I believe all canyons are worth doing once and actually get some satisfaction of checking out those rarely visited ones. They are normally low quality scrub bashes but in this day and age the feeling of being one of the few who have been somewhere is rare.
I felt Whores Bed canyon would be one of those.
And too be honest I’m glad I didn’t do it mid drought. On a cold misty day after 6months of wet weather it was a pleasant little trip.
The company made it better.
It was Loz’s first canyon so to give her the true Flynny/Madie experience we changed plans last minute, hadn’t done any research, parked in the wrong spot and started down the wrong trail.
Classic
Anyhoo we eventually deduced we weren’t heading into the correct gully and reversed out. Some of us scoffed a quick hot chocolate. And then we corrected previous mistakes and dropped in right at the anchor
And that pretty much it. Shorter and a bit easier than the near by Boars Head trip (for which this one is a play on words) but in these conditions it’s a prettier trip.
And the walk back up the Devils Hole isn’t too bad either
Of course some of those worth doing once canyons are actually worth doing again with the right company or weather conditions. Thus back at the cars the day was young and still had adventure written on it so we slipped across the Darling Causeway and dropped into Karamah.
Somewhat fittingly Karamah is a first nations word meaning “Sleep”.
Like a most of the canyons in that area it has some nice bits and 1 very pretty chamber.
This one has the crappiest single bolt anchor that I take the sling off every time and switch to a natural anchor. This is last time I was single roping with a fiddlestick this time I double roped. That water is deep enough for a good dunk and cold….. The double rope made for some tricky bridging action
Stirlo, Madie, Leo, Kylie, Jason, Aimee, Mark and meeeee
I was hankering to get out. Some options were discussed then Leo says BMNP is set to re-open.
Claustral it is than.
It seems impossible to me but I’ve never done Claustral with the above mentioned folk before. It’s one of my favourite canyons and they are some of my favourite people.
And on to Claustral. Whether you think it Claustrophobic inducing or Cloister like or a combination of the two is irrelevant right now. We meet up, gear up and shut up….
Wait, that’s not right.
We meet up, gear up and set off, chattering like magpies with lots to chatter about.
That’s more like us.
Once again photo credits go to a mix of the crew
Rightously Ferntacious
I’ve never abseiled this one before but Madie had the rope set up and threatened to cut me if I didn’t use it. Kylie follows me down
And we work our way down to where the real show starts
Stirlo on the first drop into the Black Hole of Calcutta
Click the photos to make the magic
Compulsory “Hulks Fist” photos and shenanigans ensue
Mandy hasn’t abseiled for a few years, she lost the passion so when she asked if I’d take her out I got a so excited that I didn’t explain the 2 options she proposed, while short trips were actually 2 of the more awkward abseils…
Anhoo after a week that involved Danae, Rocky, and a quick afternoon running throu Empress 3 times squeezing another little canyon in sounded like just the ticket
Beth decided to join us and off we went to a pretty but short little canyon near Clarence
Off through the flannel flowers we go
It’s tight, twisty and very slippery
But very pretty and a nice spot for a dip on a hot day
and what better way to finish it off with
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night― Sarah Williams
So for some years (with a break in 2020 due to bush fires) I’ve been joining Ed and Ethan for a New Years Day recovery canyon.
