Canyon Log

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 exercise 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, and other trips are indexed on my main canyoning page

As I have been hap-hazardly adding pictures lately, these pages are best viewed at a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels !

Trip 28 Birrabang Brook (Bells Line of road)
16th Apr 2001
Vert. Elev:
Distance :
Time (approx.) : 4 hrs
Comments: Only one or two deep wades and even these can be scrambled around. No rope required !. 		Looking down into Birrabang Brook

Other Sources of information on this area : Canyons Near Sydney (Rick Jamieson)

The Easter Long Weekend had nearly gone and I was keen to get out of the house and do a quick and easy canyon. (I had been on-call for the first three days and unable to get away for my normal Easter sabatical, but Monday was free).

Birrabang seemed the obviouse choice as I had visited Dalpura the week before and felt I already had a bit of a feel for that area. I estimated the walk would take about 4 hours, and fact that ropes and wetsuit was not needed was definitley a big advantage.

That choice made I threw some bits and pieces into my pack in readiness for the morning.

Monday was another copy of the perfect weather Sydney had been experiencing for the last two weeks. Cool in the shade, perfect in the sun and not a hint of rain anywhere. The drive up through Richmond was pleasant and just early enough to miss the holiday weekend Volvo brigade. With good tunes cranked up and Easter chocolate and hot cross bun leftovers for breakfast, the drive seemed to take no time at all.

I decided to park at the start for Dalpura canyon in the slim chance that I might finnish early enough to run through that one as well, and walk back down the road to the start for Birrbang Brook.

From the start the trail wanders up and over, and then down along the ridge towards the bluff at the end. At this point the trail divides. Recent passage to the left, and old, less used, to the right. Examining the left branch revealed a slimey drop to the creek below, requiring a short abseil (maybe 10m?). Not for me today ! I walked back up and around to the right and found the going there easy and straightforward, right down into the creek.

This top section of the canyon impressed me the most. Small, but very pretty, the creek spills from pool to pool and meanders through a number of overhanging cuttings, all glowing yellow and orange in the midday sun. Tall ferns and trees shade the creek and occasionally the going takes you deep under the cuttings, highlighting the difference between light and dark as your eyes adjust from the brilliance outside to the gloom underneath. A number of pools are avoided by short scramble sections and one pool is bypassed on the left by a horizontal traverse on the left, about 1.5m above the water. (Might be slippery in the rain!).

a nice pool
Gradually the creek widens as the small sandstone bluffs migrate up away from the creek and become cliff lines lost in the scrub above. The creek too changes slightly in character, with small pools and cuttings giving way to large boulders and chokes of dead wood. At one particuar point, the creek drops sharply underneath a large pile of blocks and into a small pool. Scrabling up around on the left and dropping back down provides yet another view of crystal clear pool filled with big orange yabbies and fringed with lush green ferns, emerging from a dark canyonlike recess.

looking back down the exit gully Continuing with more boulder and tree trunk hopping, I found one short chest deep wade which probably could have been scrambled around on the right, but at the time it seemed easier to just hop through and keep going.

Towards the end, the scenery changes again and a huge orange wall towering above on the left becomes the dominant feature. On the right the way becomes dark and lush with glimpses of cliffline above. Pushing up through the ferns quickly gains a small creek and the path cris-crosses this a couple of times before emerging below a short wall below the first pagoda's. The view from here is good!

Easy going along the ridge line as is skirts around back to the road, via another rocky outcrop, again with an outstanding view of the entire area. An old 4WD trail continues right back to the road only a minutes walk from where I had parked.

Torn now between heading down Dalpura and trying to beat the traffic home I remembered the traffic hell driving back late the weekend before last. The Birranbang-Dalpura double will have to wait !