Bob and myself were heading up the Mountains for a canyoning trip and we decided to visit a small canyon at Bell that has recently been named as “Crystal Slot Canyon”. We had both recently seen photos of this canyon on social media (Facebook – Australian Canyoners Page). The author of the post, Neil Miller, had been in a party that visited the canyon a few days earlier and wondered if they had been on a first descent. The canyon lies in very small tributary to Koombanda Canyon.
Most of the canyon lies in the tributary of a tributary to Koombanda Canyon. A very small creek flows into a slightly larger creek, and about 100 m later this joins Koombanda Creek a very short way downstream of the canyon section. I have no knowledge if this small creek has been descended before. There are exploratory canyoners who do check out small creeks like these, and this one is very close to road access. But on the other hand, its such a small creek that it may have been overlooked. Well it certainly looked worthwhile to visit – and it was. It was not a dark narrow or sustained canyon, but it was pleasant and a nice short day.
Update – I have since heard that Andrew Valja and Karen McLaughlin descended this canyon about 20 years ago and called it “Sleeper Canyon” (since it was close to the railway line).
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