I still vividly remember my first canyoning trip. It’s one of the most memorable trips I’ve ever taken. One, because I met Kim. Two, because the environment was mind blowing. The world down in a canyon feels a million miles away from the surrounding landscape. It’s like being let in on a special secret. A hidden garden. Narnia!
I’ve been besotted with canyoning ever since. In university we’d spend most summer weekends exploring the canyons of the Blue Mountains, Bungonia and Kanangra. More recently we’ve been fortunate to explore canyons in Reunion Island (a canyoning Mecca), Vanuatu and Slovenia.
So we were pretty excited for this trip. The first family canyoning trip with all four of us under our own steam (we previously took Hugo through a couple of canyons in a kids backpack when he was younger – that is a backpack for carrying kids, not a kids sized backpack).
The itinerary was:
Day 1 — Dry Canyon and Bells Grotto and Glow worm tunnel.
Super accessible and a good way to ease into things.
Day 2 — Wollangambie Lower.
A quintessential swim and liloing canyon in a deep, wide gorge with stunning sandstone cliffs.
Day 3 — Empress Canyon.
An adventurous canyon with a 5m high jump in, natural water slides, and deep and dark sections that are so narrow you can touch both walls with your arms outstretched (and a 30m abseil down a waterfall at the end that we planned to skip with the kids).
Day 4 — Mt Victoria, Boars Head, Minniehaha Falls, the dinosaurs at Scenic World
Canyon 1 – Dry Canyon
Canyon 2 – Bells Grotto and Glow worm tunnel
Canyon 3 – Wollangambie Lower
The Wollangambie has some long and deep pools, and the water is pretty chilly, so we took wetsuits for the boys and also a packraft they could jump in for longer stretches. The packraft worked a charm, until it didn’t. The flowing water took it too close to a broken tree branch at one point fairly early in the trip. A rapidly deflating pack raft is a sad sight, but the day (and the kids) were warm and we carried on in high spirits.
In all my years canyoning I’ve never met young kids in a canyon before, so to meet another family who were canyoning in the same place, at the same time as us was unbelievable happenstance. They were super nice and the kids got along like a house on fire.
We had hoped to catch up with friends who were exploring Serendipity Canyon on the same day. The fact they exited Serendipity Canyon into the Wollangambie at the exact time we arrived there was…. serendipitous. We ate lunch with them, explored a side cavern filled with glow worms, and borrowed a Lilo so that Oscar didn’t have to swim the rest of the canyon.
The photos tell most of the story but, in short, this was one of the most enjoyable things we’ve done as a family. The boys were just as blown away by the landscape as Kim and I had been when we first met canyoning all those years ago, and for us it’s every bit as special as it’s ever been.
When we reached the exit everyone was still all smiles. A few jump ins from the surrounding cliffs had the adrenaline pumping and then it was time to tackle the exit hike. It was hot and steep, but they boys took it all in their stride. In fact, they were keen to beat our friends back to the campsite and as soon as the terrain was less vertical they set off at a run. Eventually heat and fatigue got the better of them and our pace fell off a cliff. We walked back into camp with our mates and not too much later the family we’d met in the canyon also arrived back at camp.
A throw of the frisbee with them, a campstove dinner, and bed. The end to a truly amazing day.
Canyon 4 – Empress
Empress Canyon is a ripping little canyon. Short and sweet, with a hike in and hike out that are manageable for most. The canyon starts from the Conservation Hut at Wentworth Falls and follows Valley-of-the-Waters Creek.
The canyon starts with some fun little rock slides – perfect for kids to warm into it. The canyon is much narrower than the Wollangambie. Hugo and Oscar loved being at the front, finding out what was around the next corner, and shouting back to Kim and I.
About ½ way through the canyon there’s a down climb. It’s only about 3m, but it is quite awkward. Kim headed down first and then Oscar followed. We put him in a harness and tied him to a hand line so that I could help control his speed. Hugo wasn’t so sure about this section, and it took some gentle pep talking from us and a lot of courage from him to get down.
The next section is full of swims, jumps and good times.
We skipped the 30m waterfall abseil at the end. Too much for kids aged 5 and 8 IMHO. On the walk out the heavens opened and we exited in torrential rain. But a warm drink was waiting at the Hut.
Blue Mountains – Day 4
The boys were starting to feel a little weary after 3 long days canyoning and hiking so we decided to explore some other parts of the mountains. The lush gardens of Mt Victoria, lunch at Boars Head with friends who’ve moved to the mountains, a swim an Minniehaha Falls, the dinosaurs at Scenic World, and the obligatory but worthwhile trip to the Three Sisters.
Blue Mountains – Day 5
Serious cavers are likely to steer clear of Jenolan Caves, or at least the main commercial caves that we visited on this trip.
I’m pretty open minded about guided experiences. Sure, it’s fun to do self guided trips, and that mostly how we roll, but that’s no reason to avoided guided trips entirely. They have their benefits – knowledgeable guides who can give you the history of the area, other people to share the adventure with, far less organisation and trip research, and sometimes it’s the only permitted way to see an area.
The road into Jenolan Caves is pretty spectacular! After descending a windy mountain road, it literally passes through a cave to bring you to the village.
Oscar is our budding geologist, with a collection of rocks and gems tucked into little boxes hidden around his room. They range from very cool to rocks that (to us) look exactly the same as the other million rocks in the paddocks on the farm. Hugo generously spent the last of his jobs money to buy Oscar an amethyst crystal from the gift shop.
Just like that we were done and it was time to drive the final few hours back home to the farm. It was a ripping weekend and one that we will all remember for a long time. Just maybe the boys will be able to recall the trip and it will stick with them vividly like and be full of meaning like Kim and my first canyoning adventure!
Canyoning definitely has some risks. If you’re interested in canyoning but don’t have prior experience, a number of operators run guided trips through Empress Canyon, and many outdoor and bushwalking clubs spend time canyoning.
If you’re experienced with canyoning and interested in taking young kids, here are my tips:
- Start with shorter, easier canyons
- Keep the group size small
- Wait until the weather is warm and dry
- Take plenty of food and warm clothes – beanie, thermals, etc
- Have a good map, route description (eg Canyoning in the Blue Mountains Guidebook), and navigation skills
- If the canyon has rope sections, practice abseiling, putting on and off harnesses, etc at home
- If the canyon has swimming sections, take a wetsuit and some flotation (and some AquaSeal or a repair kit)
