This is the third year we have run this introductory trip at the beginning of semester one. We had a record 24 members and one guest! Fitting six vehicles into the tiny Clover Hill Rd carpark at 9.30 on Saturday posed a few challenges, but with Marty skilfully directing traffic we were soon ready to hand out the very large collection of club gear that Ankit and Rebecca had brought with them. We divided…
Luck was with us on this walk, with no rain (despite a prediction earlier in the week), and a quite low low tide in the afternoon. We also did the walk a day ahead of heavy sea swells on Sunday which would have made the walk along the rocks to Figure 8 Pool unsafe. Also, two days before the walk, a minor bushfire was reported on the Hacking River Fire Trail, right where we had planned to return to Helensburgh Station. It looked…
Despite promising cool temperatures up in the mountains, in the end our party was made up of just the two of us. With plenty of time and no major hurry, it was a relaxed start, leaving Maitland late morning, with Emilie driving up from Sydney and then me throwing together some last minute items. We stopped…
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…