With the coming of hot weather, it was time for some canyoning. This week, Bob and myself planned to visit Hole in the Wall Canyon. We were joined by another old friend, Nipper.
We travelled up the Bell and Chifley Roads and turned off at the Zig Zag Railway turnoff and headed out onto the Newnes Plateau. Not far past Bungleboori Picnic Area, we turned off along the Waratah Ridge Fire Trail and drove to the car park at the end.
On the walk out to the canyon we saw quite a lot of wildflowers. And this included a few Flying Duck Orchids. After about 90 minutes walking, we arrived at the creek and soon reached the start of the upper constriction.
A few years back, this upper constriction had filled up with sand and is now virtually a walk through. This makes it easier for the photographer.
Between the upper and lower constrictions is a walk through nice creekbed, boulders and sandy patches. The bushfires don’t seem to have been too intense here, and there was still a fair amount of shade.
At the lower constriction, there have been some changes. No more swims! We soon competed the first abseil.
Instead of going through the tunnel, we climbed over the top. This was slower than usual due to fallen debris.
Below this there is a very short drop, then a short walk down to the second abseil. There was one section with a deep wade.
This next abseil has also changed. In the past, we used to abseil through a hole between chockstones. Now that hole has been filled with logs and sand. There is not sign of it. But the same belay point can be used to abseil a little further along.
Here is Nipper abseiling down –
This takes you to one of the best parts of the entire canyon. A deep, and dark section of the canyon. The walls are beautifully sculptured.
Here is Bob abseiling down –
Just below this dark section, used to be a very beautiful and very deep turquoise coloured pool. It has now filled with sand.
The sand filling the lower constriction is a natural process, probably due to heavy rain events after the bushfires. I am sure in the future the canyon will again change and these pools will be scoured out.
The last bit of the canyon is short but very beautiful.
We soon reached the North Branch of Bungleboori Creek, and it was there that we had to swim. The water was relatively warm, and we were soon at the climb-out point. This was a good place to stop for lunch.
The usual Water Dragon was not there, but was replaced by a very bold Water Skink. It approached us without any fear and was obviously after food. Bob was reluctant to share his lunch with the lizard and received a small nip.
The walk out was not too bad in the heat. We all looked out for orchids and we found quite a few clusters of Flying Duck Orchids – both large and small ones –
Caleana major
Caleana minor
Caleana major
This is a small part of one large cluster –
This had been a great day out. It was also good to catch up with Nipper – and special thanks to him for driving us up.