Planning this walk meant keeping a close eye on the local weather forecasts for several days beforehand, hoping that the originally forecast temperature of 29 degrees C would not rise. In fact it dropped to 27 degrees. Even better, the preceding days were marked with a cool sea breeze coming in locally after 2pm, so things looked promising. Also I…
This trip came about when we read a report from our mates the Fat Canyoners who had suffered a rare navigational mishap and managed to completely miss their target canyon. Judging by their photos, it must have been pretty traumatic for them as they remained fully clothed the whole trip. We were…
It is curious that on so many bushwalks into distant national parks we see few or no animals or birds, yet here we are on a walk in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs and we saw a few unusual birds. Read on. All the others except myself started the walk at Bondi. I had to join them at Bronte because of an unexpected occurrence at home just as I was leaving for the train. The first…
Although 8 people signed up, only 5 people got off the train at Springwood Station (Zhong had driven up and was waiting for us there). Within a few minutes I got a call from person number 7, Kundi, to say she hadn’t got off the train at Springwood, and the next stop was Hazelbrook. Zhong then…
Sometimes I feel like an easy day out, travelling through a canyon I know will deliver maximum bang for my effort. Then there are the times when I crave an adventure, pushing myself into the unknown, with remote, trackless trips that require a lot more technical skill. Unfortunately, between these two urges fit a whole lot of canyons that are a bit long for the easy days, but too accessible for the challenging trips. Whirlpool Canyon…
This trip was organised as a follow up to a trip in June when Paul and I and our recently exported mate Clint had a cold and rushed trip through one canyon and failed to make it up the pass to reach the second canyon. We clearly had unfinished business in Coorongooba and the nice weekend weather forecast and a great crew of experienced canyoners gave us a good chance to return and put things in order. A few…
This unusual trip was organised because when we listed a Claustral trip last month (cancelled because of rain) lots of members got in touch saying they really want to do Claustral but can never get on a trip when one is listed. People are sensibly reluctant to run their own trips if they have not done the route before, because Claustral is a very long, hard day and there are a number of navigational challenges. Because of…
We all met up at Bondi beach (except Gabriel who would join us at Coogee) and set off about 4.30pm to follow the Coast more or less to Malabar Beach. The walk requires only one diversion via a street bash where it is not possible to completely follow the shoreline or cliff top, and that is just south of Coogee Beach. So we…
Claustral Canyon is cold enough even when it is not an unseasonably cold and rainy day early in the year. So we switched to Long Gully at Bungonia, a dry canyon in an area where not a drop of rain was predicted. It’s as much an abseil trip as a canyon, with a nice, clean 60m drop, a very pretty 30m and many smaller abseils/climbdowns. We met…
Bungonia Gorge has some great walks. It has a spectacular 400m deep canyon, lovely river scenery as well as good views from the top. Additionally there are limestone caves to explore although some require permits and proper caving equipment. I have done this walk a few times before, for doing Himalayan training, and soon Kosta and I will be off to Nepal on a SUBW listed trip to trek around the Manaslu massif , and attempt the 6200m Larkya Peak, in December, so this walk with it’s massive elevation change is perfect to get those leg muscles in shape! On Saturday mid morning, we started the steep descent into the gorge . Our group…