Party: Tim Vollmer, Tim Gastineau-Hills, Kosta Seiler and Dale Cotton
While the weather was a little chilly, and the sky rather cloudy, we were determined to give Dale the chance to see one of Australia’s most iconic slot canyons before heading back to the United States.
There was some of the usual saucy conversation (Dale’s medical insights means the topic of prolapsed lady-parts has forever been seared in my mind), but our main focus was on the canyon, which is incredibly long, diverse and attractive, despite its popularity.
The abseils down the Black Hole of Calcutta, into a long and very dark constriction, were particularly fun, although the abandoned rope dangling above and shopping bag full of rubbish floating in the pool below the second abseil took away some of the wonder.
What was going through the mind of the idiot who decided to carry their food and water in one of those reusable bags is beyond us (although given it was from a well-known outdoor shop I’m guessing they’d only just bought their gear), but despite the appalling stench we were determined to carry it out.
We detoured up Thunder Canyon after lunch, swimming under the large waterfall at the end and spending as long as we could in the surreal glow-worm filled cave under it as the cold weather would allow.
We were particularly lucky to squeeze this canyon in when we did, with recent disputes over access through private property making this classic canyon a little more of a challenge.
