Stacey had organised a weekend of canyoning at Kanangra Walls. There were six of us in the party – Stacey, Su Li, Asaph, Megan, Ben and myself. Our original intention was to visit Danae Brook. Danae is a very spectacular canyon but always a long and quite serious day. On saturday, after light rain through the night, we woke up to thick mist. We could not wait too long for it to clear. To do Danae you need to start early. Also – to do the canyon safely – you should not visit it in the rain. So we decided, wisely I think, not to do Danae that day.
Megan abseiling in Danae Brook
Our “Plan B” was Kalang Falls. A more straightforward option. So we set of from the Kanangra carpark down to the start of the canyon. This was only a few minutes walk. Once in the creek, it turns a corner and emerges from the plateau and tumbles down into Kanangra Deep. The “Deep” is one of five deeps named as such by Myles Dunphy (Kanangra Deep, Shamash Deep, Tartarus Deep, Morong Deep and Whalania Deep and also a series of “Pits”). These names were rejected by the Lands Department and only appear on Dunphy’s sketch maps.
It is a bit tricky and dangerous scrambling to get to the start of the abseils. Great care and concentration is needed. This is a place not to be in the rain. It is also a place not to be in electrical storms. I have been in Kalang Falls during such a storm, and our carabiners and pitons started sparking! We had to take off our gear and leave it away from us till the storm stopped and then we retreated from the canyon by scrambling out.
As we descended, the day became quite fine. The mist lifted. We had two 60m ropes and nearly all the abseils are less than 30m so we could move quickly. Here are some notes I made just after the trip of the abseils –
- 1. 30m from the right, then walk down a fair bit
- 2. 30m on the right
- 3. 30m from a tree higher up on the right (many parties would combine 2 and 3 two together)
- 4. 30m, on left off ring bolts, or from a nearby large tree
- 5. Large drop – about 40m from a large tree on the left. Old logbook container at the top
- 6 and 7. Two short abseils (15m, 25m) on the left (these can be scrambled around on the right and then the left – but this is dangerous on unstable slopes)
- 8. The “ramp abseil” 30m off a tree on the left, deep pool at the bottom
- 9 and 10. The big waterfall – 2 drops – about 30m to a ledge, then 30m to the bottom (both off ring bolts)
- 11. Large drop, can be scrambled around on the left. Abseiled on the left or right. Left off a high tree or right – from a belay (ring and trace) on a small ledge just behind a boulder near the top of the falls (45m)
- Then a short walk to Kanangra Creek
We reached Kanangra Creek by lunchtime and then headed up the spur between Kalang Falls and Murdering Gully to exit. The track is now a little overgrown and there are a few places where you need to be careful of stinging trees.
At the carpark, we farewelled Ben, who had to head back. We drove back to the Thurat firetrail to camp once more. Sunday was a fine day – a good day for Danae Brook. As long as we got an early start. Thunderstorms had been forecast for both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. There had been no storm near us on Saturday.
We set off along the trail on foot towards Mt Thurat. We soon crossed Kanangra Creek and then started climbing up onto the slopes of Thurat. Well before Mt Thurat, we left the trail and headed off through thick heath to the east. I have found the easiest and quickest way to Danae is to head into a small trubutary creek and follow that down. The ridges are covered in thick heath and sallee gums growing very close together. Its easier to drop to a creek where the country is a lot more open. You can follow the creek down to Danae Brook quite easily – by walking about 50m above the creek bed until the creek gets large. I think it took us about 90 minutes from our camp to arrive at the top of the falls (about 9am)
Then it was off down this great canyon. Danae was the first canyon I ever did. Perhaps not a good choice for a beginner? But it did leave a very deep impression on me and probably is my favourite Kanangra Canyon.
The canyon, like a lot of other features in the area, was named by Myles Dunphy. I can remember him telling me that back in the 1920’s there was a species of gum growing only on the tops above Danae and on the summit of Mt Cloudmaker. The eucalypt had a golden coloured bark. The name “Danae” refers to the girl in Greek mythology that was ravished by Zeus when he appreared as a shower of gold. According to Myles, all the golden trees disappeared after a bushfire around 1928.
Here are my notes for Danae Brook abseils –
- 1 – scramble down on the left (care – tricky) to a large tree above a deep slot
- 2. Abseil 30m down into the slot
- 3. The “chockstone abseil” – 30m down a deep, narrow slot. We abseiled under the last chockstone expect for Su Li who came down last. It was easier this way to pull down the rope. The pool at the bottom is now shallow – no longer a swim.
- 4. The “waterfall abseil” – a classic 30m abseil right down a waterfall. (We used the higher belay point here)
- 5. The “Danae Direct abseil” – another classic – 30m. Down a hole in the canyon floor. This is far better than an alternative belay off a tree on the left (except perhaps in high water). This is one of the best assails you can do in any canyon!
- 6. The “slippery log abseil” 30m (even though the log has been gone for years) -a nice drop, awkward in high water
- 7. Abseil 20m – an easy abseil on the left of the fall
- Then there may be one or two short abseils or hand over hands in high water, with a few swims to arrive at the last big drop
- 8. Abseil 30m down the left of a large waterfall
- You then arrive at the “campsite” – a place where some parties become benighted and end up spending the night. It is at the top of a large boulder chute. When we were there – there was a swarm of wasps we have to carefully make our way through.
- The boulder chute can change. It is easiest to start with a 10m abseil reached via a track on the left of the campsite. Then some care and scouting is needed to work out a route through the boulders. In one or two places – you may want to pass packs.
- The boulder chute ends when the canyon closes up once more. There is a tricky drop and swim (can be avoided) and then a short abseil into a pool (now a wade rather than swim)
- Then follow Danae Brook downstream to reach Kanangra Creek.
We travelled down the canyon fast to reach the last abseil for lunch. All the way down the boulder chute, we had heard thunder. We wanted to get through it before a storm hit. As it turned out – the storm hit when we reached Kanangra Creek. We had heavy rain all the way up till we reached Kilpatrick Causeway. Then a pleasant walk back across Kanangra Tops back to the carpark (and then thanks to Stacey and Asaph for running off to retrieve the cars).
After the trip – we stopped for refreshments and Willy Burgers at the Hampton Halfway House.
More photos can be viewed on my website. Kalang Falls here and Danae Brook here.