[SUBW-A] Trip Report - Red Rocks Walk 8-10 June 02

[David Noble]

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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