swimming

Nose Dive

| flynny101

Kris, Hywaida, Kylie and meeeeeeee

01/10/2023

It was a slightly cooler day which worked out perfectly as it’s a bit of a walk to get to this one

Pleasant banter ate up the fire trail and it didn’t seem too long before we were following the HITW exit trail down to Dingo Creek (but really North Bungleboori)

The old dodgy ledge that you could once use to stay dry seems to have washed away and so we stripped down to essentials and waded down to our exit on the other side.

Here we encountered the first of the many large tangles of dead fall we’d encounter today. b

After a bit of effort we were up North East canyon and had a morning tea break looking down over Banks.

The climb out of North East canyon, which runs South West….

We pick an easy path down to cross the head of Banks Canyon. Then over the next ridge to scramble into Nose Dive creek.

Making our way down stream there was lots of dead fall to negotiate.

The gully seemed to be openning out and I voiced concerns that we had dropped in too far down stream (I didn’t get the grid reference or study the map. I go by feel baby)

But then.

The creek drops down a hole. And so do we.
The second of the cavern like sections. It’s ok I guess.

Ok it was more than ok.

Dark yet somehow filled with beautiful light
Really spectacular and somewhat unique slot canyon
Such a cool little section
The water was like glass
Gadget with H in the background
Throw and go because, well you know.
Was it cold. Yes it was
H
K
G

And then we are in T̶h̶e̶ ̶‘̶b̶o̶o̶r̶i̶ Dingo Creek for lunch followed by a bit of creek walking and some long swims to get back up the the HITW exit at the big bend

It’s a gorgeous section of T̶h̶e̶ ̶‘̶b̶o̶o̶r̶i̶… Dingo creek

You should sit in nature for 20min every day.

Unless you are really busy then you should do it for an hour.

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Hole in the Wall.

| flynny101

11-03-2023

Russ, Aimee and me

Anyone want to go canyoning?

Sure!

And thus we find ourselves navigating our way around the chemical weapons clean up and start walking out the fire break along Waratah ridge amid banter and laughing.

And before too long we are suiting up and entering the canyon
It’s quiet nice.
I always forget just how spectacular the top section is

And I also forget the length of the walk betwix it and the bottom section …

Aimee entering the bottom section. The log has moved so now it’s a much easier start. That log had been there as long as I can remember. It’s now further down the chamber. Testament to the power of the recent floods
Wrong time of year for a massive glowworm display but still… glowworms!
and if I’m ever not awed by glowworms slap me hard

The cave has silted up again meaning it’s a walk through to the squeeze out again.

It’s pretty choked up. Says Russ. I’m not sure we’ll get through.

Ah, that old chestnut.

Wait. I can see a bit of light. and up he squeezes.

I’m not sure of the sense of leaving the fat guy until last but Aimee follows him and I push my pack through to her and think skinny thoughts as I wiggle my self up and out

Then the hole abseil is awkward and holey again
Hole in the Wall, the sun really does shines out it’s arse
I don’t want to get into the whole bolt debate but for me the problem solving aspect has alway been a big part of the appeal of Blue Mountains canyoning. So needing to think about and improvise anchors was a pleasant change to what has become the norm in the more popular “trade routes”
And far too soon we are swimming up the Bungleboori North branch/*hackspit* Dingo creek.
Excuse me, I’ve been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty…..

Chase your stars, fool. Life is short

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Ranon Brook

| flynny101

14-01-2023

It occurred to me I hadn’t done anything biggish for a bit. Nor had I lead anything I’d not done before for a while. Nor had I done the top of Ranon Brook ever.

Time to amend that.

The track notes said to follow the ridge so of course I headed straight down into the creek, joining it just below the feeder swap.

I don’t think Kylie was that impressed but the walking in the creek was mostly pleasant with occasional bits of cutty scrub

There were some nice bits of crystal clear water.
And soon the creek dropped into a stunning little canyon
Happy smiles
Abseil into a pool, swim across and abseil out is a bit of a theme in Ranon

But it’s only short and a bit more creek walking gets us the the junction with Mistake Ravine and into familiar territory

It was a busy day in The main canyon sections.
These tip top Canberrians let us go throu on their rope and caught back up a couple of times through out the day. oddly were the only other group we saw once we got to Claustral
Kylie in the slot above the Claustral junction
And into Claustral.
Just in time for sunbeams
Mandatory hulks fist
And National Geographic shot
And more sun beams
And standard Claustral gorgeousness

Another great day out with great company, somehow missing the crowds.

