Acoustic & Zorro Canyons

A beautiful but cool (3C in the morning) end-autumn day, so a chance to do two new easy canyons with water only up to the knees. Both were out on a part of the Newnes plateau I had not been to before so there was a bit of navigation on the forest trails to get to the start points.  First up was Acoustic (or Sunnyside) Canyon which was more of a bushwalk than a canyon with a wander down past the several acoustic chambers before the exit up a steep narrow break.

More driving to get to Zorro Canyon where I could have saved some time and effort if I knew how to use the “Find” function on the GPS. We had to do some doubling back to the entry gully but it was well worth it as the canyon is deep and narrow with a couple of interesting climb-downs.  It ends with an abseil down the cliffline, then a wander along to a treefern-filled exit gully which climbs steeply back up.

1.5 and 2.5 hours for each of the canyons and a good test of my non-existent fitness. On the way out we did a short detour to Birds Rock which gave great views back into the Wollemi Wilderness.

Koombanda Canyon

This is a short canyon and not one I had thought of doing until I read someone else’s writeup. The walk-in is fairly easy – a bit of a bushbash but the undergrowth is still quite sparse because of the 2013 fires that ripped through here.  Once in the stream it is green and pretty, and there is the usual mix of scrambling on slippery rock, swims, abseils into dark holes & climb-downs.  

The canyon ends at a service road for an abandoned coal mine and one of the coal-miners’ legacies is the tastefully pebblecreted stream bed.  The walk out is up the old mine road with only one awkward spot where the road has been washed away and there is only a narrow ledge and one strategically placed piece of rebar.

Ranon/Claustral Canyon

Cloudy but dry weather for this longer canyon – Ranon which leads on into Claustral.  There was a good path into the canyon and we were quickly suited up and into the first little abseils, then a wander down the fern-lined corridor before we reached the main slot of Ranon.  A good volume of water was flowing which made the abseils down the waterfalls more interesting.  We quickly came to the double abseil which finishes Ranon and drops us into the amazing junction with Claustral.  From there Thunder Gorge was as excellent as ever, and we made good progress through the climb-downs and swims that lead to the exit track.  A brief stop for lunch as we slogged our way up to the Camel’s Hump, then down the other side on the new exit route that takes you back into Claustral Brook. 

All was going well until I turned up the wrong exit gully without thinking. After the path we were following petered out, we turned left and bushbashed up the hillside hoping to strike the main path which we thought was nearby, but checking the GPS told us we had another 500m to go.  Sounds like no distance at all, but the Blue Mountains scrub takes no prisoners attacking us with cutty grass, spiked lawyer vine, inpenetrable skeins of some other vine, and prickly vegetation on every other bush.  It took about ninety extremely frustrating and painful minutes to traverse it, and our relief when we finally got back on the path was palpable.  We reached the road after a nine hour day and it was back down the mountains to rehydrate and restock the calories at our favourite family restaurant.

Yileen Canyon

I had done this canyon once before in 2008 and I had forgotten most of the details except the 45m abseil at the end where the creek drops out of the hillside into the  Grose Valley.  The walk-in was short and easy on a good path and we were quickly into the various little challenges – all of which I had forgotten – awkward slides, jumps and climb-downs interspersed with short sections of creek walking.   Although it is not a long canyon,  it was still more varied and impressive than I had remembered.

Too soon we came to the third and final abseil and slid down the 45 metres to the valley below.  A short walk out and we were back at the car four hours after setting out.  An excellent reward/effort ratio.

Water-Dragon Canyon

I first did Water-Dragon Canyon in March 2013 and I had wanted to repeat it last season but was thwarted by the intense bushfires that had gone right through the area in Oct 2013. Now it was reopened and the regrowth was well underway.  Unsurprisingly, the well-defined path we had used in 2013 had disappeared in the fires so we just turned left at roughly the right spot and navigated our way into and down a gully to the main creek.  There were places where you could see that the fire had burnt right down to the creek, but the canyon section was untouched and as green and beautiful as before.

We quickly got to the first abseil, then through the intermediate section to the second abseil.  The dark cave-like section followed and this time I had remembered to bring a headtorch.  I had taken along my DSLR and a tripod so I was going first and trying to get some in-focus photos just for a change.  Soon we were on the final section where we saw the second snake of the day – a brown snake that was not enjoying the cold temperature and lack of sunlight in the slot.  We sidled past him and emerged into the Wollangambe with a welcome 15C rise in air temperature.  Pump up the lilos and a short float downstream to the exit beach.  The slog back uphill to Mt Wilson wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated – maybe all that cycling has given me a bit of fitness.

