Canyoning Safety and Ethics

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Dave Noble

Caro Ryan has posted a good video on canyoning safety and ethics on her Youtube channel –

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Dalpura Canyon, Dargan Arch and The Catacombs – 21 January 2015

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Dave Noble

I went up the mountains yesterday with Bob and Doug for some canyoning. The weather forecast was for rain so we planned to do the short and easy Dalpura Canyon near Bell. As it turned out, the weather was quite good – warm and daily sunny.

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Just before the canyon started we came across a small grove of pink flannel flowers (Actinotus forsythii). Conditions have been right for these – a bushfire, and then rain a year or so later. All you need are the dormant seeds in the ground. Other walkers had reported finding some near the Lost City and in the Wollangambe Wilderness – both areas that had been burnt out. So it was good to come across these ones. A lot of native flower afficiardos have never seen them.

DalJan15-1 Continue reading →

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More Baby Birds – 20 January 2015

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Dave Noble

I went down to the Tempe Wetlands again to see if I could get some better photos of the baby birds – particularly the Australasian Grebe chicks. The difficulty is that the pad there are quite big, with often scrubby banks and its hard to get close to them. All you can do as a photographer is rely on a telephoto lens.

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Anyway – here are a few photos of the grebe chicks and also chicks of moorhens and coots. Continue reading →

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Back to the Wetlands – Cooks River – 19 January 2015

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Dave Noble

I spent a very pleasant afternoon at the Cup and Saucer Creek Wetlands and then at the Tempe Wetlands photographing the birds.

Australasian Grebe with chicks

Australasian Grebe with chicks

On a previous visit I had thought I had seen a kingfisher. Meanwhile I had received an email from a local birder, Andrew Taylor, saying he had spotted the kingfisher too and also saying it was worth looking for some baby grebes at Tempe. Continue reading →

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National Pass and The Valley of the Waters – Wentworth Falls – 18 January 2014

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Dave Noble

Claire had organised a surprise birthday party walk for her husband, and our good friend, John on Sunday. They had travelled down from their home near Rockhampton in Queensland to the Blue Mountains. A lot of John’s friends made it along and we had a really good day.

Sylvia Falls - Valley of the Waters

Sylvia Falls – Valley of the Waters

We met up at the Conservation Hut and then walked along the Undercliff Track to Wentworth Falls, with a side trip down to Den Fenella on the way. At the falls we joined a multitude of other walkers on the way down the steps to the bottom of the upper falls. There were thousands of other walkers out that day. Continue reading →

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Photographing Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy – 17 January 2015

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Dave Noble

The comet, C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy, which is relatively bright and easy to see late at night, is slightly past is peak brightness (January 11) but this evening provided both a sky with little light pollution (at Blackheath) and no moon.

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Most comets are only visible when at a close angular position relative to the Sun – so have to be observed either in the early evening or just before sunrise in the morning – hardly times with dark skies. This comet did not pass very close to the Sun, so it was still visible later in the evening when the sky was much darker, but this also means that it tail is not very large. Continue reading →

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Visit to a New Canyon – 17 January 2015

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Dave Noble

Tom Brennan, together with Caoimhin, had recently descended what appears to be a new canyon in the Blue Mountains. On his website, he does not say where it is, but there are a few clues in the photos.

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It looked like the canyon joined a larger creek and I thought that there would be a good chance that I could recognise that larger creek. It took a while – looking at photos and looking at maps. I eventually found a photo of mine that seemed to match up with the rocks in one of Tom’s photos. From there, it was easy to work out which side creek was the new canyon. Continue reading →

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Cooks River Bird Photos – 15 January 2015

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Dave Noble

I took a set of photos along the Cooks River on 15th January. I started at the Tempe Wetlands and then rode my bike along the cycleway to the wetlands at Cup and Saucer Creek. I finished off along the Cooks River nearer to Wardell Rd.

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When I arrived at Tempe Wetlands I thought I saw a kingfisher. I unpacked my camera and then looked back up – I could not see the bird again. All I could see in that area were some willie wagtails. I then doubted that I had actually seen a kingfisher. But I would spot it on a later visit. Continue reading →

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Hat Hill Canyon – 13 January 2015

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Dave Noble

Keith had organised a trip to Hat Hill Canyon at Blackheath. I had last been down this canyon only a few weeks before. Keith was on that trip too, but this time he wanted to show some others what the creek was now like after the Sewerage Treatment Works had closed down.

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On the trip, as well as Keith and myself, was Ian, Peter and Wolter. Continue reading →

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Hole in the Wall Canyon – 10 January 2015

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Dave Noble

Dan and a group of friends – Gabe, Sharon and Bridget were coming up for a weekend of canyoning and asked Rik and myself to join them. His plan was to visit Hole in the Wall Canyon and then Banks Canyon in the Wollangambe Wilderness on Saturday, and then an easy day visiting Twsiter and Rocky Creek Canyons on the Sunday. The bonus would be some comet spotting in the evening.

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I had been ill during the week before, so was reluctant to do two canyons on the first day, but was keen to get out and do some canyon photography. So was Bridget, therefore we decided to only do Hole in the Wall Canyon and concentrate on photography. Continue reading →

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