So I wouldn’t normally repeat this one so soon as there are other trips nearby I prefer but Tim was back and his trips are always awesome, plus I was keen to see if it was possible to descend the side slot we visited from the bottom last time, also Ed still hadn’t done Windows and was free, and, well, what the hell
Anyhoo, Ed arrives at my place and we head off to meet the others. With a couple of extras the group was going to be over the max group size recommended by NPs so we decided to break into 2 smaller groups.
I’d head off with the first group and Tim would follow with the second group 15min later. Well I say Tim but we all know Chardie is the real leader, or so he says or sumfink.
We planned to take my pass up for something different. It adds about 30min-1hr to the trip depending on how long to spend soaking in the ambience as the route takes in an impressive bit cliff line that is riddled with slots and niches.
Marchelle in a mirco canyon on the way upAfter a fairly hot muggy climb up the breeze coming up this natrural chimney was like standing under and airconditioner on a hot day
We spend a bit of time enjoying this and the second group breifly catches back up as I’m leading my group out.
The plan is to meet up again at the top and stay reasonably close until we find the top of the side slot but first we need to get up my pass
Laurie squeezing up the narrow passmorning tea with a view while we wait for the second group.Not a bad view either
Now we had a breif bit of scrub to get through then we should drop down right on top of the slot I wanted to look down and, sure enough I come to the top of a slot except I turned off the ridge slightly too early and living up to the reason I orginally dubbed this spot Kenobi point, this was not the slot I was looking for.
I should have used the GPS….
Anyhoo. It was a tad scrub-bashy but the slot lead us down into the valley easy enough and while it did threaten to canyon up at one point it was nothing on the other slot
The Slot we descended
The slot I wanted to descend
Click to enbiggen
And then we split up again. My group would push forward with the bulk of the ropes and set the first couple of abseils. Tim’s group (Chardie’s group) would follow collecting the ropes which would then be exchanged again at the lunch ledge.
Marchelle on abseil 1Ev Abseil 2
The best shot I’ve ever managed to get of the arch that has the window
Actually, I don’t mind this one either
I set the rope just to have it out of my pack and headed to the lunch ledge. Pointing the way to the ledge to those behind. Laurie missed the memo and as I was eating lunch I hear him call, On rope is any one on Belay?
NO, we’re up here.
I can here them down there but I cant see them. Is some one on belay?
We’re up here. No one is down there.
Oh, laughter
Crisis avoided…
Best lunch ledge in the Wolgan
Ev
Click to largify
We finish lunch and have a bit of time to soak in the ambience before we hear the second group behind us so we meet them at the base of the abseil, exchange ropes and continue on
The second group coming downEv ready to continue through the Window
Looking up through the arch
Trying not to make it a but shot of Marchelle in the arch
click to size up
Emerging to confront the paparazziAbseil 4Ev about 3/4 of the way down the 5th and final and most impressive and fun abseil
Once down we wait for the second group to catch up before all stringing out for the short walk back to the cars.
Another great day out with awesome people
Most of us are pretending to awesome while struggling to be normal. But what’s the point of normal? Normal never left it’s mark on anyone.
Windows is a nice winters canyonish abseil trip and I was keen to link it up with a slightly different way up the hill using the pass we mistakenly discovered on our scrub bash to nowhere, using the approach I later took with Yuri, as I thought it would add to the trip with out adding much time while also avoiding the need to go right to the top of the ridge before fighting our way done through the scrub.
Turns out it works well.
Anyhoo
We meet up at the usual spot and head on down the valley. Up top a bitter wind made things nippy at best. Once in the valley we we’re out of the wind. Still jumpers and beanies were on as we crossed river via the log and made our way up the old rail line.
Soon though, beanies and jumpers were stowed in bags as we left the easy grade behind and headed steeply up beside Penrose gully.
Instead of continuing up the slot through the final cliff line like normal we skirt around below the upper cliff. This section cliff between here and my pass is riddled with slots, erosion caves and other interesting features.
A slot above the cave dubbed Penrose Cave by Yuri Bolotin. The photo doesn’t so the size of this justice
Following the cliffs we pass many slots, most finishing too high to explore from the bottom but eventually we come to the micro canyon I call Kenobi.
Like a natural chimeny the wind whistles up here and jumpers were dug out of packs while we explored it’s confines.
After a short stop here we continue around the corner to my pass. A steep gully leads up and soon becomes blocked by chock stones but a hidden pass up an alcove in the walls lets us continue up. I slip up and drop a rope down for the others to use as a hand line. We are now on a ledge which will let us get on top of the chock stones.
