Bushwalk Australia

Hi,

Has anyone walked into the Bunyip Chasm in the Gammon Ranges - what was it like - how long did it take etc?

Cheers
nakedape

Mr, ape, check witht the staff at the Scout Shop, I think a couple of them went that way recently.

Yeah went into Bunyip Chasm in July last year. It is a great little trip but from memory not very long. I cant remember exactly but less than three hours one way from Loch Ness Well. You just need to use appropriate care when scrambling up and down the gorge, past the waterfalls, but it is quite straight forward. A few near the bottom have sticks to stand on and there is one up higher that is more like a series of ledges. Near the very end, when the gorge gets quite narrow, there is a reasonable steep waterfall but the climbing is certainly not tricky. Most people would not have a problem with it and you dont see much more by climbing up there. Dont expect to find any water there, but there is a small chance of finding some in yucky pools in the lower part of the gorge.

The road to Loch Ness Well is 4wd only but Subaru is ok. There is only one or two questionable sections that you couldn't do by 2wd and careful driving.

I did a bit of a trip report on this thread:
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2526

My notes show we went from Lock Ness to the Bunyip entrance in 2 hrs, but this was a slow pace due to checking out exits onto Steadmans Ridge - could probably have done it in 1hr 30min.
We spent an hour exploring up Bunyip and back. So probably 4-5 hrs return from Lock Ness.
Another large group turned back at the amphitheatre which is where you climb the the 3rd fall - out of concern for safety and respect for the local indigenous feelings.

All this assumes you can actually get to Lock Ness by 4WD (or conventional if you are game)
We did this as part of a multi day walk starting from Weetootla Gorge. We were carrying 8 litres of water each as well as gear for 5 days.

Note that I believe the Rangers would discourage people from going up into Bunyip - the local aborigines don't like it, and someone died on the last climb not that long ago.
I only believe this because I had real trouble actually contacting them

Cheers
Brian

eggs wrote:Note that I believe the Rangers would discourage people from going up into Bunyip - the local aborigines don't like it, and someone died on the last climb not that long ago.
I only believe this because I had real trouble actually contacting them

The gorge was officially closed for a while after the incident. I can send you the article about it if you like, I think a friend emailed it to me. The man who died there was very unlucky.

I am not sure when you were up there eggs? But recent visitors have said the ranger was reasonably keen to talk to them and was a local. Two groups i know of have got him to supply water drops to them ...

We went in July 2009.

The bit about the ranger was a bnit tongue in cheek - its just they were never there to answer the phones and still absent even when we rocked up to the station.
I had faxed a walk intentions sheet through to them.

Supplying water drops ... now there's a thought!!
We might be trying a revisit this year, but over Mt McKinley this time.

eggs wrote:We went in July 2009.

The bit about the ranger was a bnit tongue in cheek - its just they were never there to answer the phones and still absent even when we rocked up to the station.
I had faxed a walk intentions sheet through to them.

Supplying water drops ... now there's a thought!!
We might be trying a revisit this year, but over Mt McKinley this time.

This is for eggs: I was just going back over the photos for last year and the Morialta Gorge shot has me perplexed. Is it the place near Adelaide because, to me, it looks nothing like anything I ever saw around there and I can't do any better with google.....help!

Yes - it is the local Morialta Gorge close to Adelaide.
There was some discussion on the voting page at the time -
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2462

There are 3 falls in the Gorge - and this is the bottom fall with the camera held out over the void and looking straight down.
Because we try to short local walks for training, I will probably get some more photos from Morialta into the Aus competition from time to time.