Wollemi Ck/Colo River/Crawfords Lookout (Wollemi NP)
Tom Brennan
and then out via the pass at Crawfords Lookout. Second time I've been
there - it's just a fantastic lookout. I sat there for about 40mins, trying
to find excuses not to leave! A few interesting things I noted.
- looking down at the junction of Wollemi Ck and the Colo River from
Crawfords LO, it is striking just how much sand is coming down the Colo
relative to Wollemi Ck. Any idea how much of this is due to farming/erosion
in the Wolgan and Capertee Valleys?
- I don't think I have ever seen as many cairns as on the pass out to
Crawfords LO. At the start of the track at Wollemi Ck there must have been
5 or 6 cairns alone. At several points on the track out there were 3 cairns
in the space of a couple of metres. I am not a cairn destroyer, but I have
to admit I came close on this occasion!
- Any thoughts on which bank is better to walk on down Wollemi Ck (or
creeks/rivers in general)? My observation would tend to be to cross to the
inside bank for the next bend. Failing this, the sunny side tends to be
less dense in vegetation.
cheers
tom
Anthony Dunk
> Did a walk on Sunday from Culoul Range down to Wollemi Ck, walked downstream
> and then out via the pass at Crawfords Lookout.
Yep, I've done this walk before - there's sort of a feint foot pad
heading off from Hollow Rock in this direction. Quite interesting
although *very* bouldery in Wollemi Ck here. I noticed a plaque at one
point at the top of a rock wall on the right bank in memory of someone
who drowned in the creek years ago.
> - looking down at the junction of Wollemi Ck and the Colo River from
> Crawfords LO, it is striking just how much sand is coming down the Colo
> relative to Wollemi Ck. Any idea how much of this is due to farming/erosion
> in the Wolgan and Capertee Valleys?
Yes, the river is slowly filling up with sand all the way to the
Hawkesbury. A similar pattern is happening in other rivers like the
Macdonald. Not sure of the exact cause, but land clearing is said to
be a major contributor.
> - I don't think I have ever seen as many cairns as on the pass out to
> Crawfords LO. At the start of the track at Wollemi Ck there must have been
> 5 or 6 cairns alone. At several points on the track out there were 3 cairns
> in the space of a couple of metres. I am not a cairn destroyer, but I have
> to admit I came close on this occasion!
Beware of the cairns around Crawfords. I found some in quite
misleading places going off from one of the lookouts there when I
visited the lookout some time ago. If you followed some of these you'd
be in for some very hair raising climbing!
> - Any thoughts on which bank is better to walk on down Wollemi Ck (or
> creeks/rivers in general)? My observation would tend to be to cross to the
> inside bank for the next bend. Failing this, the sunny side tends to be
> less dense in vegetation.
From memory, I think the right hand bank (heading downstream) was the
best mostly.
Cheers,
Anthony.
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~mdunk/anthony
Tom Brennan
> > Crawfords LO. At the start of the track at Wollemi Ck there must have
been
> > 5 or 6 cairns alone. At several points on the track out there were 3
cairns
> > in the space of a couple of metres. I am not a cairn destroyer, but I
have
> > to admit I came close on this occasion!
>
> Beware of the cairns around Crawfords. I found some in quite
> misleading places going off from one of the lookouts there when I
> visited the lookout some time ago. If you followed some of these you'd
> be in for some very hair raising climbing!
I walked down from Crawfords LO in 2000, and so had vaguely in my mind where
the start of the track going up should be. As I was coming down Wollemi Ck
this trip, I came across some cairns a couple of hundred metres earlier than
I expected. I followed them up and then lost the track as it started to get
hairy (maybe 50m ascent?). I returned to the creek, walked downstream to
about where I expected to find the exit, found the garden of cairns and
followed it out.
The interesting thing was that I had my GPS on to track my route. When I
downloaded the route later and had a look, it showed that when I turned back
on the first track I had taken, I was less than 15m (+/- GPS error) from the
final track I took. If I had gone for a bit of a scramble I probably would
have reached it.
cheers
tom
David Springthorpe
wrote:
>- I don't think I have ever seen as many cairns as on the pass out to
>Crawfords LO. At the start of the track at Wollemi Ck there must have been
>5 or 6 cairns alone. At several points on the track out there were 3 cairns
>in the space of a couple of metres. I am not a cairn destroyer, but I have
>to admit I came close on this occasion!