It started as a family thing but kinda morphed and pretty much has had different people joining each yea . This year we decided to do a trip to Rocky Creek New Years Day Night and the above mentioned legend joined us
Anyhoo I first visited Rocky cr nearly 30 years ago. It blew my mind and have made a visit to it at least once a year ever since. I have waxed lyric about it both in day and at night heaps before so I wont bang on to much this time around
I was surprised to learn Aims hadn’t done Twister or Rocky before. It was Also Tash’s first time
I think people dismiss it as it’s a bit of a drive and no abseils but bang for buck fun and beauty I reckon you can’t beat it
I honestly think the displays in Rocky are just consistently awesome
Getting a shot of glowworms in a canyon with a night sky above has been a bit of a goal of mine. 1 day I’ll manage glow worms and star trails
But for now light sabres will do
Iddy biddy Giant Water Spider Megadolomedes australianus. This things can have a leg span up to 18cm. I always thought they were fairly harmless but Caro tell us she once got a bite and it took ages to heal
Every now and then people come into your life that lift your soul or make you laugh or both or sumfink so when the chance came up to skive off work and do such an awesome canyon with 3 of those people I thought why the hell not
Kylie told me she had a licence to get out of dodge. She also mentioned she’d never been through Hole in the Wall so we concocted a plan and I took a day off. It just so happens Madie and Leo also had the day off so we met up at the ZigZag railway and set off to test out the bypass that would get us around some clean up work that currently had Waratah ridge rd blocked.
In the end the bypass was pretty straight forward and we were shouldering packs and heading off into the glorious sunshine, spirits high and smiles wide.
The usual banter and catchup chatter had extra depth and post lockdown feels that ate up the walk in and before we knew it we where suited up and heading into the confines of the upper section.
But first we needed to get past the gate keeper
Look mate, we did Tigersnake canyon last weekend
and then we were into it
And because the day was early we then head to the Dam cliffs to hang off more cliffs for fun
Surround yourself with awesome people. Experience Awesome things
Getting to the start of the slot involves traversing across a loose narrow ledge. Jason was leading the way.
hey, did you see that? Calls I
See what?
Highland Copperhead snake (Austrelaps ramsayi) tucking his head into his hidey hole
Of course now the rest of us need to get past. I’m pretty comfortable around snakes and I’m hoping no one else freaks out. I point out the unexpected hazard and step over.
Kylie steps up but the rock she steps on moves. The tail quickly disappears.
OK be careful and don’t step on those 2 rocks….
To my relief everyone comes across without hesitation and snakey stays safe in his hole.
The slot has a bit of a reputation for projectiles. The top of P1 and the stance in between P1 and P2 are littered with loose rocks, anything from pebble size to large slabs. If you are heading in you need to make sure your group is extremely careful. It’s Kylies trip and I didn’t want to take over but I did stress no one was to move above P2 while people were on rope and we didn’t have an issue.
The rest of the photos are in no particular order as there are so many waterfalls and I enjoy the experience so much that looking back I struggle to remember what order they came in.
Photo credits to the various people mentioned above
It’s getting late by the time we reach our exit. When doing awesome stuff with awesome people time has no meaning for me and for various reasons the descent had taken longer than expected.
With the days getting shorter it was going to be touch and go for us to get up the scrambles before dark.
I’ve done the exit up the ridge several times now but each time I seem to go a slightly different way and experience a different number of scrambles with varying degrees of dodginess.
There’s a bit of a track starting to form now but that’s not to say it takes the best path and a coupe of branches definitely takes you on more difficult routes. This time up we miss all the trickiest scrambles except 1. It was shitscary but we all got up it with just a little swearing and encouragement and we reach the tourist track just as the light is fading.
All in all another excellent day out with truly amazing people
So I’d been thinking about doing Looking Glass but then had a few other offers. For various reasons I was either unable to get to the other offers, they got cancelled or I decided I’d really rather do Looking Glass. After a bit of a shit week at work a long, complex walk and tricky little canyon was just what I needed
As luck would have it Kent was doing a trip there so late Friday I gave him a call and jumped on board.
Pulling into the meeting place I was pleased to see Louise and Scott as I hadn’t managed to catch up with them for a trip in ages and they are always good value.
Others arrived. Stuff was jammed in cars and before we knew it we were in the Wolgan and on our way.
The haul up through the cliffs was no where near as difficult as I was expecting. The walk along the ridges made up for it though. Lots of spurs where it was easy to loose the main ridge if you wasn’t paying attention, thou a fire in recent years meant there wasn’t much scrub so walking was easy.