What follows is a narrow squeeze
Chardie decides it’s too narrow for both him and his pack and chooses to drop his pack back for us to pass up. But he drops it fair over the edge…..
I slip back down to collect Pete’s bag and opt to climb around the squeeze
Once up we have a quick look at the Top of Kenobi but the harsh contrasting light made it hard to photograph so we slip up the other side to take in the views from a spot Yuri has dubbed Jedi Point
Looking up the Wolgan from Jedi PointLooking down the Wolgan from Jedi Point
And then we are only a couple of hundred metres west of where we normally drop into the gully that leads to Windows canyon right next to the side slot.
A worthy micro canyon in it’s own right. It’s more canyony than the canyon
It was here admist banter and laughter I pull the ropes and then realise there is a second part to the abseil….. We hitch a make shift anchor and go again.
Dick, Madie, Edwin, Ethan, Autal, Marchelle, Slava, and most importantly Ev.
Oh and me.
With tight schedules we managed to get in another trip into the Capertee valley to visit A classic Glen Davis slot. This time we’d forego the climbing route for the quicker “Scrambling” route.
Or atleast that was the plan
The scrambling route has some exposure to it.
Exposure can do funny things to people.
One member of the group, who is a competent climber and who shall remain nameless, got a bit freaked out and we ended up roping up and belaying anyway.
Ev rocketted up the snotty chute of snottness (Where I’d had a BLM, Bowel Liquifying Moment, on a trip to a different canyon) and dropped a rope down to assist every one else.
We all got up safely.
It’s easy scrambling but on flakey rock and you are along way up. Nice views but
I stuff around trying to remember how Guy showed me to set up a super quick, efficient way to prusik but failed to remember a key aspect and Ev got sick of my fumbling, pushed me to the side and rigged up the old fashion way. And up she went. 30m of over hanging prusiking , fix the rope and back down in 20min. Top effort.
And then it was a simple trudge back down to the camp ground. Another enjoyable day in the bush with great company
The cliffs we had scaled and the slot we had descended
Group size: 8 all experienced
Time: 5hr 45min car to car which is only 40min shorter than when we had the big group and did the climbing route which just goes to show large groups can be quick and efficient….. and, Kent is the consummate ring leader
Don’t be another flower. Picked for your beauty and left to die. Be wild, difficult to find, and impossible to forget: Erin Van Vuren
With the worst of the scrub still recovering the effects of last years hazard reduction burn this is a pleasant trip at the moment.
I pull into the meeting spot and note someone is missing. Ev broke down on the highway, Marchelle informs us. She wont be coming.
Buggar.
But we load ropes and packs into my ute and off we go, weaving our way down into the mighty Wolgan valley in between green pastures, towering cliff lines and Kamikaze kangaroos.
We park at the start of the Ruins walk for Newnes shale works and make our way down river to everyones favorite little pass, The pipeline track
Some carefull tip toes to keep our feet dry on a cold morningWhy you’d need to carve an arrow here is beyond me. Its a clear track and there is no other way to go…..
Well that’s a good way to warm up. We gain the top and make a quick side trip to the lookout.
After a brief stop we continued up the Pipeline trail spearing off just before it heads down green gully towards Glen Davis.
The trail out along the ridge between the Wolgan and the Capertee is reasonably clear indicating the canyons up this way are getting more visitation than they use to. The views out over the Capertee towards Tayan Pic are superb but soon we veer off trail and make our own way along a side ridge.
In the trackless terrain it is easy to veer off on the wrong ridge and end up in the much wetter Devils Pinch canyon but with the scrub mostly clear after the Haz burn following the right ridge is much more obvious.
Before long we begin descending into the gully that will soon drop into th etop of the canyon. We scramble around the first abseil described in the Jamison guide and find a big tree with an bright yellow tape anchor right at the start of the main constriction.
There has been much talk about using Single Rope Techniques (SRTs) on the ozcanyons group over the last few years and they seems to be gaining more momentuem, especially in the newer generation of canyoners. It’s the norm in most other countries. Thou other countries also tend to have either much higher water flows or much less prevelent anchor options.
Though I trained in their use and used SRT way back in my brief stint as a guide and it made sence to me in thate situation for private groups I’ve always preferred the throw and go, loop the rope through the anchor and every one abseil on double ropes.
When heading out with Tim’s group I’m happy to fit in with their SRT method of isolating the stands with a butterfly knot and people abseiling on alternate stands.
Last weekend I attended a training day with the Upper Blue Mountains Club where we practiced setting SRT with a releasable anchor. IE isolating the abseil strand with the Munter/mule.
