Friday the 5th December turned out to be a beautiful day, as Shane, Trev and myself (Jon) set out to do the first canyon of a two day canyoning trip – Waterfall of Moss Canyon. We first had to go via Katoomba, as I had to drop off some rental wetsuits at BMAC (Blue Mountains Adventure Company) from a few days earlier, which I was unable to return on the day due to running a bit late and getting there after they closed for the day. They fortunately didn’t charge me for the extra days I had them, so a big thanks to them, and I would definitely recommend these guys if anyone needs to rent some gear or for taking a proper guided trip of the outdoor, adventurous variety.

Once we checked in with the local police bushwalking registry, we were on our way and parked at the Mount Wilson Cathedral Reserve. Fortunately Shane knew the route, so we followed him down along the Wollangambe Two exit track towards the Wollangambe. As we approached a large rock outcropping halfway down the track, Shane started telling us about how he had previously had an encounter with a large brown snake in that area, and then within a minute of this, we stumbled over the very same (presumably) snake in the same position. A warning for other people, these snakes are dangerous, so keep an eye out when you approach this area!

We then continued a little further until we reached and swam across the Wollangambe, before using an existing hand-line to climb up a gully on the other side, as we then ascended the ridge in search of the start of the canyon. We lost the path occasionally, but eventually found our way along the ridge before eventually finding a small stream and an existing anchor point. We put on our harnesses and abseiled the first abseil, which was fairly straightforward. There were heaps of mossy ferns and greenery all around, as well of lots of old dead trees which had fallen in our path and required us to climb and navigate around.

The Canyon then slowly began to get much narrower, as we approached the next abseil, which was done from a tree on the right hand side. It was an approximately 8m, with a small overhang. At this point the canyon became really narrow, with the walls getting higher on both sides, and making for a beautiful, constricted section of canyon. The 3rd abseil we did was a relatively small drop, but it was made just a little trickier due to the fact we anchored off a tree a good 5 or more meters from the drop. We landed in a small pool of water, but it wasn’t deep enough to cause any real concern for us (we had not brought wetsuits along since canyon is primarily dry).

The canyon at this point was remarkably beautiful, very lush and green, whilst still being slightly dark and brooding. We were then funneled along to the next 2 abseils, which occurred in quick succession of each other, both around the 10m mark, down into small pools with ferns and moss all around, and a small trickle of water cascading down. Before we knew it, we walked a little further from the 5th abseil and we were at the Wollangambe, and bumping into another tour group which had did another canyon and were floating along the Gambe. In hindsight, we figured we may not have started the canyon at the ‘traditional’ starting point, as Jamiesons ‘Canyons Near Sydney’ says this canyon has 8 abseils, so we think we may have walked into it a little downstream from the start. Regardless of whether we did this or not though, it was a relatively short but still pretty spectacular little canyon.

All that remained was a 30m swim through the icy `gambe waters, wetsuit-less, back to the point where we originally crossed over the river, and then a walk back along the Wollangambe 2 exit track and back to our cars.

We were going to do Empress Canyon Next, however upon arrival we discovered the track was closed for a few weeks a s some plant rejuvenation projects were in effect, so we retired for the evening and went back to our hostel for the evening where we dined on some of Trevor’s sub-par cooking.

Day 2

We had originally planned to do some canyons in Newnes, but we were all a little tired from the previous day’s shenanigans, so we decided to do a shorter, closer canyon. After doing some research (at least Trev and Shane did – I passed out exhausted after destroying the other 2 in a game of backgammon), we decided on Koombanda Canyon. We drove to the supposed parking area, and left our cars next to some train tracks, as we consulted our maps and plotted out a rough route to the canyon start.

There wasn’t much of a path, so we were effectively bush-bashing, as we made our way over a ridge. Fortunately, this walking was difficult but not very long, and after maybe 30 minutes, Shane navigated us to a small stream andright to the start of the canyon. There we found a sling around a fallen dead tree, from which we anchored and did the first 8m abseil into a small pool. The surrounding canyon was fairly open, but there was still a lot of debris scattered around which made for a somewhat more challenging walk, as we needed to climb down and over obstacles.

