This was a ‘suitable for beginners’ trip to learn canyoning skills. We assembled at the Browns Siding Café in Medlow Bath at 10.00 for coffee and second breakfast before the short drive to the beginning of the walk. It had been raining heavily in Sydney, but by the time we got to the mountains the skies had cleared to a pleasant day of drifting cloud and patches of sunlight. We began…
Sunday morning dawned with a clear sky on the Central Coast, but it wasn’t to last. By the time we arrived at Woy Woy Station around 10am the rain was teeming down. Nevertheless it was “press on regardless”, as Martin, Marta and myself set off for the start of the walk above McMasters Beach where Ali was waiting. A car…
If you are a parent, you get to have more fun in the bush if your kids are having fun in the bush. And I have learnt a few things about how to get my kids to have fun in the bush, including: Never describe what the planned activity as going on a walk. Walking is boring! But caves, pagodas, creeks and waterfalls are all lots more enticing. Apply small…
We all managed to get off 9:30 train at Otford and sorted out gear which Tony had kindly picked up and brought from the club locker. Starting our ascent of the hill out of Otford, Alex asked if it was going to be like this the whole way. I reassured him that it wasn’t but started to get worried myself, I always forget just how long you have to go uphill at the start of this track. Heading down…
The trip began with a quick scramble off down some steep but short rocks to test the groups abilities and went without incident. We got some spectacular views of the Three Sisters backsides and a fantastic landscape shot for any shutterbugs out there. After the scenic view came a series of minor home invasions as we attempted to find our way out only to discover numerous side trails leading to various the backyards of the area. After alerting…
With the destination of the walk altered from the Blue Mountains due to trackwork, 11 of us found each other at Central and bundled on to the train for the hour-long trip to Otford. The climb up from Otford to the Pie Shop is the steepest part of the whole walk and it was good to get it over with right at the start. From there…
I had forgotten how beautiful Upper Bowens Creek South was until I did it again in mid-January with a Scouts party. The clambouring in the main canyon section required some level of nerve and skill, and I thought it would be excellent for beginners if simplified. I wished to eliminate the car turnaround on Bells Line of Road (not undangerous) and the 2 or 3 abseils (which are pretty ordinary). T2 advised…
Tom and myself arrived at Woy Woy station to collect the walkers who had indicated they were coming up on the train at 9.25am. One potential walker missed the train, and so did Jemma, who decided to catch the next one and get to Pearl Beach by taxi. That left 10 people coming off the train, with Angelo appearing to be a “no show”, or so we thought. Tom and…
Sky and I were keen to get into a canyon, as we hadn’t had time for one in several months. After a distinct lack of interest in Butterbox for the weekend, we changed it at the last minute to the easier WDWDIITR and ended up with an awesome group of 6 intermediate canyoners. Our plan…
14 of us met up at Cowan Station for the walk along part of the Great North Walk to Brooklyn Tim having driven up on his scooter). Unfortunately a couple of people missed the train at Central as they relied on their transport app to find the departure platform; the app was wrong! (More about transport apps later). But two…