The advantage of this is if someone gets stuck on rope for whatever reason you can undo the mule under load and use the munter hitch as a belay to lower them to the ground.
Now in mumblecoughmumble years of canyoning I’ve never come across a situation where I needed to do that but it got me thinking (must be getting old or the weekday job of Safety Cordinator is rubbing off on my weekend self) What if that 1 in 100000 case came along. Sure there are other methods to preform a rescue but are they as safe and as quick and if they didn’t work would I be kicking myself for not using the “Rigging for Rescue” technique?
Anyhoo Anna is pretty keen to put this technique to use in every canyon trip she leads and I thought it might be a good idea to run this trip that way for practice (Ev had done the training day too, so it’s a shame she missed it.)
So I rig the first drop. I really had to think about it as it was a long abseil requiring 2 ropes working out where to put the munter so the knott would not impede it took more thought than it should have, It’s pretty bloody obvious but I guess thats why you practice these thing is relativel benign situations so these it become second nature.
All sorted I head down first.
Hey Chardie, Calls up I from a ledge halfway down. This isn’t where we normally drop in.
It’s a very nice abseil down over 2 big ledges and around a corner.
Marachelle on single rope
If it wasn’t for the very dry conditions this would land in a pool that looks like it might get over waist deep, probably the reason we don’t normally drop in there but today was dry enough to get around.
Was a bit worried about the pull down around the corner and over the ledges but a test pull indicated it should come fine and Anna stopped on the last ledge to pull the knot down to her so it owuld be less likely to catch.
Anna. Last person comes double rope as usual.
A short down climb and we round a slight corner to see the cliff face we usually come down directly above the next short drop.
This one is shortish, maybe 10m but its a tad narrow, and I’m not. Big shoulders and stomache bones or sumfink
This results in some gentle exfoliation as I squeeze on down.
Chardie about to get to the narrow bit. There is some balancing on sticks to avoid more than wet toes at the bottom
From here there is short tunnel like bit and some careful bridging
Marchelle staying high to avoid wet feet
The canyon opens out for a bit with some short abseils and tricky down climbs. We are blown away at how dry it is. Little holes that usually involve contorionistic moves to stay dry are now little more than damp sand and sometimes not even that.
Then there is 3 long abseils in a row. All of them can be done as shorter ones using intrim anchors on ledges and chock stones but they are nice to do as long ones and the rope pull seems fine on all of them.
The first of these involves a tricky start then some delicate moves to stay above some chock stones (going under would make the pull down difficult) then round the corner and down down down.
Chardie towards the bottomMarchelle about 2/3rds down
The next one use to be rigged off the log but pull down was very dificult. An eye bolt has been installed backed up by 2 very old climbing nuts whose wires seem very rusted… IF you are going to use that anchor I’d take nuts to replace the ones there.
A tricky start onto a ledge, around a corner, over a boulder and another tricky start and a narrow slot . Seems to be a theme in nightmare.
Looking out the dark final chamber over the Wolgan
The final abseil is awesome but lands in nut deep water. We opt to have lunch in the chamber at the top figuring it would be better to eat up here while we are dry than to get wet and then stop to eat down there in the wind.
3/4 of the way down the last abseil I run into the spot of bother and think maybe I’ll need Anna to put the lowering me down method into practice. There is a knot in the rope below me. Usually no big deal. Just stop pull the rope up and undo it (tip for young players. Stop early and pull the knot up to you. The closer you get to the knot the harder it can be to get slack and if you abseil down onto the knot you’ve got buckleys of getting it undone)
Usually when the rope knots itself it just a few loops caught on themselves and a bit of a shake get is clear. This had somehow done a proper job on itself and I had trouble getting it undone while hanging in space. I was nearly ready to call out for Anna to pull the mule and lower me when I got it sorted and continued down.
Now what if I hadn’t been able to undo the knot or hadn’t been on a lowerable system?
I hadn’t yet locked off properly and was trying to undo the knot left handed so I could lock off to get both hands free as my first option. Second option would be to prusik back up to the ledge or top and sort it out there so I’m confindent I could get myself out of that situation. But what if it happened to someone less experienced or without those skill sets? (Other than the obvious everyone on a private group should get themselves those skills sets. Good point but we were all beginners once.)
Those at the top could deploy the spare rope, someone could even abseil down to me to help out. That all takes time and hang syndrome becomes a factor. Abseiling down to help out puts the rescuer at risk too. So much to consider.