There was then a small 5m abseil with an overhanging section which was short but still fun. We approached some climb downs and some areas where we needed to bridge to keep dry, but eventually we had to get wet in a 10m swim which was cold to say the least (once again we had no wetsuits) but at least it was very refreshing and it seemed to get rid of the flies pestering us. The Canyon then came into its own, as it narrowed up and cut into the rocks, often leading us into hollowed out ‘halls’ of rock, with some very beautiful sections which reminded me of Grand Canyon in several sections. The sun pierced through narrow overhead slots, and made for a wonderful atmosphere.

We next approached a drop, where we found 2 potential anchor points from which to abseil. We chose to go down the first one, as it went down through a small narrow slot in the rock and into a deep pool probably 7 or 8 meters down. Shane went first and then Trev followed. The start of this abseil is a bit tricky due to the relative location of the anchor, but they both made it without major problems. Once down, they both checked the depth of the pool, and neither could touch the bottom, so I then jumped instead of abseiling, and I still couldn’t touch the bottom, so this is definitely jumpable, and a hell of a lot of fun too! Definitely one of the better canyon jumps I’ve done. The water was nippy to say the least, but the swim back to land was only a few meters, and it was well worth it, regardless of whether you abseil or jump (if you abseil from the 2nd anchor point, you may not get so wet).

After this, the constricted canyon continues for a bit before opening up into more of a stream, with masses of trees all around. We followed the creak downstream until eventually we hit an old abandoned coal mine, and the natural stream banks are suddenly replaced with artificial concrete banks. Its quite strange to witness this sudden change. We climbed out here, and started our walk back up an existing old dirt road back towards some railway lines and then back to our cars. This walk out was much longer than the one in, but significantly easier and with the spectacular views, it was rather pleasant. All up, Koombanda was a shortish but nice little canyon, which only got better and delivered more as we kept going further into it.

It was a great 2 days of canyoning, and a good time was had by all!

-Jon (Video by Trevor)

A small group of us headed out to a heavily fogged Mt Tomah in the Blue Mountains early last weekend to do Gaping Gill, a canyon listed in Jamieson’s “Canyons Near Sydney” guidebook. We parked at the Claustral Canyon parking area and checked all of our gear was in order before heading out along the beautiful grass covered ridge that takes most people down to Claustral Canyon. Instead of following the track all the way though, we were to continue along the top of the ridge, eventually heading straight south-west into the bush once we reached the end of the ridge.

This sounded easy, but the regularity of patches of lawyer vines in the area made this simple task really painful… After scrambling over a small moss covered boulder field, trying to avoid getting ripped apart by the lawyer vines while also trying to avoid slipping and twisting an ankle on the large boulders, we navigated our way across the top of the cliffline and found our way into Gaping Gill Gully.

Once in the rainforest section of the gully, the going was so very much easier and we quickly walked down the steep hill into the increasingly narrow ravine. The plants around us were beautiful, and the everything was so fresh and clean. We climbed over rocks, down tree roots and all of the usual canyoning sort of stuff, but it was true what we heard about Gaping Gill - “It’s not a really a canyon”.

The two abseils are both beautiful - I mean really beautiful - and not too difficult either, although both are quite high (about 20m and almost 30m on the second one). And the gully can get quite narrow at sections , stuck between two vertical cliffs either side - but these narrow sections are brief, and the ‘canyon’ feel is really not there. Gaping Gill is really just bushwalking down a narrow gully with a couple of good abseils thrown in for entertainment.

Of course once we were at the bottom of Gaping Gill we needed to walk up Thunder Gorge to the exit track. Thunder Gorge is far more canyon-like than Gaping Gill, and involved getting wet in waist/chest deep wades a few times.  Just as Gaping Gill was a truly beautiful gully to walk through, Thunder Gorge is equally beautiful. So just because something may or may not be ‘technically’ a canyon (whatever that even means), don’t doubt for a second that the walk is worth it. (probably only the one time though ;))

See Also:

• Gaping Gill Photo Gallery
• Gaping Gill Guide Article

There was little traffic up to Mt. Tomah that morning coming down the M4. We made it into Katoomba pretty quick, then round and into the Bell Range ,where we met Shane and Julie waiting for us.

It was 8:30 on the dot, so this expedition was going to start on time.

After we logged into the Claustral visitors book, one car was left behind while we drove the others down the highway to Ranon’s entrance.

The path in was pretty much expected of the Blue Mountain bush, with no clear or well travelled path to be seen. We raced into the thick at top speed though, eagerly looking forward to the days activities.

