Mt Hay Canyon – 3 February 2015

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Dave Noble

Bob and I headed up the mountains for a trip through Mt Hay Canyon.

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At the carpark, near Mt Hay, we were surprised to see two other cars there – we thought we would have the canyon to ourselves on a mid week day. We packed our gear and set of down the track, across the hanging swamp and then down a small bluff into a side gully. Then three abseils to arrive at Rocky Points Ravine – our creek. On the way down the side gully, we passed the other party – two members of which I knew – Les and John. We had a friendly chat as we passed by. Continue reading →

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Blue Mountains Weekend – Strange Bugs, Pink Flannel Flowers, a Crater and Canyon – 31 January – 1 February 2015

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Dave Noble

This was an interesting and pleasant weekend in the Blue Mountains.

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I headed up with John and Chuin Nee and their young son Jasper. At Blackheath we met up with Su Li and Brent and then headed out to Bung Crag at the headwaters of the South Branch of Bungleboori Creek.

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We soon arrived at the crag and it was here that Chuin Nee, Jasper and Brent went climbing. John and myself were interested in exploring the area. There were a lot of small insects flying around in the bushes near the crag – and we spotted one lower down on the ground. It was a really strange beetle – or at least it was a normal looking beetle with amazing antennae. I spent a fair while trying to photograph the beetle – it was hard as the beetle was not keen to sit still. Back at home, I found the beetle was a Feather Horned Beetle (Rhipicera femoralis) Continue reading →

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Bola Creek – a Look for Fungi – 30 January 2015

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Dave Noble

I went down to Bola Creek in Royal National Park with Digi Dave for some fungi photography. It is quite early in the fungi season, but it had been quite wet earlier in the week and we were hopeful some fungi would be out.

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We walked down to the Bola Creek Picnic Area and then scouted around. Some fungi was out. Not much, but enough for us to bother setting up tripods and getting our macro lenses out. We also found a few slime moulds. Continue reading →

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A Wet Day in the Upper Mountains – 27 January 2015

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Dave Noble

This was a wet day! I had travelled up the mountains with Bob. We had originally thought of doing a canyon – but with a bad weather forecast we thought a waterfall walk may be a more sensible option. I had suggested the walk from Leura Cascades to Leura Forest and then along Federal Pass to the base of the Scenic Railway and then returning via Furber Stairs and the Price Henry Walk. This is what we ended up doing. It did indeed rain for most of the day – which made photography very taxing! But wet weather and waterfalls make for spectacular and beautiful conditions and we had a very nice day.

Hericium coralloides - spine fungus

Hericium coralloides – spine fungus

We set off down the track from the Leura Cascades carpark. This is along a good track – but water seems to pool along it after any art of rain. The Cascades were very nice with a reasonable amount of water flowing. Lower down, under the shelter of trees and a cave I was able to get some photos.

LKWJ15-1 Continue reading →

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Canyoning at Newnes on the Long Weekend 24 – 26 January 2015

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Dave Noble

Wendy had organised a trip to Newnes for some canyoning. She planned to head up there on the Saturday afternoon – so some of us went up early with the intention of visiting an easy canyon.

Devils Pinch Canyon

Devils Pinch Canyon

In the first group were Albert, myself and John and Chuin Nee and their toddler Jasper. This first canyon would be suitable for Jasper to visit. It was a dry canyon that you could walk up and then back down – so no swims or abseils. Continue reading →

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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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