Anyhoo I clear the knot and continue down
Looking up from the bottom of the last abseil
I land in the pool. It’s cold. My outie becomes and innie and I make my way to the side to belay the others
With a bit of team work the first person down can pull the others across to the dry bosun chair style. if all works well. Chardie had rigged a bit too much friction and struggled to pull him self across and ended up in the drink. Anna and Marchelle managed to stay dry.
From here we follow the base of the cliffs around and back down to the car.
All up another great day in the bush with great company.
Party size: 4 all experienced
Time: 6hrs 50min car to car.
I wish I was a glowworm. Glowworms are never glum. How could you possibly be sad when the sun shines out your bum : Anon
How much did the rigging for rescue slow us down? Last year with a slightly bigger group the trip took us 6hrs 23min car to car. Today practicing what’s still fairly new to us took us 6hrs 49min. Though there is probably a bunch of other factors in there as well
So what are my thoughts? I’m still undecided.
Anna was keen to only lock off one side of the rope and keep the other stand at the top to avoid confusion.
I prefer to do a munter/mule in both strands to allow people to rig up alternate strands and quicken things up. If you then need to lower then the person on the spare strand gets off and it’s quick to undo that one altogether and lower the other. Which is fine until you have 2 ropes joined with a knot at the top and then it’s not posible.
So here what I see as the pros and cons. Feel free to comment if you have other ideas.
Simple to set up and fairly quick to tie once you practice a bit
Ability to quickly and safely lower a stuck abseiler down to the ground.
Ability set the end of the abseil strand just on ground/water level to make getting off the rope at the bottom quick and easy
Cons of releasable SRT using Munter/mule
It does take longer to tie and untie (not to mention it’s a ugly looking knot)
Rope wear and tear. A single strand taking full weight obviously is under more strain than if you were abseiling on double strand.
Chardie pointed out abseiling on double rope with an isolating knot at the top gives you some back up if you cut one strand on a sharp edge. Not an advantage if you use throw and go with out isolating.
Only possible to use one strand if the abseil involves joining ropes.
Can be tricky if the anchor is close to/below the edge but not too much more than normal.
So I’m still tossing this one up. the ability to quickly and safely lower a stuck abseiler down to the ground is a big consideration though if you have a competent person at the top with a spare rope is it that much quicker and safer?
If the stuck person is unconcious I’d say yes.
What is the liklihood of that happening though? And does that likelihood justify the slightly longer more complicated set up of each and every abseil?
Also when lowering do you increase the risk of having the rope fail while rubbing over unprotected edges fully wieghted?
I don’t know.
Is it appropriate for all situations? Maybe not.
I’m leaning towards it being a valuable tool that is appropriate for certain applications but should be backed up by various other skills and knoweldge.
Being able to set the end of the rope just to water height is a big advantage in highwater but we don’t tend to have that in Australia.
Ok I wanted to get my young nephew out to do Tiger Snake canyon and invited the others along for the trip. But 2 things happened
a. Nathan broke a couple of fingers, so he wouldn’t be able to abseil and
b. an alert cames through saying the area would be closed due to Hazard reduction burns
That also ruled out my back up plans and after a bit of thought I threw up the idea of Four Dope canyon.
It was going to be a big walk for a shortish canyon but I had enjoyed the neighboring Dead Tree Canyon last year and it was meant to be a similar sort of trip. Plus it’s one I’d not done before and I’m always keen on checking out new adventures.
The others were a little dubious. They had asked around and got reports back saying it was a very ordinary canyon and not worth doing. Oh well I’m going anyway. In the end they came too.
Madie had been introduced to Maarten somehow and asked if he could tag along. He was a backpacker out from the Netherlands and keen to do some canyoning, he had already done solo trips to Claustral and Kanangra and so Autal picked him up from Paramatta station and now we were a group of 6.
Slight hickup early on as Al rang. Where are you guys at? Asked he
My place. says I
I’m looking for it and there is no 33 Shaft st….
Wow I’d moved out of shaft street 3 years ago. My tired brain must have malfunctioned (it often does)when I texted the meeting place through to him… That doesn’t bode well.
Anyhoo. We eventually all meet up at the Waratah ridge car park and start the walk out.
It’s a long walk along an old fire trail and then onto a foot pad, but it’s fairly flat and the company is good so time passes quickly
The foot pad comes and goes towards the end. I’ve always found it odd, you’ll be on a very clear obvious trail and 20m later it disappears. Then, if you are lucky, you pick up a faint trail, step over a log and it disappears, then you stumble over a clear trail again. And so on and so forth. Et cetera. Et cetera. Et cetera…
Anyhoo we get to the spot where the track notes say we need to veer off. I may have come a fraction far and we need to skirt back around the head of the gully which would lead into arch canyon and we pick up a faint ridge which begins to drop down early.
