The canyon log is my chronological account of the various canyon trips that I have been fortunate enough to partake, and in some cases, lead. Sydney is blessed with an abundance of rugged bush land less than two hours drive away, and in this bush land lie some of the most pristine and delicate environments that can be found. Visiting these places may require no more than a simple walk along a creek, or demand bush craft and navigation skills just to get there. These trips are 'canyon' trips which involves starting high in the range and following a creek or stream as it carves it's way down to the river valley. The Kanangra canyons are generally fairly open and following these is an excercise in abseiling and scrambling. The beauty of this area is the panoramic views along the Kanangra Walls and valleys. The incredible ruggedness of the area. Blue Mountains canyons like Claustral, cut deep into the sandstone below them and over time have worn channels and gutters, deep enough that direct sunlight never reaches the bottom. Walking and swimming through these is a magical tour through a ferny green wonderland. A visit to the lost planet. I have kept these notes as a reminder to myself of the individual trips, as well as to provide 'some' useful information for following excursions, or to supply to others planning similar outings. Earlier trips are documented on my original canyons page.

Entering the tunnel

"What's a glow worm tunnel ?", they ask. "Well... technicaly... It's a disused railway tunnel, on a dismantled railway line, running from an abandoned shale-oil mining town at Newnes.!" "Oh...." (they reply, disinterestedly, still watching television) ... "And it's completley dark inside, and wet, and you'll both have to have torches to see where you're going...." "Ooooooh !" (looking at me with more interest now!)... "And up on the roof are thousands of tiny little creatures that glow like the stars at night !". "YAY! Glow Worm Tunnel ! Glow Worm Tunnel ! Take us to the Glow Worm Tunnel !" (... my work here is done ...) I arranged with them that I would pick them up early on Sunday morning, and we would drive out to the tunnel, walk and picnic, and then drive back. (A lot of driving for Dad, but equally hard for the girls with a 3 hour trip in each direction!).

Crossing the footbridge

The 12 odd km of dirt road from Clarence to the Bungleboori camp ground was clear and a good run, but two 4WD pulled out from the camp ground in front of us, and it soon became apparent that they were,

• A) together
• B) ratbags
• C) heading to the tunnel too
• and D) way too slow

When we arrived, at about 13:30, the car park had many more vehicles, (mostly 4WD's), than I had expected and a lot of people sitting at a camp table having lunch and listening to some quiet 'easy-listening' music. It seems the glow worm tunnel is a very popular spot ! The girls quickly changed from their good dresses into their walking clothes, donned hats and sunscreen, and excitedly ran off down the track calling for me to follow, and telling everyone they passed that they were going to the Glow Worm tunnel ! The walk to the tunnel is very pretty and not very long. Most of it is flat and level too. We passed a small waterfall at the side of the track and the girls had a great time walking along behind the curtain of falling drops. A still pond (or small lake) below the road offers some very photogenic opportunities for water reflections. The track is a well defined road at this point and the only rise and fall is down to a creek crossing (over a bridge) and back up again. Not far from the entrance to the tunnel is a sign confirming the direction to the tunnel as well as pointing to the Old Coach Rd track on the right. Gradually the vegitation around us became thicker and wetter, and the trees gave way to tall green ferns, moss covered rocks and wet logs, typical of a canyon in this area. With the rain forest like surrounds around us it was almost a surprise when we turned the last corner and saw the gaping black hole of the tunnel in the cliff. I was surprised at the size of it. I knew it had been a railway tunnel, but still hadn't expected it to be so big inside.

The old days

The girls were keen to get going now ! (The lure of the Glow Worm...).
"Can we have our torches"
"Can we have our torches"
"Come on Dad! Let's go!"
And off they charged into the darkness. Inside, the ground is pretty evenly erroded, and not surprisingly, it was pitch black.

Looking North

Not far inside, away from the light of day, I looked up as saw the familiar sight of hundreds of green dots glowing in the darkness. The girls hadn't noticed them yet. Herding them together I got them to turn their headlamps off and look up. The look on their faces said it all... they were wrapped ! We continued on in the dark, stopping from time to time to examine some of the 'worms' at close hand, and let the hoard of people that had descended on us go past, to leave us in quiet and darkness again. The glow worms are really seen at their best with little or no light around. (Hint, if there's heaps of people around, just wait a few minutes for them all to disperse, you'll be glad you did!).

Out in the light on the northern side of the tunnel, we had a snack while sitting next to the cool ferny creek as it flowed along next to the cliff line. We could have walked back the way we came, through the tunnel, but there was still large numbers of people milling in and out, so instead we walked back along the creek, up the Glow Worm tunnel canyon. This was a pretty hard ask of Rebbecca, as she's only 4, and was already pretty tired from the excitement of the tunnel and the walk in from the car park. Nicola was obviously enjoying being out in the bush and neede no encoragement to follow the track into the unknown. Crossing the creek proved interesting. A simple step for me translated into a desperate wade and lunge for little Rebbecca and Niclola as for probably the first time in their lives, an adult was telling them to "just walk in the water", as opposed to "don't get your feet wet !".

Glowworm Tunnel Canyon

After a few criss-crossing they both got the hang of it and by the last one, needed no more coaxing. The canyon itself is short, flat and steep walled. An easy track leads, initially, on the left of the creek, then crosses the creek and steps up to the cliffline on the right, following this almost to the end. The creek takes a sudden turn to the right here and there is a well worn scramble on the left back up to the road. On our walk back along the road we noticed a spot where the creek dissapeared into a dark void underground. Keen to explore, both girls worked their way down the steep bank into the creek, and together we waded through ankle deep mud into our very own glow worm cave. Not as many as the tunnel, but for the girls, a discovery of their own.

Crossing the creek

Back at the car park we found all the other cars had gone, and in the fading light in the gorge, changed out of our wet and muddy shoes, and settled in for the long drive back home.

Playing at the 1st waterfall	Banksia
Nicky likes the soft moss	Rebecca keeps high