Yarramun Canyoning (2016-12-26 to 31) – Part II
Continued from here
On day 4 we found a pass out of the main creek and had some easy ridge walking to drop in high up in a side creek. We had intermittent canyon for most of the day.
Sue abseiling under one of many annoying fallen trees
Smiffy abseiling into a pool
Toni abseiling
Toni on another abseil
Sue taking the direct route
Tom on (yet another) awkward start
Smiffy negotiating even more fallen trees on an abseil
Beautiful rainforest creek
It ended up being a fairly long day and there wasn’t much chat around the fire that night! I had a nap while Tom was cooking dinner. There was much discussion about what to do the next day. After writing off an option for a ‘mammoth day’ we settled on something hopefully a bit easier. So on day 5 we went looking for a pass out of the creek. Our heart rates got up quite high after I dislodged a large boulder while scrambling up a chute. Fortunately it was a wide chute and Sue and Smiffy had plenty of time to get out of the way. The pass eventually went but took quite a bit of exploring. From there we headed across the tops and dropped into another side creek.
Toni & Smiffy in a narrow bit high up in the side creek
Tom after descending the log. He failed to pose higher up while in a far more precarious position!
Smiffy setting the ropes for start of the main canyon section
Toni on the second abseil in the main canyon section
Sue on the first abseil in the main canyon section
Sue at the bottom of the second abseil
Tom at the bottom of the second abseil
Tom on the third abseil in the main canyon section
Would you believe we’re in a canyon? Tom using a handline to get to the final abseil
The dramatic final abseil
Tom in the canyon
Negotiating boulder block-ups in the main creek
Dinner on the last night – “Japanese surprise”. I got the packet in the picture in my player’s pack at the World Ultimate Championships in 2012. No idea what is in it as all the labelling is in Japanese. But we needed something to mix with the plain beef & vegies that Tom had dehydrated. Oh, and it was best before 2013. Tom was dubious and made me leave it until the last night. As it turns out appeared to be something like tomato sauce. And we didn’t die 🙂
On our sixth and final day (for me, Tom & Sue anyway) we climbed out of the creek and headed across the tops. Somewhat on our route back we descended a written-up but infrequently done canyon. Followed by what we were now used to – negotiating lots of fallen timber in the creeks! Tom had thought this might be a short day, but we left camp at 7am and I retrieved the car at 6pm…
Climbing a pass out of the creek
Easier gradient!
Tom mid-way into dropping into a deep pool
There were a lot of yabbies in the creek. This one was lucky not to get trodden on!
Tom on an awkward abseil (particularly awkward due to the full packs)
Tom in the canyon
Emerging from a dark section
Sue fighting the current going upstream in the main creek we ended up in
We left Toni & Smiffy to camp for New Years Eve, while the rest of us fought our way out a pass. Apparently another party started up shortly after us but we never saw them – so I guess they weren’t moving quicker than us!
Tom surveying the rugged country we’ve just exited
The side-effects of 6 days in the bush. Three canyoners and three pairs of shorts of split up the back seam. Mine also lost most of the back right bum but a bit of sewing and some strapping tape repairs largely held for the last three days.