It’s still magic even if you know how it’s done: Terry Pratchett

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Arethusa, again

| flynny101

02/04/22

Madie, Kylie, Russ and meeeeee

It had been 5 weeks since I have done a canyon!!!

Sure I’d done a heap of other cool stuff in mean time but I was itching to get back out.

Wanna do Arethusa?

Does the pope shit in the woods…. wait, um, that’s not it. I mean, hell yeah

So the top photo is my Bestards, renownly awesome boots for Blue Mtns style canyons. On the bottom are my skeches renownly comfy for old men but super slippery. I had the bestards out ready to go with my wet suit booties. Guess which shoes I put on that morning.

Anyhoo we meet up. Head in and gear up.

So yeah 5 weeks since last canyon but more like 9 since I was last on a rope . I may have been a little excited
and before long we are into it

It’s a big call but Imma call it anyway, Arethusa is the best bang for buck micro adventure in the Blue Mountains.

All thrilla no filla. Beautiful canyon sections with minimum creek walking. Pretty waterfall and cascades. Abseils that can be techie unless it’s supper low water levels. Interesting down climbs with optional jumps. Stunning views at the end. And some easy but adventurous climbing to get out.

Some extra bolts have appeared recently and I would caution people to assess the landingzones. We scrambled/walked past most (all) of them simply because it was quicker and easier (even in the slipperiest-shoes-known-to-man(tm). OK I had a few moments but none of them near the optional abseil bolts) but one anchor in particular looked like it would drop you into recirculating water at the flow level we did it in. At lower levels (and maybe higher levels) it mightn’t be an issue but today we looked and said nope to that.

So make sure you assess things yourself rather than just blindly follow. And that goes for all canyons. We got use to the low water levels during 10years of drought, now they are flowing again reassess things.

but anyhoo I have done write ups of Arethusa before here and here, so enjoy the photos (none of which are mine so ©Madie ©Russ and ©Kylie.)

Madie checking out an alternate rap to avoid the pot hole in the waterfall
The girls wondering if I’ll make it across the gap in the slipperiest-shoes-known-to-man(tm)

https://youtube.com/shorts/A9ExmCQuWqw?feature=share

Same spot a couple of years ago different water level
She’s a pretty canyon

meat anchors are me
Frothy

And then it’s time to climb out, well it’s time for Madie to climb out and haul the rest of us up or sumfink

the crew
it’s best not to ask

Of course I’m sane, when trees start talking to me, I don’t talk back: T Pratchett Well Ok sometimes I do: Flynny

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Kamarah Gully

| flynny101

8/9/2020

Meeeeee

Kamarah:

  1. Aboriginal word for Sleep
  2. Sleepy little town on the outskirts of the Riverina
  3. A small sleeper of a canyon somewhat less visited than it’s neighbours

The name fits with other creek names in the area. Yileen = To dream/dream like. Dalpura = Peaceful, Kamarah = Sleep. I’ve not been able to find a meaning for Koombanda, Jungaburra or Jinki but assume they fit the theme somehow.

Like most canyons in this area it’s not that deep or sustained but has some pretty bits to it.

From the bottom of Koombanda it’s possible to scramble up the nose below the junction and drop back down into the top of Kamarah. I guess this is the way most people do it, it makes sense as they are both short and adding in Kamarah then exiting up to the west via convenient tree roots can be a quicker than exiting via the old mine, especially if you don’t want to do a car shuffle.

You do, however miss some nice erosion caves further up the gully

Anyhoo this description is almost longer than the canyon already

With a day off and everyone else seemingly busy I took the opportunity of a quick afternoon stroll. The creek is drier than I’ve seen it before. I wander down off the ridge, check out the caves which seem to have a lot more block fall than I remember, then make my way down until the walls start to canyon up

The water level is down at least 30cm from my last visit
But it’s still a lush green in contrast to the burnt out ridge lines nearby
First drop is about 3m, some careful bridging meant I could keep my feet dry today
You can see how far down the water level is from usual
More shallow canyon follows

Then the creek drops into a dark hole

Typical of canyons in this area it has one, shallow but stunning chamber
And some nice bits follow