The track notes are a bit vague, saying to follow the ridge until it starts to descend then drop into the creek. Well we’ve only just got onto the ridge but it sure is descending. The Canyon is still 1km down stream but we drop into the creek.
Big mistake. It’s scrubby as all get up. We do come across these cool over hangs and erosion caves thou
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
It takes us a stupid long time to push through 100m of scrub and we make the call to scramble back out onto the side ridge to traverse above the worst of it.
Some interesting scrambles along the halfway ledge bewteen clifflines and we finally drop back down and suit up.
Are you sure this isn’t 6 dopes? Chardie asks
The slot would want to be special or it’s making my first entry on the never to be repeted list. says I
All kitted up we enter the creek and wade on down stream. Just as it was getting uncomfortably warm in the wetsuits we make our way through a horid mess of tree fall and the canyon drops away below us.
We waist no time roping up. Not even half way down the abseil the walk in is forgotten. Wow.
Autal belaying Chardie
Madie locks off to take some photos
Ahead the canyon looks quality
Charlie’s angel or sumfink
After a short section of narrow, dark canyon it opens out slightly
And then it drops again and there is a couple of abseils in quick succession
Chardie on rope
The last one is the most awkward drop of the trip but not too difficult
And some nice canyon follows
Now we hadn’t seen any sun in the canyon, it felt like late afternoon twilight the whole time and there was a bit of a cool breeze flowing down between the walls. I was just starting ot feel a bit chilly when we get to the 1 compulsary swim of the trip.
Chardie braving the cold, clear waters
But is is such a nice spot
Maarten asking Madie if he can jump it
And then it opened out and we were at the junction with the Bungleboori.
We now needed to make our way about 40min upstream to Arch canyon and a convenient pass out.
I’d used this pass before but approached from the upstream side where we made use of the current to carry us down the deep pools of the Bungleboori. I was thus expecting some cold swims as we made our way upstream but other than a few wades we made good time along the banks and sand drifts in a stunningly wild section of the river
We soon found ourselves at the juncton with Arch canyon and I was super keen to slip up the canyon a little to have a better look at the arch.
It’s well worth the effort of climbing up the bottom drops and steep creek to reach the arch just as the canyon proper starts (or is that ends…)
Madie admiring the arch from below and giving it a bit of scale
It’s a stunning bit of landscape
Looking up Arch canyon
We make our way back down to find Chardie and Al have made a head start on the exit track. Maarten and Autal follow. I’m getting out of my wet suit. I hate walking uphill in a wettie.
Me and Madie get into dry gear and give chase up the hill.
A shot of the arch from the exit track.
Autal is waiting at the base of the upper cliffs and we set off after the others. We can hear them ahead which is a good sign as we scramble up the first viable option and find every one waiting to regroup on the ridge
Looking over the gully that hides Arch canyon and out into the Bungleboori wilderness from the top of the pass out
And now for the long slog back to the car.
Was it worth the 20km of walking and nearly 800m of elevation gain for a short canyon?
Well, whenever you are out in the bush with a great bunch of people it’s worthwhile and to be honest I was impressed by the canyon itself. It had a beauty to it and the first abseil was stunning. It also has a less traveled feel to it, like you are one of the privledged few to experience it’s wonders.
I wouldn’t rush back next week and I’m glad we didn’t do it in the height of summer but would definately consider doing it again in the future if the company was right.
Party size. 6 All experienced, all a little loopy
Time: 8.5hrs car to car with some stuffing around finding our way in.
Hole in the Wall consists of 2 canyon sections interspaced with a more open creek walk. It’s a reasonable walk in and out, mostly along a flat to undulating ridge. It is a bit of a Show Case canyon thou, being dark and twisty with glowworm caves, fun little water jumps and interesting abseils so well worth the walk.
It also empties into a very pretty section of the North Bungleboori crk, AKA Nine Mile crk, AKA Dingo Crk (though that name was originally appplied to a just small but interesting tributary)
It starts with a bang. You are in a pleasant sort of creek that looks like it might canyon up but is other wise unremarkable, you duck under a chock stone, round a corner and BAM!
Anyhoo
I was half keen on the Banks double again but decided after a couple of big weekends I’d be better to take it a bit eaiser. Shaha, Frankie and Kristy joined me for the trip.
Setting off from the car park it was a coolish day that made walking pleasant and an hour and a bit of relatively flat ridge top walking later we descended into the little creek that would soon canyon up.
