Koombanda Canyon

Koombanda Canyon is one of the small upper Grose River tributaries. After doing Whungee Wheengee Canyon the day before with Su Li and Disco, we decided to spend the Sunday doing something shorter. Rain was forecast for the early afternoon.

Its easy to access the creek from a road that follows the railway line near Bell. We left the road near a heath covered knoll, crossed the knoll and then descended into the creek bed. The creek is scrubby at first with logs, boulders and other assorted obstacles thrown in. But it soon improves, drops into open rainforest and then the canyon starts.

The beginning is a short abseil/hand overhand into a cold swim (we didn’t bother taking wetsuits). Shortly after is the next drop. A short abseil. The best belay point however is a big tree high up on the right bank. To climb up to it requires going back up the canyon a bit to near the swim. This abseil takes you down into a large open cave type chamber similar to those on Dalpura and Dargans Creek Canyons.

The canyon ends not too far down with a short, but tricky hand over hand into another cold pool. Another cold swim! But thats it.

We then continued downstream through rainforest to the old Canyon Colliery and climbed back up to the Darling Causeway via he coal mine access road. Just as we got back to the car – the rain started.

More photos are on my website here.