Splinter removal time
We managed to scramble down into the head of the creek then followed it down to the first abseil. I was so caught up in enjoying the bush and the banter it took me by surprise when someone said we’d been going for 4hrs already.
On my last trip with Tim I mentioned we’d been using releasable anchors. Today he packed his “Gate” which he had picked up as a freeby when he bought something at Adventure Base but had never used. And by gate he meant Gigi but none of us knew how “Gigi” was pronounced so “Gate” it was.
I’d be keen to see the figure 8 block. said he.
Did you bring your fiddlestick, Said Scott
Let’s rig every abseil different and see how they compare, said someone else. Oh wait, that was me.
I’ve been loving learning and sharing new techniques lately so this was going to be a fun day.
Kent on the first drop rigged with the Gate, I mean GeeGee, I mean GuyGuy, I mean the Giggey…. Um… “gate.”
I started setting up the second drop using a figure 8 block.
Can we fiddlestick this one. asks Allie
Sure.
I’ve been wanting to try this. Says Scott. I bought one but Louise is a die hard member of the DRT crew (Double rope techniques or, as we re-dubbed it, the Dinosaurs (using) Redundant Techniques…. 🙂 )
Ok well she wont have a choice for this one. I grin
Allie keen to see how it all worked
So, I’d been toying with an idea to help manage the pull cord. I’d tested it a bit on the cliffs behind my place and it was working a treat. So confident in it was I that I posted a video of it to the Australian Canyoners facebook group to show people how it worked.
So of course today in the wild in front of a bunch of keen onlookers the whole thing turned to shit, the bobbin fell apart and I’m mid way down the abseil looking at a knotted mess wondering how rectify it….
Back to flaking it into the throw bag like a normal person…
On our Nightmare trip a few weeks ago I showed Tim and Chardi how to set a guided abseil to get them over the pool without getting wet. Today they returned the favour. Well, I’m pretty sure Chardi tried to dunk me but I’m too crafty for that old buggar
Awesome people to hang out in the bush with
Next up Figure 8 block.
You wont be able to release that when it’s loaded. Says Kent
Yeah I will, say I. Pull on this I’ll show you
Na I’ll get on rope. I’m telling ya, ya wont be able to lift my weight to release it.
Kent gets on rope , locks off so his whole weight is on the system… I pop the lock and lower him down. Easy peasey.
Well I’ll be buggered. Says Kent. You have to show me that
Kent!
Deep in the Slot
Emerging into the light
Allie beside the Looking Glass arch
Looking back up FireFly from the junction
And 1 more optional abseil
And then we stroll back through the ruins and back to the car
Time: 8hrs car to car relaxed pace with plenty of stops and discussions around anchors
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. I ignored both, went my own way and discovered more than I ever thought I could
We thought we’d make the most of the pleasant first day of spring weather with a little jaunt down to Deep Pass AKA Gawaymbanha Ngurambenggu
Working your way up from the bottom this is the first pool you encounter.
Mandy at the base of the water fall. Its a great place to hang out on a hot summers day. WOuld the allure drag me in? I’ve been coming here since the 80s and that’s the least amount of water I’ve seen trickling over the falls. It doesn’t bode well for summer
The narrow bit. For as long as people can remember log have been tied across this narrow section to allow you to get across without getting wet.
It’s not exactly the prettiest and considering the water is only waist deep…
More rope to help stay dry. Where it crosses around the corner is the only spot where you have to get your feet wet
One the way back down I couldn’t help myself. Even in the height of summer I reckon the water at deep pass is some f the coldest I’ve swum in. Today was no different.
After a quick bite to eat in the warm sun at the camp ground we poke around some of our other hidden gems
There are various pieces of rock art around the site. A lot of it is genuine
There are little nooks and crannies and dry slots scattered around the cliffs
Split rock is pretty amazing. This narrow hall branches off at right angles from another hall that is only slightly less narrow
Mandy at the bottom of Split Rock
“If you don’t turn your life into a story, you just become a part of someone else’s story.” ― Terry Pratchett,
sleepwhenwearedead 