After about 30mins, Julie the trail leader noted we had not vied far enough and we found our selves peering over a fairly high drop. Instead of backtracking and looking for the ‘traditional’ canyon entrance, we thought that our current location was as good as any from which to abseil in. In hindsight this was a great decision, as it turned out to be a fantastic abseil. So over we went. The abseil required a 60m rope, then the 35m and 50m tired together to see us down to the bottom. What an abseil – straight through the thick line of ferns buried into a mossy cliff face. We landed in ankle deep water; in some of the most amazing scenery I have ever experience. And that’s how the day started.

After another 45mins of level hiking though sometimes very narrow paths to fairly open paths, the water levels started increasing, so we decided to get into our wetsuits. We found a small waterfall to wet our appetite with, and took a few pics posing under it.

The next step was a 3m jump into a pool, then straight into a series of very narrow corridors.

The first proper abseil of the canyon was straight forward 15m into a pretty deep pool, which led onto another narrow corridor. Though this was the first time doing this canyon for us (Jon and Trev), we were told by the more experienced canyoners in the group, that water levels were much higher than normal, due to recent rainfalls. This meant there was a significant amount or water pumping over all the abseils we did, possibly increasing the difficulty, but definitely increasing the fun!

I have heard many theories why this canyon is named the way it is. I reckon it’s because of the flow of the land - everything just ran-on beautifully from the previous landscape.

The second abseil was brilliant, Julie scaled down and waited in the pool at what we thought was the bottom – but the canyon lived up to its name and the descents just kept on running. This was just a temporary deep pool, which required us to swim across before attempting the second half of the abseil. Immediately after this there was yet another 25 abseil to navigate, all whilst the water whirled around us and roared in our ears as it tumbled down into each successive pool.

At the bottom of this series of abseils, Ranon runs into Claustral canyon, just down from the black hole of Calcutta. Shane took Trev and Jon a little bit upstream to the bottom of the hole, since we had not done Claustral before, and it allowed us to get a feel for the eerie enchanting beauty of the darkened natural hallways of Claustral.

At this stage we went a little further before finding a small sand beach, where we stopped for lunch and ate while admiring the contrasting landscape and scenery all around us. After lunch, we again took a quick detour to see something special. Shane led us into some small darkened caves, which required us to slither through some narrow gaps, before looking up in the darkness to see a mass of beautiful blue glow worms all around us!

We headed towards the exit after this, navigating and scrambling over and around rocks for another hour or so. There were a few swims, as well as some challenging hand-over-hand descents and jumps, which kept the adrenalin pumping until the very end.

The hike out took us approximately and hour and a half. We discovered that leeches are attracted to Shane like bees to honey, as several of them decided to hitch a ride up the mountain on his legs.

We returned to our cars at approximately 5pm, exhausted after a long day’s canyoning, but elated after having a fantastic day out, in which a good time was had by all!

By Trevor and John

See Also:

• Ranon Canyon Photo Gallery
• Ranon Canyon Guide Article

Australia Day 2008, No better time to be camping and canyoning out in Newnes. Weather was impeccable, and company even better.

Shane had decided to take Nick, Marc and me, Carmen out to Twister Canyon, the ‘Amusement Park’ Canyon. Nick and Marc were newbies, their first canyon. I had done this canyon, and only this canyon, once, a year before. I’d say it’s the greatest starter canyon, because anyone can do it, from littlies to oldies, the unfit, the infirm, and it gives you an idea of your competence. Even though, I was actually shitting myself on the way, thinking i’d become to sick to do it. But Shane could calm a tiger, and i’d run out of butterflies before we even parked.

It’s a simple short walk down to the canyon, about 15 minutes worth, taking a your first right off the fire trail. It doesn’t take long to descend from the eucalyptus to the ferns and lush walls of the canyon, enjoying some pagoda formation rock walls on the way.

We gear up in our wetsuits and let the fun begin.

The first few pools are slippery slides, so fun and simple. slide down, climb out, slide down, swim through to the next bit, walk through some lovely tree ferns and palms and then there it is!

