[SUBW-A] Trip Report - Red Rocks Walk 8-10 June 02
David Noble
dnoble at ozemail.com.au
Tue Jun 11 17:45:43 AEST 2002
Trip Report - Red Rocks Walk 8-10 June 02
Party - Dave Noble, Dave Forbes, Rik Deveridge, Alex Makarenko, Vangie,
Fred Bourgault, Alex Debono
This must have been one of the best documented SUBW trips ever - between
the seven of us we had 4 digital still cameras, 2 (film) still cameras
and 2 digital video cameras. So if you see the photos - expect to see
lots of photos of people taking pictures.
Note - You can view photos on-line of the trip at:
http://homepage.mac.com/davenoble/PhotoAlbum5.html
and
http://web.mit.edu/makara/www/pict/20020608_red_rocks/
Anyway - we arrived at Newnes on Friday night - after an scary trip into
the Wolgan Valley. Recent rain had made the road as greasy as a
butcher's d##k. Both vehicles were 4WD's but it was still very dangerous.
After some light rain fell during the night - we got up at dawn and set
off for the tops by 9:30am. A nice pass through a short section of
canyon brought us onto a higher level. Then we climbed up through the
top cliffline through a truly magnificent canyon. This only required a
few bits of scrambling and was very impressive. The canyon was short but
the walls were close and towered at least 100m above us. This canyon was
a good route to the tops - and after a few photo stops we had lunch in a
saddle. A fire was lit and a jaffle iron and toaster were produced
("Toasters" are square jaffle irons of inferior quality) and a fine
repast was had. We then proceeded towards the main Red Rocks area. Our
passage was impeded by a few chasms that had to be crossed. We were
constantly rewarded with fine views of cliffs and pagodas. The cameras
went into electronic overdrive.
Just before dusk we arrived at the "Room" - the favored campsite in the
Red Rocks. We admired the fine views and the shelter offered by the
campsite - which was quite good given the strong cold winds. I had told
participants on the walk to be prepared for cold conditions - and I was
glad to see that they had done this by bring bottles of red wine and
casks of port. A merry night was had - with the party entertained by
jokes and limericks - and then a competition to squeeze through a nearby
crack.
On Sunday - the weather was still cold and windy, and we set off without
packs north over a complex series of pagodas and cracks. Views were
still excellent. We then returned to the Room and packed up and started
walking south towards Mt Dawson. This is the traditional Red Rocks
Traverse - and is bushwalking at its best. We had constant views, some
amazing pagodas, some interesting scrambling and some incredible tunnels
and miniature canyons to negotiate.
In the late afternoon - instead of camping on top of Mt Dawson and being
exposed to the wind, we stopped a little before it - near a defile. A
few of us checked out a nearby canyon just before dusk. A pleasant
evening was had around the fire - and the rest of the port consumed.
On Monday - we climbed Mt Dawson, and were rewarded by more fine views.
We then set off through thick scrub towards a few creeks that Rik had
wanted to check out for canyon potential. It turned out they were duds -
but the first was quite interesting. The scrub continued - and continued
a bit more until we broke through into another area of pagodas. A great
viewing platform complete with rock pools provided a good lunch spot.
The views continued as we approached another creek that was to provide
our route to the valley floor. This creek had a nice spectacular, dry
section of canyon - which was quite easy to negotiate.
The last part of the trip was a walk back along a road to Newnes. In the
late afternoon light the cliffs were well lit, and we also paused to
photograph a wombat that was doing its best to ignore us. On the drive
back down the mountains - we stopped for dinner and beers at the
Gardeners Inn Hotel at Blackheath. A fine way to end a great trip.
Dave
--------------------------------------------------------
David Noble
dnoble at ozemail.com.au
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~dnoble
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