Sunday, March 10, 2013

Water-Dragon Canyon

Water-Dragon Canyon was one I had overlooked – probably because it involved two lots of uphill (see Google Earth track below – my new GPS capturing it quite accurately, even in the slot).  Down to the Wollangambe – where evidence of the recent floods was shown by the sand that had been pushed 5 vertical metres up the bank - then steeply up the other side.  The side-track off to Water Dragon was very evident and we were soon putting on wet suits at the abseil into the slot.  Water Dragon is quite a short canyon (only an hour and a half) but is it  high quality all the way with interesting abseils, a very narrow and twisting slot, and dark – with a real tunnel swim.   I had my new waterproof camera to play with – trying out all the different settings – and there are a few photos that vaguely capture the beauty of the canyon.

We emerged back into the Wollangambe, pumped up the lilos and floated downstream to where we had crossed over earlier.  After changing, it was a slow, enervating grind back up the path we had come down in the morning. We made it back to the car five and a bit hours after setting off and collapsed into the airconditioned comfort of the interior for the drive back to Sydney.