Normally I wouldnt bother with wetsuits yet, the top section has a few short wades but no swims, but with the day a bit of the cool side I made the call to put them on and in we went
Kristy entrying the canyon
It’s nice but just around the corner…..
It drops into this amzing, deep, dark slot
I’ve done this canyon a few times now and it blows me away every time. For the others it was their first time so I encouraged them to take the lead and find the wonder for themselves.
The tops section is fairly short but it packs in some wow moments
I once got flooded out of here seconding a comercial group. This was a deep swim as we came up it against the flow. I had to swim up, kicking off the walls pulling my self along the rocks. I then set a rope to pull the others through,..
Dark, narrow, twisting halls open out to wider chambers which in turn lead to Dark, narrow, twisting halls
And after a tricky climb down or two the canyon opens out to a pleasant walk down the creek interspaced with boulder hopping and quick sand
Just when it was starting to get uncomfortably warm in the wetties the creek begins to drop again and the walls close in.
We harness up above a small drop. The water down below looks so inviting.
What are you guys like with water jumps?
Shaha and Frankie were up for it. Kristy, not so much.
Ok we can rope you up here or it’s a fairly easy down climb. She opted for the down climb.
Frankie takes the leap first and then Kristy follows using the sling to hand over hand.
Me and Shaha jump.
Another nice canyon section follows before we get to the first abseil.
Kristy tackling the awkward start over the log
Shaha makes the whole thing look easy. Check out the moss on the log to get a bit of an idea of the high water mark/throw of the falls when the canyon floods
And then it’s into the show stopper section. a dark cave like tunnel filled with glowworms
“I see Oriens belt but say nothing”:-Ani Difranco
The cave seems to periodically silt up and flush out. Last time this was a deep swim and a difficult climb up out of the water over a mid way shelf. this time it was barely ankle deep at the shelf and and easy step up.
Over the shelf and back into a deep pool then a tricky climb out and up a cave like squeeze
Regrouping after the squeeze
Some more very nice canyon follows
Log choke. I can’t fathom the power in the flood waters that caused this
And then the longest abseil, down through a hole. When we first visited this I remember it being a sandy floor with a log spanning a hole a bit back from the edge. you had to rope up around the log and it was a very awkward to get on rope and then you swung in and down you went. At the time we joked that “Hole in the floor” would be a better name. Now the floor is bouldery and it’s obvious you are on chock stones. The hole is right at the edge, the log all but decayed. A handy anchor is found on the wall.
a 12-15m drop with a nice bit of free space at the end
Some more narrow, dark canyon follows
A tricky down climb or awkwardish jump into shallowish water
Then it’s one last abseil/slippery hand over hand
Shaha, looking out through the Hole in the Wall
And then we are into the magestic North Bungleboori… AKA Nine Mile, AKA *hackspit* Dingo Creek.
The hole in the otherwise towering walls of the North Bungleboori that inspired the canyon’s name
Now its a 500m wade, swim, scramble, walk up stream to our exit.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Dingos but they have nothing on the Bungleboori
All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible. T E Lawerence
Gaz, Lauren, Renee, Jodie, McKennzie, Rob, Sav, Dick, Luke, Swav and me
I think I have mentioned before that Rocky creek canyon is my all time favourite. I’ve no idea how many times I’ve been through but I still get goose bumps every time we get to the spot on the entry track where you start to hear the little waterfall at the start.
Anyhoo
We leave town at sparrows fart and make our way up to the carpark. We are early but there is one other car already there. It looks vaguely familiar but I don’t take a lot of notice as we gear up and swing down the entry track towards Twister (not Sheep dip).
I’m a bit excited.
Wet suits get donned. stuff gets crammed into dry bags. For some reason I always seem to get a lot of go pro footage but not many photos in Twister and the opposite in Rocky but I digress.
Rob double checking where to aim. Yep that big wet bit.
For quiet a few of the group this is their first canyon and despite a few nerves on the jumps the smiles are big
Curro getting into the swing of it.
Macca taking the leap with out hesitation
Soon she is styling it up
Lauren was probably the most nervous on the jumps but she didn’t let the nerves get the better of her
Jump. Slide. Jump. Slide. Repeat. Twister is a hell of a lot of fun
But all too soon it’s over and we have a 30min walk down to the Junction where the little stream that the entrance track follows meets with Rocky
The soft morning light on the way in promised some thing special once we hit the canyon
Up ahead the waterfall can be heard. My pace quickens. And then Rocky creek comes in on the right and where our little stream meets it it plunges into an inviting slot
I realy can’t describe the feeling I get looking in here. Must be a bit like a coffee addict catching the aroma of the best coffee they have ever smelled
In we go
Rocky creek never disappoints me
If they thought the water in twister was chilly they are in for a surprise. I feel a bit sorry for curro who was toughing it out in a rash shirt.