Fortress Canyon

Perfect, cloudless weather on Monday after a weekend of storms, so it felt good to cruise down the empty westbound carriageway of the motorway to the Blue Mountains watching all the people on the other side heading to work at 5 kmh.  Fortress Creek was the choice – another easy canyon to match my complete lack of fitness.

The new access path dropped us into the canyon right where we had to put on wetsuits, and immediately there is an unavoidable one-metre drop into a swim. A bit of a walk to the 2nd section of canyon where – as before – I tried to turn a 2m jump into a climbdown and – as before – failed completely. A sprained finger was the reward.  Some long swims through to the one abseil of the canyon, and then some rock-hopping to get to the slippery end platform where the stream goes over the edge and drops 150m straight down.

The walkout starts with a steep slog back up to the ridge top and then an easy walk through the open heath.  At one point we could see all the way to the Sydney skyscrapers 82km away.  Back to the car 4.5 hours after setting off, having seen no one else all day.  An excellent day and a much more interesting canyon than I remembered from the last time through back in Nov 2009. 

Wollangambe One li-lo

A hot, sunny day forecast so I went for the lazy option of a lilo down the Wollangambe.  I also wanted to see the effect of the intense October fires which had roared through this area penetratng right down to the river's edge. 

A cast of thousands (well sixty+) in the carpark – presumably a couple of large groups as we overheard talk of “briefings, gear checks and lilo integrity” – so we got away quickly and never saw anyone else for the rest of the day.  The start of the walk down was as per usual, but we soon came to the line that the fire had reached with all the trees blackened and the ground cover totally removed.  However, three months on from the fires,  the regeneration was well underway with new greenery on the trees and on the ground.  Distant views showed the burnt-out areas interspersed with patches of untouched greenery, so the fire must have been jumping over areas as the wind pushed it along.

The actual lilo was as relaxing as ever until we came to one of the large blockups and had to find our way through the boulder field.  The effects of the fire were variable – sometimes coming down side gullies all the way to the river level, but mostly visible up on the plateau at the top of the cliffs.  The walk-out was similar to the walk-in – all burnt out, but the regrowth coming back strongly; then back into the tree ferns and greenery of the unburnt area closer to Mt Wilson.  It will be interesting to see it when I am next back there in nine months time.

Upper Bowens South

First the October bushfires (closing half the canyons until next season to allow regeneration), then wet weekends, then Christmas - all combined with my laziness and lack of fitness - has led to the latest ever start to the canyoning season.  But on a cloudless Sunday, it was back to an old and easy-ish favourite – Upper Bowens South Branch – the canyon that has a bit of everything.  Away from the car just after 9am, with the usual struggle with the vegetation as we got into the preliminary part of the stream,  After a couple of slides and deep wades, the drops in the upper section followed with an abseil, then the double slide, and the abseil down the slippery waterfall.   Through the intermediate forest where as usual I failed to capture the beauty;  but I did manage to navigate to the lower section without any detours (see Oct 2012).

In the lower section, there were more awkward climb-downs than I remembered, a long cold swim that I definitely did not remember, and the tree slide where I set the example by falling off into the water. We reached the final section of narrows just after midday and, as so often in this canyon, got lots of  “shafts of sunlight in the slot” photos, with everyone posing on request. Then it was the usual wander down to the exit, winding our way up the cliffs in the heat which intensified as we hit the white clay surface of the fire trail.   Back to the road in just under four and a half hours, then a final brutal 2.5 km trudge along the main road back to the car, dry clothes, dry footwear, soft seats and air-conditioning as we headed back down the hill to our favourite restaurant.

Serendipity Canyon

Visitors here for Easter and a beautiful day (the best weather is always after the public holidays) so a chance for a detour to do a short canyon while on the way over the Blue Mountains.  The choice was Serendipity which I had last done over four years ago.  After getting past all the NPWS warning signs, the walk-in was quite short and we abseiled down into the stream which we splashed down for 20 minutes to reach the slot. 

The swims after each of the three abseils in the slot were not too chilly and we fairly quickly reached the Wollangambe where I took the usual classic shot framed by the exit keyhole.  A 100m walk up the Wollangambe and we picked up the steep exit gully – passing a large group which thankfully we had not caught up with while in the canyon.  The walk-out was fairly painless - maybe I am less unfit than I think - and we were back at the car exactly three hours after setting out. Then it was straight off to the usual restaurant for lunch.