Wollemi NP Recommendations

[mrpotter]

Hi guys & gals,

I've come a long way since I've started using these forums. Conquored K2K, K2M, every pass off Narrow Neck, all trails in & around the Jameson & Grose, and I'm quickly running out of new destinations. I'm keen to further develop my off trail skills.

I'm seeking recommendations for places to visit in Wollemi NP. Sure the only way to know is to get out there, however I'd be keen to know any must-see locations for weekend trips (2 day, drive in & drive out)

Thanks!

[clarence]

Many people refer to Wollemi as the area north of the Bells Line of road (even though it is technically Blue Mountains National Park, then Wollemi National Park further north).

The area between roughly the Bells Line of Road and the Wolgan/Colo has some excellent longer walks, but the passes in and out of the canyons need a fair bit of care and patience to get through. There are ways through most of them if you try. I would be very reluctant to do any exploratory walking without a 30m (at least) length of 8mm static line and some descending gear (tape harness, figure 8, carabiners) and knowledge on how to use them. When we walked from Bell to the Wolgan, we only needed the rope getting into Annie Rowan/Bull Ring Creek, but we were very careful in picking our way through the major canyons.

Through the Wollangambe below Mount Wilson and out over Tesselate Hill would work as an overnighter. Deep Pass, Railmotor Ridge then north through Nayook Creek would be another. The Bungleboori/Dumbano system is pretty amazing too.

Most of the trips I have done through the area have been a week or more (through the abovementioned areas), so I am only having a bit of a guess about how best to make them into weekend trips.

I would suggest getting the latest canyoning guides, using these to find the best vehicle access then foot tracks into the canyon country (like Nayook, Bungleboori etc) then veering off track and exploring as you please.

If you want any more specific info on passes or routes I'd have to dig out my maps and have a good look at my notes, so PM me if interested.

Clarence

[juxtaposer]

The scope for week end walks around the fringes of "The Wollemi" is virtually unlimited. Almost every starting point is drive to, except for Bell Station (which is a good jumping off point). Newnes and Glen Davis offer unlimited opportunities along the divide where you only need more than a handline if you intend following the steeper creeks, many of which contain canyons. When you've picked off a few week enders there, I'm sure you'll be eyeing off bigger game. Clarence mentions Bell to Wolgan, which I too have done, though in reverse. On longer trips it helps to know some of the passes in advance, but if you are setting out across the grain on a purely exploratory basis in somewhere such as the Wollangambe, as Clarence says a climbing rope is recommended.

[tom_brennan]

On the east side of the park, there are a few well known routes into the Colo. Colo Meroo, Tootie Creek (T3) Track, Bob Turners Track, Canoe Creek and Crawfords Lookout. Some of these can be connected up over 2-3 days. Once you've had a look at these, find a copy of Bob Buck's sketch map or Brian Corlis' pamphlet and investigate the lesser known passes. Pass 6, Pass 7 and Pass 11a are not too hard. You can find notes to all of the well known routes on my Bushwalking NSW website (http://bushwalkingnsw.com)

On the west side of the park, get into canyoning. Seriously. Sure, you can see a lot of stuff without abseiling, and there are plenty of good scrambling passes, but you'll be missing out on the best that Wollemi has to offer. There are a number of easier canyons that don't require abseiling - Wollangambe, River Caves, Deep Pass, Dry Canyon, Rocky Creek, Twister. Canyoning will also open up some other options around the Grose.

BTW, have you really done every pass off Narrow Neck? That's a bold statement!

[mrpotter]

Ahh, I've been meaning to do some courses at the Australian School of Mountaineering and start building up some climbing & descending gear of my own, so this might be a good excuse. Is this school any good?

I have got some abseiling and climbing experience from when I did Cert III Outdoor Recreation, but not enough to lead. We never actually did any real canyoning in that course either.

I've already been looking at getting an inflatable pack kayak for the Colo river.

Didn't know you own that site Tom, its fantastic, printed your notes several times before!

By every pass of Narrow Neck, I've done Dunphys, Mitchells, Walls & Redledge. Pretty sure thats all of them? Certainly seemed harder doing K2K in this past December, and K2M this month as both were quite hot!

Where would you get Bob Buck's map? I found details on ordering Brian Corlis's guide at http://fatcanyoners.org/bush-guide/colo-river-passes/

So good entry points are Bell station, Newnes, Glen Davis & Colo? Any others?

Does sound like a great idea to do some short exploratory hikes, to develop plans for longer (week long) trips.

[tom_brennan]

I'd say you're only missing Diamond Head, Black Billy Head, Carlon Head, Harmil Ledge (+ the original Glenraphael Head), Rockpile, Tarros (+ the Wallaby Track) and Golden Stairs. And maybe Dog Face Gully and Devils Hole if you want to stretch it a bit. But otherwise you have most of the Narrow Neck passes

[Allchin09]

And maybe Dog Face Gully

Is that the same as landslide gully?

You also can't forget the Waterboard Ladders.

[clarence]

Ahh, I've been meaning to do some courses at the Australian School of Mountaineering and start building up some climbing & descending gear of my own, so this might be a good excuse.

I have got some abseiling and climbing experience from when I did Cert III Outdoor Recreation, but not enough to lead. We never actually did any real canyoning in that course either.

No need to learn to lead climb. The amount of gear you need to carry for leading is generally too much to lug around on a multiday walk.

A lot of the creeks have passes in and out, provided you have a good scout around. It is often quicker to scout out a good pass rather than set up ropes, anchors etc.

The rope should be used to get you "out of trouble, not into trouble" (eg getting the last 10 metres down a ledge at the bottom of an otherwise clear pass- not dropping into some unknown hole that you may not be able to get out of). In places like southern Wollemi (amongst others), I would argue the single biggest risk is abseiling down onto a ledge (or into a section of canyon), pulling down the rope, then finding it is too short to get yourself down safe ground at a lower level (or into the next safe section of canyon).

Learning to set up good anchors and improvising with limited gear is the key in this sort of case. The book by the Mountaineers called "Mountaineering- the Freedom of the Hills" should be on the bookshelf of every half respectable outdoors person. It gives a good overview of lots of basic principles and techniques.

Have a look at this thread for some useful info viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10612&hilit=tape+harness

Clarence

[tom_brennan]

If you want to get into canyoning, you are probably better off joining a club, unless you already have friends who are experienced canyoners and can take you. A course is fine for learning to abseil, but beyond that it is an expensive route to build up experience.