[SUBW-A] Trip Report, Canyoning and Camping, 11-12 Nov 2006

[Ashley Burke]

TRIP: Canyoning and Car Camping, 11-12 Nov 2006

PARTY:

	Both days: Greg Salway, Ashley Burke
	Saturday evening and Sunday: Jo Boyd, Jacqui Knox, Peter Raines

PHOTOS:

I have put some photos of the trip at
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~aburke/CanyoningAndCamping20061111-12/Photos.
htm

TRIP REPORT:

After a week of mild weather it warmed up for a weekend of perfect
conditions for some canyoning and car camping. Greg and I were the only
takers for Saturday's daytime activities, which were the exploration of some
tributaries in the Blue Mountains.

Our first target was a small creek that looked good on the map, although it
yielded little in the way of canyon. It did however have two abseils and
some interesting rock formations and surrounding pagodas. It even offered
one of two pools of clear water, a rare thing these days. The highlight was
the sharp ridge that we emerged on for lunch after exiting this creek. We
wandered out to the end of this narrow rocky ridge and enjoyed lunch in the
sun, surrounded by vistas of cliffs, gorges and sweeping valleys.

It was then a solid hour of walking along a fire trail back to the car.
After reaching the car and gulping down a good measure of water we drove a
short distance to our next objective, the upper reaches of a larger creek.

After pushing through some low scrub we encountered a densely vegetated
creek. There were mats of ferns and some patches of cutting grass. But after
a very short distance there was a dramatic transformation as the creek
entered a dark chasm. Narrow canyon stretched before us. Yippee! There was
no need for rope, we were able to climb down and walk through this great
canyon. It soon opened out, but remained a narrow and picturesque gorge
winding its way delicately among an artistic sandstone backdrop.

After a while we picked an exit gully and after some steep scrub bashing we
were soon back at the car. Now it was time to make our way by car to the
camp site. We arrived at our chosen spot and relaxed in the open woodland,
collected some firewood, got the wine out, and waited for the others to
arrive. Peter turned up just before dark, Jo and Jacqui arrived an hour or
two later. We stayed up late and everyone enjoyed a great evening by the
camp fire.

On Sunday morning we headed off to a better known canyon. On our way there
we saw, trotting along the fire trail as if it were a suburban driveway, a
very tame looking wild dog. Not a savage looking dingo or wild animal, more
like a domestic pet let loose. It didn't seem to mind us at all.

Once we were in the canyon we enjoyed some nice abseils and superb canyon
formation, it was dark and cool in there, yet warm and humid outside. The
walk back to the car was through a maze of delicate sandstone pagodas. Loose
fragments of rock that lay on the ground sounded like roof tiles to walk on.
Great care had to be taken not to damage these intricate formations. We were
back at the car by lunch time. We enjoyed a relaxing lunch there while the
weather whipped up a wind and some threatening clouds.

We still had time for another canyon so we chose a small one nearby. It took
some scrub bashing to get there but the effort was worthwhile. Despite a
miniscule catchment this tiny canyon had a couple of abseils, an interesting
and awkward down climb, and even a pool or two of clear water. Unfortunately
someone had seen fit to tie torn up shreds of clothing to branches in an
effort to mark what would have been a perfectly obvious exit route even
without the unsightly ribbons. We did our duty by collecting this rubbish
and removing it from the park. One final abseil brought us into a deep ferny
gorge from which it was an easy walk along a track back to the car.

It was an excellent couple of days, very relaxing, featuring a bit of
everything and highly enjoyed by all.

Ashley Burke
Phone: +61 2 9476 3531
Mobile: 0414 633 315
Email: aburke at ozemail.com.au