Canyons form when a river or creek runs along a weakness in the earth, and erodes a deep chasm in the bedrock. The soft sandstone and geological processes in the Blue Mountains have created one of the world's premier canyon landscapes.
Canyoning is the sport of exploring these environmental marvels. While the bushland of the Blue Mountains is often dry and scrubby, canyons themselves can be luscious micro-climates, filled with ferns, mosses and plenty of water.
Technically, canyoning involves swimming, crawling, scrambling and abseiling down waterfalls and creeks with huge cliffs on either side of you. Canyoning is the ultimate combination of outdoor rock sports: lots of abseiling, scrambling and climbing, and crawling like in caving.
Canyoning is one of the harder sports to describe - you have to go out and experience it for yourself, photos cannot do these places justice.
The gear required for canyoning is similar to what you would take on a day hike. However in addition to this gear, you will require other items depending on the type of canyon.
Communication in canyons can also be challenging, find out more about whistles and hand signs here.
General Gear
- Daypack
- Water (At least one 1L bottle per person)
- Snack food/trail mix
- Lunch (something more solid than the snack food)
- Sturdy water shoes (Dunlop Volleys are good if you are on a budget)
- Woollen or neoprene socks
- Dry set of warm clothes
- Emergency Blanket
Optional Gear
This gear is not necessarily "optional" as in bring it if you feel like it…its more that the gear may not be necessary and is specific to the canyon or the trip leader. Ask your trip leader if these items will be required.
- Wetsuit (may be necessary depending on the canyon)
- Dry bag, keg or plastic bags
- Whistle (for communicating with the group)
- Head torch (in case you end up taking longer than anticipated...)
- Mobile phone (turned off with full batteries)
- Lilo (for lilo canyons)
- Floatation (wine bladder etc)
- Beanie or balaclava
The main thing is spare clothing and there is one rule: NO COTTON. Cotton gets very cold whenever it gets wet, so for canyoning you don’t want any cotton on your body - wool or synthetics are the way to go.
Obviously a wetsuit is the best option for clothing, but most people don’t have one of these. Wetsuits of varying sizes can be rented from the Gear Cupboard. The next best thing is a set of full length thermal underwear (or long-johns for you Americans). Over this, you will want to wear either some synthetic pants or board shorts to protect the thermals. Also, a thick woollen or synthetic jumper is really good. The great thing about a jumper is that it will protect you from the wind, which can get very cold. A spray jacket or such is also good for this. A thick pair of woollen/synthetic socks is also a must, because you will get sand in your shoes that can cause blisters if you aren’t wearing any socks. Also, make sure your clothing is old, because canyons are renowned for destroying clothes.
Pretty much all canyons require this gear, even a “dry” canyon you will probably get a bit wet (maybe up to your knees).
A dry bag is a good item to take even if the canyon is dry. If you don’t own one they are reasonably cheap ($40-50), or you can use 3 or so garbage bags tied inside each other.
Also, there is a good possibility that the group may be forced to walk out in the dark, so be prepared for this. A torch of some description will make your life easier after dark, and a headlamp will make your life a lot easier. When packing spare clothes, it is also worthwhile taking enough warm clothes with you so that you can remain warm even after dark.
Group Gear
One of each of these should be carried by the group (usually the leader):
- First aid kit (including 1 or 2 space blankets)
- PLB
- Map and compass
- Small rope or hand line
- Knife (a serrated one is great)
- Fire-lighting equipment, and/or stove and fuel
- 6 pack of beer for the end of the canyon (or Fireball if you're fun)
Abseiling Gear
If it is a canyon that requires abseiling then each person will need the following:
- Helmet
- Harness
- Prusik loops and self-rescue kit (essential, something will always go wrong in canyons)
- Locking carabiners
- Descender (A modified Figure 8 is ideal but any Figure 8 will do)
In addition, the leader will often require some tape to sling anchors to abseil from, lengths of tape can be borrowed from the gear cupboard by trip leaders if needed.