowen option would make a good short day trip but if you had just glanced over the description expecting a couple of hours then blindly followed the trace you’d be in for a shock.
With mapping apps like alltrails becoming more popular this is becoming a bit of an issue. There have been reports of people looking for the infinity pool at the end of Fortress or the bush walker route to Dalpura but unknowingly loading the GPX trace for the canyon trips instead and getting themselves into trouble.
Don’t get me wrong, Alltrails and other mapping apps are a handy resource, but like any tool you need to know how to use them.
A good tip is to start with the premise that you have no idea who uploaded it, what their skill and experience is (an easy rock scramble for a gun climber might induce a BLM (Bowel Liquifying Moment) to the average canyoner). You don’t know what information or directions they themselves were following or if they just stumbled along and got lucky. You don’t know if it’s their trace or one they got off someone who got it off someone who got it off someone. Hell, you don’t even know if they have actually done the route, it might be just a speculatively drawn line on a map.
So, load it onto your mapping app and have a good look. Does it look to follow the best contours? Are there other options? Why does it do that big zigzag at the cliff? And does it match your expectations from the description?
Cross referencing the track notes with other sources and trip reports will also give you a broader understanding of the trip.
Anyhoo, enough pontification. that side track was longer than the trip and maybe well over the top for experienced canyoners on a simple trip like HoH but it’s how we role.
Now onto the canyon.
We leave home at the crack of 10:30am and make our way across to park up at the start of the Mount Wilson East Power Line fire trail. A short distance down here and we swing down under the powerlines.
The description hinted at horrendous scrub in the creek so I had hoped to drop in a little lower. I choose a nose I hoped goes between two side creeks and we make easy time down to the cliff line.
Right creek looks like it cliffs out. Calls I
Left looks like it goes, answers Gadget.
I make my way across and scramble into the side of the side creek. In doing so I disturb the biggest copperhead snake I’ve ever seen. Chunky boi makes a bee line toward Kylie.
Snake coming directly at you! warns I
WTF! yells Kylie. But in long form. This is no time for three letter acronyms.
Snekie snek dodges her ankles and disappears into scrub.
Well that was fun.
We gain the creek. Scrub and dead fall awaits. We hadn’t saved ourselves as much creek bashing as I hoped but we make our way down to the upper section of canyon.
It starts with a bit of promise, with a crystal clear pool below a small down climb as the cliffs close in.
But to call it an upper section is a stretch.
The “canyon” opens back out and a short way down the creek the cliff open as well. There is what looks to be a gentle ridge entering on the left. In hindsight this could be a much better spot to enter. It’s not to far a divert if you want to head up stream to bask in the glory of the upper section and it would miss a 1km of creek bashing.
We all know I have a rep for horrendous scrub bashes to canyons of questionable quality but up until now even I was wondering if this one was going to be worth it.
Just downstream the bottom bit makes up for it.
Gadget above the first drop
One of the few keeper potholes in the Bluies.
There is a couple of ways to get out of the pothole. 1. Scramble out over the lip or, 2. duck under and swim through an arch
Water levels looks low so scrambling over the slippery walls may prove difficult and we couldn’t see if the tight duck under was clear so we opted to by pass over the top and abseil in the side.
Once down I thought I’d try the duck under. It’s a bit deep to be called a “Duck Under” it’s a full on swim under and it’s silted up making a tight squeeze.
yes I chickened out. Got my head under the arch and thought screw that for fun
pretty but
A lot of these little side canyons have 1 really nice chamber and that’s it. I was kinda expecting that to be the case here but what we got was a very beautiful series of enclosed dells. it reminded me a bit of an untouched deep pass.
the water clarity was amazing
and the canyon opens up. We are a bit above the junction with South Bowen but follow a break in the cliff lines up to the left where a rough bush walkers trail leads up back up to the powerlines near where we first dropped in.
Seeing places few others see and doing things few others do is what it’s about
About 3hrs car to car with a lot of photo phaffing