The first jump, and truly, the shakes came back, given the boys do this all the time, i had to toughen up. So i did, and wow, that feeling, as you swallow your tummy the wrong way, you just know its good for you. I watch Shane and Nick (who are obviously capable of much greater grades than this easy 3) climb back up and then further up, along the wall, to do the big jumps into the pool. i don’t want to look, I think it’s impossible someone can cover so much distance with just a single step and no run up, so i close my eyes and let the video watch, but yes, they are OK.
Marc thinks as i do, and backs down from the high jump, to just do the normal jump again, I’m proud of him, he’s my partner and i don’t want to be carrying him out, i bags being the one carried out! Half Way through, Nick amazes us by finding the smallest little hole and pulling himself up through it and popping out the other side! this guy is definitely in need of harder canyons!

From there on in the jumps get a little lower, but sometimes tougher, of the 3 jumps or the one slide or jump, the last is the most technical (not that it’s technical at all for canyoners, but us newbies think first,and hesitate, before do) because you have such a small pool to land in. And I guess because on our first trip there, when there were eight of us, it was the place where a friend slipped off, and nearly wasn’t OK.
It is beautiful this canyon too, especially the last descent, straight from the little pool, you pull out and do a rope climb down the last bit. Which is always hilarious for me. Because i can’t use my broken arthritic arms, so i get all the attention of these lovely fit fellas, helping me down! such a lucky girl!

They ease me off the top backward, and i just fall into one of them and do the last bit myself, it’s not very high, or very slippery, and it’s quite easy for (almost) anyone, so no excuses, you should be out there!

We contemplated at the bottom, doing it again as it hadn’t taken as long this time, with less people, just over half an hour, but we didn’t have time for Rocky Creek canyon which follows on from it. But by the time we’d scrambled around the rocks and did the walk across the tree and then the straight up bit at the end, we were all so tired and still in ecstasy of our canyon adventure that we completely forgot!

Ah the smiles on the faces of those new to canyoning, it just makes you glow at the end.

So much fun, and any demand on your health or body is stripped by the satisfaction. highly recommended. EASY. FUN.

See also:

• Twister Canyon Guidebook Article
• Twister Canyon Photo Gallery

We were planning on doing Arethusa Canyon, but as soon as we arrived at Katoomba it was thrown into doubt. It was raining and quite cold at the time and we hadn’t done Arethusa before, so were unsure how the weather may afffect the water levels. We had to get some gear so we dropped into Mountain Designs and while there asked the guy behind the desk his opinion - he indicated that it had been raining pretty consistently for two weeks at this point, so we decided to back out.

However, there were 4 of us up in the mountains - we had driven this far, surely there was something else we could do. That was when I decided that Fortress was an option - I have done Fortress Canyon before, and when I did it, it was flooded (very dangerously actually), so basically the conditions couldn’t be worse than what I had already done, and I know how to survive it in adverse conditions. Everyone else was keen to go, so off down Mount Hay road we headed.

There was another car parked in the Fortress Canyon parking space, so we weren’t going to be alone. We walked to the Fortress Ridge walking track, and were about to drop down to the end of the 4WD track (the entry that I know, not the standard one apparently) when we saw two guys walking back towards us along Fortress Ridge. Turns out they (Trev and Jon) had spent all morning trying to find their way in to the canyon without luck (it was very foggy and this was their first time). So we adopted them and our group grew to 6.

We walked down to the end of 4WD track and headed off into the bushes down a path towards the large gully
which eventually takes us all the way to the canyon. The water was flowing reasonably well, but it was certainly not flooding the canyon, like the last time I did Fortress. So we were able to easily walk along the track which followed the canyon the whole way down, occasionally needing to cross over the creek, or walk in it for short periods of time.

The whole canyon is pretty straight forward really. Walk in the creek, walk beside the creek, scramble over and down rocks until you reach the first jump in. Jump in. Swim for a while. More walking then Jump 6m shortly before the end. Reach exit, but continue down canyon to the big waterfall at the end.

We got to that waterfall, but unfortunately the fog completely blocked any concept of a view. Looked more like the end of the world or something - just like that movie, The Gods Must Be Crazy 2 I think it was, where he threw the Coke bottle off the end of the world. Anyway, walking up the steep hill out of the canyon was a bit of a slog, but then, it always is when canyoning.

In the end it was another successful trip, even in inclement weather - no injuries, back in good time, and a good time had by all.

See Also:

• Fortress Canyon Photo Gallery
• Fortress Canyon Guide Article
• Fortress Canyon Video Log