And then just before the junction with Koombanda brook you can climb out on the right, or continue down this this nice overhang to scramble up on the left

Time: 2.5hr car to car with a lot of faffing around

Whatever you do today don’t forget to be just that tiny little bit awesome

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A peaceful dapple in Dalpura

| flynny101

05/10/2019

Aleasha, Gibbo and Macca and meeeeee or sumfink

With too many hobbies and a bunch of commitments I just wanted to get out for a pleasant, short afternoon canyon and thought to myself Dalpura is pleasant and short and a canyon and Saturday has an afternoon. A plan started to form…

I’d hadn’t caught up with this lot of awesome folk for few weeks and they were keen enough to join me. Awesome.

Dalpura starts with a nice little section
You only get wet to your waist, said I. Forgetting that takes a bit of effort and even then it was more like chest deep

Um, Russ, did you not pack your harness and stuff? said all of us as Russ rigged up a munter hitch on makeshift tape harness

I have them in my bag, says Russ. But I couldn’t be bothered getting them out. I’m a minimalist….

OK then, cool beans. Rock on,

Jeremy
Russ
Aleasha
The second section starts with a short abseil into what I reckon is one of the prettiest canyon chambers in the Blue Mountains. In the right light it is magical. Today we were a bit late in the afternoon
It is still a nice spot thou
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From there the canyon opens out, closes in and opens out again. There are some nice bits but nothing mind blowing

It’s odd how compelling these little challenges can be. We were already wet but we all had a crack
The I’ll have a Crack kid may or may not have made it to the end… You can do it Jez… Maybe
Never overly deep or narrow it does have pleasant bits
And crystal clear water

Hey there is a little ledge down here with stunning views…. It was fogged out

Hey from up here there awesome views toward Mt Vic and Blackheath…. FoggyMcfogfog.

Still the wild flowers were out on display

How awesome are Waratahs? The correct answer is Very.
And Spiderwebs in the rain… this one was tiny, Captured with the macro setting

Party Size: 4

Time: 2.5hrs car to car

If you are always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be,

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Previous trips 26/03/16 / 31/03/2018

A dabble in Dalpura

| flynny101

31-03-2018

Tal, Ben and me

With an early Easter combining with a few family birthdays I wasn’t able to organise the usual Easter Epic Ride this year so instead conspired with Tal to do a quick early morning trip to Dalpura canyon.

Ben posted that he was down from Qld and keen to check out a canyon or two and I messaged to say if he didn’t get a better offer he’s be welcome to come with us. He accepted the offer and we met nice and early in some typical mountain mist. AKA, fog.

Last time we had done Dalpura we dropped into the western tributary, which had some nice bits high up but also involved some thick cutty scrub. This time around we followed Toms track notes and found a reasonable track into the Eastern tributary which also had acouple of short and shallow but nice canyon sections.

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Anyhoo it doesn’t take long to get to the abseil. It’s a short drop into a very nice chamber. Last visit I was still using and iPhone4 for photos so I was hoping for some nice light to see how the TG4 would go.

We waist no time rigging up and drop on in.

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Ben descending

It’s a nice little abseil into a deep green pool. Luckily you land on a ledge just below the water and can work your way around the side.

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Ben gets busy with a big camera

While Ben was setting up his tripod I remember I have the glass ball thingy my sister bought me. It’s been in the top pocket of my pack for about 3 months, I keep forgetting it is there but decide to have a play with it.

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With auto focus and hand holding both ball and camera it was tricky getting a shopt but I think it’s definately worth playing with a bit more

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For some reason my camera was struggling to focus at all in here. Not sure if it was just the low light or what

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Ben in the canyon

Dalpura is more a series of short canyonish section but it has some nice bits

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A tube like section

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The water is so clear but the deeper bits have this gorgeous blue/green tinge

All too soon the canyon opens out and a final optional abseil snakes it’s way down a cleft.

We can walk around it if you don’t want to abseil.

We’re here to experience the canyon….

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Ben on a tricky start

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Before the easy bottom bit

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Tal enjoying it.

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And with views like this at  the end waht’s not to love?

Party size: 3

Time: 3.5 hrs car to car with some photo Phaffing

Some people are so obsessed with reaching the top they forget it’s the side of the mountain that sustains life.

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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.