Party: Sydney Bushwalking Club led by Terry Moss
Grade: Supposedly a grade 5 but in my opinion a grade 3
Track notes: It's Australia Day long weekend and my first trip with the Sydney Bushwalking Club. I left Sydney at 5am to get to Newnes Camping Ground for an 8.30am start. After setting up my tent for the weekend and getting acquainted with the group we head off. Newnes camping ground is one of my favourites as it has a large grassy area surrounded by beautiful cliff faces and the Wolgan River nearby.
The track starts off to the left of the Wolgan river- it is a clearly defined track that goes along the river for maybe 30 minutes until you reach a signpost for the start of Starlight/Pipeline Canyon. This is the start of a 300m ascent with a very rewarding look out at the top. Unlike most canyons, you do the 'climb out' at the start of the trip instead of the end.
After morning tea we head off along the clearly defined track along a ridge top for about an hour. We then veer left to go down Devil's Pinch. The first abseil was absolutely stunning- it is like abseiling down a crevice and hence why they called in Devil's Pinch. It was about 20m long. The canyon itself was nice but not the best I have seen, and the fact that the water was insepid made it uncomfortable (due to no rain).
In the end we inadvertently missed the final abseil by mistakenly going around it- but it was supposed to be a 50m abseil down a long waterfall.
Overall devil's pinch is not my favourite- mostly because of the smelly water and the fact that we missed the last abseil! However at the bottom there is a beautiful narrow passage way- definately the highlight.
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| Exit back up Wolgan river to camp |
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