| 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.
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 !
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Claustral Sunday 1st March 2007 Vert. Elev: ___ (approx.) Distance : ___ (approx.) Time : 10 hrs (aprox.) Comments: High water flow today. Crew: Wit Cieslik Denise 'Sparky' Black Terry the 'Terrier' Eggington Linda 'Leg's' Eggington Elaine Prior Min Ropes: none All photos courtesy of The Eggs |
 FireFly Canyon Newnes 
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Description
Description
Well what a week ! Rain, rain and mire rain. So much so we canceled our plans for this canyon last week end and opted instead, for
an extremely enjoyable walk out to Taffys Rock (see walks).
Today however, Claustral is on the menu and with the weather holding well, we expect fine dining.
After meeting at the end of the road and signing in, we ambled off down the well worn track and entered the Nat Park by the signpost. The going was much steeper than my old knees remembered but it wasn't long before we were at the creek and sweating profusely. Now I always remember this creek as being not much more than a trickle. Today we had a running creek. (At least most of the time, occasionally I think it went underground)...
We made quite reasonable time and enjoyed the variety of canyon landscaping as we went. taking care on the final approach to the hole itself.
I always find getting to the hole a bit of a puzzle. (btw, the little trickling waterfall just upstream from the hole was a gushing fire hose today!).
Once comfortably inside the hole, rigging off the familiar log and down we go.
A chilly swim to the other side and awkward jam up with pack on ti get to the ring bolt above. 2nd rope in place and Terry joins me here. Then off again into the depths. This time the water from the falls was really up in my face. Glad to get down into the pool and inspect the keyhole.
All good ! Good levels, Good slings ! And a great flow !
Signaling up to Terry, who relayed back up to the others, and one by one we all came down and re grouped just before the keyhole.
Then one by one, we all crouched through and descended again, to the ledge above the water. It was funny belaying here. I had a nice dry stance well out of the falls, but every time anyone came down, their feet would re-direct the torrent of water into two streams, one of which inevitably deluged me. (Might try goggles next time so I can still see) ...
Outside we emerged into the beautiful green junction with Ranon Canyon and all just marveled at the ferns, the glistening rockwork, and the lush tranquility of it all.
We were mildly aware that there was another party behind. (Their rope came down as soon as I started pulling ours! So I thought they were hot on our heels).
I know these words are used time and time again with canyon descriptions, but hell, it's true. Some truly magnificent sections of canyon followed. Wading, walking, swimming. Crystal clear water, yabbies as big as house bricks, shafts of sunlight punctuating the dark browns of the rocks. Green moss below and ferns above.
Too soon we were at the Thunder junction and made this our lunch stop. Sitting in the sun (Playing mahjong with the snakes). Shortly another group arrived (from Thunder) and sat on the opposite side. Also the two behind us in Claustral emerged and went exploring up Thunder, hunting for glow worms. Our biggest snake, bored by lack of food offerings, slithered into the water and made a bee-line for the other group on the opposite bank. We watched in fascination as it made short work of the cold water and quickly slithered right into the middle of the group and looked almost like it was begging for food ?!?
Lunch dispatched and body temps falling, we decided to move on.
Ahh the memories ...
The boulder section.
The slab section.
The giant step of death.
The down climb of death.
The corkscrew of certain death. (quite tame today despite the water flow!).
The pin drop (of death).
All of the fixed line climb downs were a bit gnarly today. The water force, although only slightly higher than I've seen before, was quite a lot stronger !
The final two swims (the pools of tranquility).
As we were getting ready to leave our two friends (the glow wormers) appeared and by all accounts looked like they were enjoying the day as much as we were. Surprising was the arrival of another two. These two looked like it had been a tough day. Particularly the young lady who looked beat-by-cold (shorty wet suits!). We offered chocolate, and left.
During the walk out we were passed by all four on the way up to the camels hump.
Apologies for this next part, but it will come across rant like... Very shortly after, we came across the young lady a bit unsure of how to tackle the log up section. With a bit of foot guidance she was on her way, and we set to getting ourselves up as well.
Very shortly after that, we came across the young lady quite stuck at the overhang. A long stretchy climbing rope dangling down offering not much salvation. Again, some words of encouragement and the loan of a pair shoulders (Denise is about and inch shorter now) and again we're all away.
For our efforts we get to carry the rope !!
As we move on up I'm curious as to where our new friends friend has gone. She's still pretty unhappy about the deal at present and her friend is nowhere in sight. From the camels hump I decide to wait for all to catch up and see how things are going. Whilst the banter from below tells me it's OK for our group, I can see from my vantage point, that we are now carrying and extra backpack as well. Oh well, At least we're all together.
Regrouped together at the hump, we drink, breath, and have a short round of introductions.
Setting off again we almost immediately run into our new friends' friend. After a brief re-union and grudging taking of the pack, he's off again.
Hmm...
The rest of us walk together for a while, but the sun is setting and the going is slow. I resolve to keep going to the car and set food and nibbles (and maybe a head torch).
Here we go [1]
Essentially our new friend is left in our charge... with NOTHING. No Pack. No Jumper. No food. No water. No light. NOTHING. We can provide all this so I guess that's OK ?
When I get to the car, Friends friend suggests that my signing out in the book might be premature? A joke ? He's ABANDON his partner, left them with nothing more that the shorts, t-shirt and sandals they are wearing. And has the Gaul to question MY actions ?!?
Then he FUCKS OFF to get their car. (Still leaving girlfriend behind with nothing but MY word he'll be back).
OK OK I can live with all this...
But wait .. there's more !!
I grabbed some biscuits and a torch (in case the group was a long way back) and headed back down the track again. (The sunset along the ridge was truly glorious!).
And met Sparky, Elaine and Karen very shortly. Offering biscuits and walking on to find Terry and Linda to do the same for them. Then back to the car to get the stove going and
bring out the food.
Terry still had a thermos of hot water and so made tea for Karen and the ordeal of the walk out was past. Tea, food , company, all good I think.
Then ToolHead arrives. Makes comment on seeing Karen is 'OK'.
Karen replies she's better than OK, she also has a wonderful cup of tea.
To which ToolHead replies "that the thing about mountaineering... even shit tastes great!"....
OK ...
The offer of a fresh cup for himself just died as a thought.
Dude... just exactly WHEN were YOU going to go back for your girlfriend, that you LEFT BEHIND WITH NOTHING.
Our group helped her out just by being with her. You could have (should have) done that !
Although nothing is certain, we felt that without a little gentle coaxing, it might well have gotten truly dark BEFORE Karen got out, if left on her own. And she had NOTHONG because YOU took it all away.
Rant Over !
We had an excellent day out and surprised ourselves with an impromptu dinner on the bonnet of the car.
Gear
We found 1 x 30m ans 1 x 25m rope and wetsuits adequate for this canyon.
Our information on this area :