One of the small drops in the canyon
The swims start short but get longer towards the end
After a fun constriction the canyon opens up breifly and offers a fun slide or small jump in a sunny pool
The walls soon close in again and up ahead the sun beams look magical
And they keep getting better
And better
It was about here I walked around the corner and see the light of a camera ahead. Think I might have walkedinto someones carefully composed long exposure shot.
Sorry, calls I, How awesome are these rays.
Is that you Flynny, comes the reply.
Oh Autal. I couldn’t see who it was, how are you mate.
We have a quick chat. He has been in there for a while already and is keen to stay a while longer chasing the changing light. We leave him to his snaps, can’t wait to see them, and continue down.
The soft morning light casts and etherial glow
The lower constriction really is sublime
And just before the junction with Budgary( originally Buggery) creek we emerge back into the light.
We do our best to catch a bit of sun to warm ourselves while having a quick snack.
Now it is posible to continue down the creek aways and then climb out via a break in the cliffs then follow the ridges back to the car. I prefer to reverse back up the canyon. In the little time it takes to turn around you can guarantee the light will have changed. Plus you see things you missed on the way down.
We grab packs and head back up the canyon
As I said the light changes
And you get to experience the canyon from different angles
The sun ray were awesome on the way down but not half and hour later they were on a complete other level
Rocky creek canyon dwarfs you, engulfs you and reminds you your troubles aren’t even a blip on the geological time scale
And the beams progress from sun to tractor
Beam me up, Scotty
Step into the light
Almost need UV protected sunglasses
Light behaves both as a wave and a particle and sometimes like a solid bar of awesome
Everytime I turned around I though I have to get a photo of those rays
And still they got better
I could have stayed here all day. I was wishing I’d set up the camera on a tripod in a time lapse and could just sit and watch it all unfold
The little TG-4 was pushed to it’s limits with the contrast but did a reasonable job
Ok the others are well ahead of me now I tear myself away and continue up the canyon
Renee negotiating on of the little cascades on the way up
Curro feeling a tad shivery in his rash shirt by now but not far to go
I can see the exit up ahead. I assure him
Lauren is keen for a swim under the falls
Back where it all began.
All in all a great day out.
With the early start Autal was the only one we saw in the canyon itself. A few groups walking in as we were walking out and a few cars in the car park but much quieter than I thought i would be on such a nice weekend near christmas.
Party Size. 11. 4 experienced 7 beginners though most of them have experince in varying outdoor activities
Time: 4hrs 20min car to car
Rocky creek canyon dwarfs you, engulfs you. Your troubles fade in the face of it’s grandour. They aren’t even a blip on Rockys geological time scale
Kent, Tim, Ruth, Doug, Sue, Pete, Toby, Scott and Me
When Kent put out the invite for this one I was pretty keen.
The weather forecast improved slightly as the weekend approached and a final check of the radar and 48hr forecast and it looked like we might be missing the deluge that seemed to be about to strike the rest of the state but rain predicted for around 3pm so I headed off nice and early to meet the others who had camped down there.
The usual meet and greet, sorting of ropes and then it was off to pick our way up through the cliff lines.
A Glorious morning looking down the valley from Pearson lookout.
We work our way up towards the base of the cliffs
A weakness in the towering cliff allows us to zigzag up between scrambles as the valley steadily drops away below us
Not quite full on rock climbing, not far off it
And the views keep getting better
Tim on a very exposed step around
A series of ledges guide our way, some ledges wider than others
Sue Negotiates one of the narrower and more exposed ledges
Ruth follows
Toby gets to more solid footing
And then it’s another tricky verticle scramble
And then we come to the most rock climbesque section. a Scramble up a chute that gets steeper the higher you climb.
It’s easy going except for a couple of moves in the verticle section at the top.
It looks loose so I choose to wait for the others to clear the climb. Tim and Pete get up without issue. However Ruth has a bit of trouble so I scramble up to help her with the foot holds. Tim offers to drop a rope. With a little assistance Ruth gets through the hardest move to where she can sit on a ledge, wedged into a bit of a crack.
ROCK!!!
I look up to see a house brick size rock tumbling toward us. Shit. I tuck in as close to the rockface as I can.
Whack. FUCK! it slams into Ruth’s shoulder and I feel the breese as it tumbles passed.
I’m OK, calls Ruth. My arm’s dead. I need a moment.
