Wollemi National Park: Easter Canyoning in the Wolgan Valley
Thu 17th Apr 2025
Over the Easter period, Bruce and Monika plan on canyoning in the historic, beautiful and isolated Wolgan Valley. Canyons that might be done include Devils Pinch/Starlight (reversed), Nightmare, Firefly or Looking Glass, and Pipeline. If it rains there are walk and mountain bike alternatives. However, as canyoning is the priority, booking preference will be given to participants who want to canyon. That said, any canyoner who wants to bring their partner along can book them in.
Campsites have been booked for 4 nights with Thomas, the owner of the old Newnes Hotel. His campsites are adjacent to the Wolgan River. There are basic toilets and hot showers. There is also a pizza oven that will be booked for one night. The Hotel offers drinks and snacks.
The campsite booking includes Thomas' escort of 4 x 4WD/AWD vehicles as a group into the Valley via a steep gated private road called the Donkey Steps. This road was built as a detour following a landslide on a section of the Wolgan Valley Road. The total cost of the campsites and escort is around $570 spread across 9 participants. - so around $64 per person.
The campsite booking (and escort) requires that the group travels in convoy into and out of the Valley. It won't be possible for individual participants or cars to arrive or leave at different times into and out of the Valley, unless they are willing to incur an extra cost of up to $200.
Participants should have canyoning experience (eg such as participation in the recent CBC canyoning program in January) and good fitness. They also have to arrange their own wetsuits and equipment (eg helmets, harnesses, devices, canyoning pack). Canyoning equipment is available for hire from the Club (Rob Horsfield via equipmentatcanberrabushwalkingclub.org), or contact one of the leaders to see if they can help out. The leaders will be charging for the use of their ropes - a single rope will cost $3 per person per day.
Start and end times to be confirmed.
Additional Information
Booking deadline
Fri 04th Apr 2025 12:00pm
Length
Long
Terrain
Rough
Conditions
Partly Wet Wet
Distance (km or hrs)
Around 8 hours per day, but longer for some of the more distant canyons.
Ascent
Around 400 -600m every day.
Map name
Mount Morgan 1:25K.
Terrain information
Canyon environments can be rocky, slippery, wet, with obstacles such as fallen trees, slippery boulders, and waterfalls. Swimming or wading or otherwise getting wet are likely.
Transport information
Transport cost - Around 650km at 45c a km per car = $293 per car so with 9 people and 3 cars from Canberra, around $100 per person.
Travelling date
Thu 17th Apr 2025 09:00am
Accommodation options
Car-camping
Accommodation information
Newnes Hotel campsite booking - $90 per car + $200 escort for all cars travelling together on the Donkey Steps. Four cars have been included in the booking making the total cost of campsites and escort at $570. If 9 people in the group the cost per person is around $64. Anyone wanting to arrive or leave at a different time will need to incur an extra cost for the escort. Hire of pizza oven for one night at $80. Firewood at $30 per wheelbarrow load. Hot showers available.
A multi day backpacking or base-camping activity.
Date and Time
Activity Owner
MonikaBee
Monika Binder