Alpine start, canyoning, winter. Pick any two of those and I would say that sounds like a pretty cool trip, but to combine all three is just a little bit crazy. So, naturally, Tom, Nat and I decided to suspend our sanity for a Sunday and set out to do Serendipity, Kelvinator and Whungee Wheengee canyon's in a day.
Toms alarm went off in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Still groggy we had some tea, ate some breakfast - Vegemite on toast for me - and jumped in the little black Beetle to make the 30min drive from Mt Vic to Mt Wilson. We gathered our things, and with Toms car telling us it was just after 4:15am and down around 2 degrees, we set off down the fire trail toward Serendipity canyon. The walk in to the first abseil took us about 40 mins, and by the time we wet-suited up and put on our harnesses, it was just after 5:00am. After the first quick abseil, the first signs of dawn were starting to peek through the canopy. A short walk down the creek got us to the start of the canyon proper. We wasted no time and got through serendipity by about 7:00am, just after the meteorological sunrise at 6:32am. Determined to keep warm, we immediately started the wade/swim up the Wollangambe toward the junction of the exit track and entrance track to Kelvinator and Whungee Wheengee (see map).
The water in the 'gambe would have not been much warmer than 12 degrees and the canyon water a little cooler than that. By 8:30 we reached the junction and we were very cold from the swims - that kind of cold where you think you will never feel warm again. Although the sun had risen, the sun rays still had not reached into the canyon yet. We slammed down some Up-n-Go's and chocolate bars and promptly started up the hill, eager to get the blood flowing.
We reached the track junction which split the track, right leading to Whungee Wheengee and left heading to the Kelvinator (see map). The walk up the hill did not warm me up anywhere near as much as I thought it would, and I knew the two canyons we had planned for the rest of the day were both notoriously cold. I made the comment that we could skip Kelvinator and make sure we do Waterfall of Moss, but Tom and Nat were both keen to stick to the plan. I sucked it up and we decided to go left.
We walked down the track a way, trundling rocks as we went, and began searching for the abseil that dropped into the creek. We must have went up stream too far because we managed to drop in without the need for a rope. I took the phrase 'drop in' quite literally when a miss step on some loose leaf litter lead to me falling off a 4m ledge. I hit the ground pretty hard and whipped my head/neck on the way down. I checked myself for injury and sat dazed for a few minutes, but with nothing damaged except my pride, we continued down the creek.
Kelvinator really is a very good canyon - well worth the trip if you haven't done it yet. Kelvinator, as its name suggests, is also really cold so we didn't hang around long. We got out, sat in the sun for a bit and had some more food. We then jumped back in the 'gambe and swam back to the junction. Much to our surprise, we were back there by 10:00. It had only taken us an hour and a half to walk up the hill, get through the canyon and back to the junction. We celebrated this feat with more Up-n-Go's and a walk up the hill.
It was approaching midday and starting to get warm, so by the time we got to the Whungee Wheengee start point, we were dry, warm and morale had lifted significantly. We stopped for an extended lunch break (maybe 20 mins) at the top of the first abseil before setting off to start the canyon just after 11:30.
Whungee Wheengee was fantastic. So many awesome features that I had forgotten about. It was also incredibly cold and had a few mandatory swims. So cold in fact that my legs began to cramp up. On one particular swim, both my legs cramped and I had to be towed to rescue by Nat. All I could do was sit in the cold water, screaming, while Tom and Nat laughed until the cramps passed. After more than two hours in the canyon, Tom was starting to get very cold, but his spirit was buoyed by the promise of warm sun when we got back to the 'gambe.
Unfortunately, at 2:30 when we got out of the canyon, the sun was just beginning to drop down below the high ridges rimming the Wollangambe, and the possibility of us channelling our inner lizard was gone. By this point we were all very cold, and the thought of jumping back in the water did not fill us with great joy. We drank some more Up-n-Go's, ate some shapes and lollies and started the 1km swim/wade to the end of the canyon.
Originally, the plan for the day was to also include Waterfall of Moss, but with day-light waning and the prospect of another dip in the Wollangambe after dark to look forward to, we opted out.
Once we got to the exit gully, No-one bothered to take off their wet-suits and Tom immediately began marching straight up, followed closely by Nat and I. We stopped to admire the sunset at the look-out as we made our way up the ridge. Here Tom and Nat took the opportunity to take off their wet-suits, while I was content to just wait until the car.
We arrived back at the car at about 5:30, just before the sun disappeared over the horizon. We changed into dry clothes and thanked the canyon gods to be warm again, and for not taking our lives that day. We were all extremely happy to have gone on the trip, and while we wouldn't rush out to do it ever again, the three of us had a great time.
For anyone looking for a bit of challenge, this would be an EXCELLENT summer trip! In all seriousness, do it! Even include Waterfall of Moss. Without the coldness issue of winter, this is fantastic way to do the Wollangambe for people who might write the area off, simply because they have done the canyons there too many times. Hell, if you have a long weekend, go for the great link up and do everything, starting way up at bell creek and work downstream.
Below I provided a map to show ours timings, and the route we took. Serendipity in Red, Kelvinator in Blue and Whungee Wheengee in Green
