[SUBW-A] Trip Report: Kalang and Kanangra main 25th-26th march

[David Lee]

Hi All,

Since Nicole is changing jobs and had the last 3 days off work, we decided
to head out to Kanangra for some end-of-season canyons. I have never been
out that way before, and Nicole had only done Kalang and Dione Dell, So we
were a little bit scared at the thought of Kanangra main. The news that thee
were fires burning not far from murdering gully didnt help either, so it was
with more than a little trepidation that we headed out to the walls on
tuesday night. We arrived at the walls 9:30 Tuesday night, and decided to
head out to the lookout to check on the aforementioned fires. The smell of
smoke was heavy in the air, and upon arriving at the lookout we were greeted
with a fiery glow from the valley below. Fortunately, the fires had
retreated several ridges back from murdering gully, so we headed back to the
uni rover trail to camp, stopping to search behind the shelter for Robs
pants and headtorch he had left behind on the weekend (they were sitting
next to the water tank).

Wednesday we did Kalang falls, and it went as smoothly as anyone could ask.
A spectacular trip, with many excellent abseils. I will let the photos speak
for themselves. The weather was fine and sunny. even if the photos look
cloudy. The lack of wind meant that the bushfire smoke had settled into the
valley and didn't clear till mid-afternoon, leaving a smoky haze in the
canyon. We exited via the ridge to the right of murderind gully: Steep and
scrubby, but fast. An early arrival back at the cars meant time for beers
and a quick wash at the Boyd river campsite before settling in for the
night.

Thursday was Kanangra Main Day, and what a day it was! We left the car at
the walls at 8AM, and promtly got lost on the heath, finding a nice lookout
from which we could see kanangra falls in the distance. Realising that we
were probably in the wrong place, we backtracked a bit till we were on the
right track. The Canyon itsself was spectacular! Not even the ants on the
first ledge could deter us (we forgot to bring the Rid, even after all the
warnings!). A good amount of water was flowing, and the heat of the day
encouraged us to take the wet route down each fall. We found Rob's missing
rope stuck on the 2nd last abseil (There was a knot tied 2m from the end!).
After hauling it up and coiling it, I started the abseil while Nicole headed
back to the base of the last drop to find the glove we had left behind.
About 1/3 of the way down, just where the abseil path gets right into the
middle of the waterfall, I abseiled onto a knot. Luckily there were plenty
of small ledges to take my weight while I pulled the rope through and
untangled it, but I still spent a good 5 minutes getting a really hard
shoulder massage from the waterfall. Nicole's abseil was less eventful, and
we continued down to the bottom of the last abseil for lunch. Several rain
showers the night before had driven the fires even further from Murdering
gully, so we tried to head up the gully. Of course we got lost and ended up
way too far to the left, having to lose height and contour around back to
the path.I have to say that it was the heaviest bottle of Gin I have ever
carried! Even with our small navigational mishaps, we were back at the car
at 5:30, and quite sweaty and exhausted. A quick wash under the tap from the
water tank and it was back to the campsite for dinner, beer, and bed (oh,
and half a rockmelon hollowed out and filled with Muskat for dessert. Yum!).

Friday was supposed to be Dione Dell, but it was cold and rainy in the
morning, so we piked and headed to Blackheath for some all-day-breakfast
goodness, before returning to Sydney.

Photos of the trip are
HERE<http://picasaweb.google.com/Melochar/KanangraMarch09?feat=directlink>
.

Dave & Nicole