UNSW Bushwalking & Mountaineering Club

Newsletter - March 2000

Introduction

Well it has been a busy start to the year, with lots of people at the first meeting, and a number of trips already successfully run. A lot of people are keen to come on and run trips with the club, which is a healthy sign. Make sure you follow through with your intentions of coming on and/or helping to run trips with the club.

We are always striving to increase the active membership of the club, so if we can help to ease your way into the australian outdoors, please let us know.

The membership cards are on their way. We've been a bit slow and disorganised, but they'll be in your hands soon.

Mountain Designs Sale Night

As usual, we have arranged for a special sale night for club members from Mountain Designs. The sales night is planned for the evening of Tuesday 4 April. There will be a discount of 20% off all non-sale items (i.e. those items which aren't already discounted) for club members, so you could be in for some serious savings. Contact Ben Cirulis (bc@student.unsw.edu.au, 0411 517 530) for more information.

Mountain Bikes for Hire

The club has two new mountain bikes available for members to use. These will be available for hire from Innes cycles in the city (incidentally you can get 10% off accessories while you are there) at 222 Clarence St Sydney, 9264 9597. You will be charged $15 for the use of a bike and helmet over a weekend, and this money will be used to keep the bikes in good running order. You will also be required to place a deposit or credit card imprint when hiring, this will be returned upon the return of the bikes. Contact Peter Kirievsky for more information at pkir@cse.unsw.edu.au.

Boree Log

Every year we run a big get to meet everyone sort of trip. Well the club is kinda big, so you don't quite get to meet everyone (actually you'll get to meet less than 10% of the club), but it is a great event anyway. This year we are heading down south to Bungonia for the Boree Log. Bungonia is situated above Bungonia Creek and the Shoalhaven River. While not exactly the most wildernessy place, there are many great activities to partake in, and it promises to be lots of fun.

Of particular interest is Bungonia's extensive cave system. While the caves in Bungonia lack the a lot of the more beautiful formations, they provide an ideal introduction to the joys of squeezing through small holes in the ground.

We'll also be walking ,swimming and maybe even liloing in the Shoalhaven River and up Bungonia Creek. Bungonia creek cuts a sheer gorge through the limestone, and certain sections of it have cliffs several hundred metres high on either side.

So if this short little description sounds tempting, contact Daniel Marlay (9969-9167 (h), 9433-5332 (w) or daniel.marlay@multinet.com.au) to reserve your spot. Preference will be given to those willing to help with transport (i.e. those who can provide a car) and those who can help run the various activities, it won't happen without them.

From Bells Line to Bungonia

Well, we were to do the Waterfall of Moss canyon near the Wollongambe. Alas, it was not to be! The five of us squeezed into Lou Pastros' Vitara, PIX11E, and were on our way by 7pm on Friday night, blissfully unaware of the epic that awaited us. Scant mention was made of the fact that it was raining steadily. Most of us were in denial. Talk instead focused around liquid nitrogen: it seems the Morrisons are truly a family of physicists! Yet, travelling along the Bells Line of Road, it dawned on us that our trip was in jeopardy. The rain may have rose the Wollongambe to dangerous levels. This in itself was not a problem: we could always bail instead of attempting to cross. But the prospect of walking and canyoning in the wet, at night when there was no sun to warm us, was not a fun one.

So we pulled over by the Mt Tomah Botanical Gardens and had our first group conference. Several ideas were raised. We could bail: but we were too enthusiastic for that. With two rain jackets between five people, the idea of night bushwalking was defeated almost before it was even raised. And a night in at a Blue Mountains pub just didn't seem in the spirit of the trip. And so caving was the logical answer. Everyone except myself had caved before, and we were already kitted out with helmets, headtorches and thermals. Caves at Bungonia and Orange were less than seriously considered. A quick vote later, and we were off to Jenolan Caves.

It was becoming clear that five people in a Suzuki Vitara is a pretty tight squeeze. The main cave/archway of Jenolan was beautiful under lights. After loitering here for a while, we headed off to our cave of choice, wondering if the rumour that the UNSW caving club was in town was true (later confirmed). The problem was that the cave was locked. No sooner had Scott and Adele abseiled into the start and they were prussicking back up in the rain, a stream of water neatly directed off the rope onto the despairing siblings. So we trundled back to the car, now wet, and began our second conference. Should we continue, or bail? But continue to where? Caving at Orange offered a very long trip back to Sydney. Bungonia was better in this department, but estimates of 7 hours travelling time were given. Then it became clear that there might be a back route. Sure enough, such a route existed.

Something must have got to our heads, because it was decided we would drive to Bungonia, via Shooters Hill. The black night did not do the countryside justice, and so we were free to imagine for ourselves just how redneck Shooters Hill would be. Many of the roads were not paved, and very rough. By this point, the inside of the car was a tangle of limbs and bodies, sleeping bags, and packs. On top of this was the tape player, pumping out a veritable plethora of music, including Kylie Minogue! Still, it kept Lou awake, who was still driving. What a champ!

0400, and we arrived at Bungonia. There was no time to be tired, so once again we set off, determined to enter the cave in the dark (Mmm, night caving, wonder if it will take off?). We decided on a cave called B4-5, a tight and quite disorientating cave (at least to a beginner). Attempting the bottom entrance, we were rebuffed not by a lock, but a flooded crawl section. The rain had struck again, but we were able to abseil in via the top of the cave system. A tight crawl through a large puddle set the scene. Next we started to explore the many side caves. It was just amazing how a seemingly insignificant hole could lead to a chamber and many more passages. Scott and Lou were unwavering in their exploratory enthusiasm. Heading up, we soon saw roots creeping through cracks in the rock. With headtorches off, the darkness was pitch, and it was hard to hear people not 10 metres away. This is why you always take spare batteries! The cave can actually be done at two different heights, and we managed to do both levels, taking in such areas as the Corkscrew, Kings Cross and, under the Cross, the Gutter. At one point, Lou was asked to lead for a while. Just as she was stuck in a very tight squeeze, the rest of us easily walked around the rock, to her screaming protests. The final section involved pulling yourself up a chain, clipped in, to prevent a fall into the abyss that lay to one side. Finally, at 8:30am, we emerged into some beautiful mist, and trundled back to the car.

It was quite strange, seeing people arrive in the morning, ready for a cave, having yourself been up all night. Its times like these, covered in mud, that you really appreciate a shower block. Bungonia had not only this, but a lovely patch of grass to collapse on. An hour or two later, and we were off. The trip home was relatively uneventful, we were just too lethargic. Lou was still driving. There's no stopping her! We arrived in Sydney at about 2:30pm, Saturday, having traveled untold hundreds of kilometers in search of a trip. The epic was over.

By Andrew Collins.
Trip participents: Lou Pastro, Andrew Collins, Scott and Adele Morrison, Susannah.

Trips List

Daniel Marlay, 24/3/2000