ROCK!!!
Fuck I’m on some ballancy footholds. Ruth is wedge into a ledge above. A smaller rock goes whizzing past, thankfully out in space.
No one move up there!!! I call. Just stay still until we are set.
Ruth takes a moment and signals she is fine. Tim drops the rope and she continues up. I scramble up.
Watch your footing, Tim instructs. and if there a loose rocks on the path pick them and put them some where safe.
Thankfully Ruth is OK. Everyone agrees helmets for the walk in are a good idea. The others come up without incident
We continue on. We are at the halfway ledge but from here up the climbing is easier.
Belatedly Toby suggests there is an easier gully just around the corner that bypasses the chute.
Did I mention the views
Making our way up the next cliff line
Toby and Doug admire the View
Kent does the same for slightly higher
Kent says he puts a lot of stock into the quality of the lunch spot.
It’s taken us 2hrs to get through the main cliff line. One small line of cliffs to go then we can start to descend into the canyon
Selfie time.
Descending a side creek towards the main canyon
1 little abseil and some creek walking brings us to the main slot
Now that looks worth the effort
Some large, dull coloured yabbies
Tim coming into a very pretty tunnel section
And still the long abseils keep coming
Sue
Tim setting up ropes
Scott
With a bit of a hand some people managed to stay reasonably dry here
And still the drops come thick and fast
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And right on cue the heavens openned
Slight drizzle turns is to proper rain and it pisses down. Within a minute what had been barely trickles turn into proper waterfalls.
Geckos make for the safety of higher ground.
Out of the constiction and with just one abseil to to go we enjoy the extra beauty the rain brings
Tim on the second last abseil
One more spectactular 30m abseil I didn’t manage photo then we make our way down the ridges.
Back to the Capertee
Cycad fruit
Cycad in fruit
Capertee pineapple
And after a 4km trudge up the maintenance trail we are back to camp
Another great day with great people.
Group: All experienced
Timing: 9hrs car to car steady pace.
“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.” – Frank Herbert
Some people like chasing the big epic canyons, and don’t get me wrong I enjoy the long, sustained canyons as much as anyone but I get just as much joy out of the shorter ones too. They all have their own uniqueness, beauty and share of challenges.
I suspose being surrounded by canyon country I don’t need to justify the long drive up from the cities so am happy exploring the smaller stuff too.
Today was one of those days where we’d combine a couple of the smaller pagoda canyons. The first one dry(ish) the seond one wetter.
I’ve done both before but I’ll have to admit I had completely blanked out the amount of tea tree needed to push through on our way up the ridge on the first one….. Shorts may not have been the best bet…
Anyhoo. We all meet up at the car park and head off.
Wild flowers were out in colour
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And after a hot climb through some scrub we arrived at our first slot.
Like a violent crumble bar without the chocolate
We wasted no time dropping in
Gaz likes to wedge himself in and film people from above
Our next obstacle was this very narrow cleft.
Last time we bridged out and then abseiled in at a slightly wider bit. The flaring nature of the slot meant the abseiler invariably swung in and cheese grated themselves. I knew it was possible to walk the ledges high above the canyon floor. Tiny ledges, wet feet. It makes for an interesting traverse.
Gaz bridging out on a section where the ledges all but disappear so the others could use him as a stepping stone if needed
Marchelle clinging to the rock face while the others watch on in trepidation.
We all make it. Somehow.
Gaz in the next section
And it’s just one more abseil and the canyon opens out
Last time I did this canyon we followed the creek down a bit and then around for a short dirty abseil off a lower cliff line. But I had soem beta that a better option was on offer so we follow the clifflines around past some stunning views
Then scrub bash a bit before dropping in to a lost world near a trouist destination
A stunning 25m freefall abseil greeted us.
Knowing how popular this spot is with tourist I was very careful dropping the ropes over, a carefull lower rather than a toss. Not a soul to be seen thou. It amused me a bit that on the way out we pass a steady stream of people heading in very all five of us abseiled down with only us as spectators 😉
We even had the place to ourselves for a selfie
It wasn’t just the tourists who on the exit track some of the locals were out too.
Anyhoo, after a spot of lunch it was back to the car and bike for a bit of a drive to our next destination.
I really do enjoy this one
It’s one abseil. but it’s a cracker of an abseil
Into the inescapable chamber.
Or sumfink
oh there is a way out
All in all an enjoyable day in the bush visiting two short but beautiful pagoda canyons
Party size: 5 all experienced
time: I have no concept of time….
Life is too short and the world too amazing to be bored
sleepwhenwearedead 