Don't tell "The Flame".....!
D.S.
Roger Caffin
> - looking down at the junction of Wollemi Ck and the Colo River from
> Crawfords LO, it is striking just how much sand is coming down the Colo
> relative to Wollemi Ck. Any idea how much of this is due to farming/erosion
> in the Wolgan and Capertee Valleys?
The main Colo Gorge upstream of the Wollemi junction used to be FAR more
rocky than it is today. There is only one activity which sends that much
sand down a river: land clearing and consequent erosion.
>
> - I don't think I have ever seen as many cairns as on the pass out to
> Crawfords LO.
They come and go. And the track has shifted over the years, and become
more visible.
At one time the cairns were about 300-500mm tall, made of flat plates of
rock. Quite elegant. But we do not need that many.
> - Any thoughts on which bank is better to walk on down Wollemi Ck (or
> creeks/rivers in general)? My observation would tend to be to cross to the
> inside bank for the next bend. Failing this, the sunny side tends to be
> less dense in vegetation.
But watch out for the odd river level cliff. There are a few...
Cheers
Roger Caffin
David Noble
as pristine as possible - remove all cairns!!! Most people I walk with
seem to regard every day they go bushwalking as a type of "Clean Up
Australia Day" - they pick up any rubbish, if they find a fire place -
they try and restore it back to bush, taking out any foil etc, also
remove bits of foam mats that have been carried on the outside of
packs etc. Part of this should also be - to dismantle all cairns. You
shouldn't have to do this (there should be no rubbish or cairns) - but
if you care for the bush and for wilderness then you should.
Also
Sand has been a natural part of these rivers for a long time - and as
far as I can see has nothing to do with land clearing. People who
think there is a lot of sand in the Colo and McDonald have not seen
creeks such as Girribung or Gospers - full of sand for many, many kms
- and there is NO clearing in their catchments. I first went down the
river between the Wolgan/Capertee junction down to the Wollemi
Junction back in the mid 70's on an intended lilo trip. Much of this
section was too shallow (due to sand) to lilo.
Dave
Tom Brennan
> far as I can see has nothing to do with land clearing. People who
> think there is a lot of sand in the Colo and McDonald have not seen
> creeks such as Girribung or Gospers - full of sand for many, many kms
> - and there is NO clearing in their catchments.
So what makes some creeks/rivers fill up with sand and others not? As I
said, what struck me was the difference between Wollemi Ck and the Colo
cheers
tom
Anthony Dunk
Wollemi Creek is actually quite sandy further up. If you reach it in
the Mellong area its only a few cms deep, flat and sandy. Its probably
only a matter of time until the sand load reaches the Colo junction.
No doubt, the filling up of the rivers and creeks with sand is a
natural pattern, but it seems to be happening mighty fast these days!
Consider how old these rivers must be to have formed the huge gorges
they flow through, and how relatively recently they have begun to fill
up with sand...
Here's a couple of examples of NSW rivers filling up with sand:
* The Macdonald River used to be navigable by boat as far as St Albans
where there used to be a wharf which provided one of the main
transport links to the areas in the days of its settlement (early
1800's). These days, the river near St Albans is lucky to be more than
a few centimetres deep. There has been quite a bit of logging and
clearing activity in the catchment area over the years.
* The upper Shoalhaven river used to be a good habitat for platypus
(according to Tom Grant's platypus book). These days it has filled
with sand in places forcing the platypus out. Previously deep pools
can now be waded across without even getting your knees wet. There is
a lot of farming and clearing in the upper Shoalhaven area.
* There is a lot of farming activity in the catchment of the Wolgan
and Capertee rivers - the ones which form the Colo. It seems likely
that this activity contributes significantly to the high sand load.
Marshall Wilkinson
When the floodplains were cleared for farming the sand that was once stored
there long-term was mobile again. As a consequence the river bottom has
risen in places - witness bridges piggybacked on earlier sand-swamped ones
on the McDonald (I've only seen a photo and it looks amazing). The river
channel has also become wider and moves more frequently over the flood plain
during floods. But this if for places lower down the river where there is a
wide flood plain. Upstream is a different story.
It seems there is too much sediment for the river to transport here. I'm not
a fluvial geomorphologist so I can't remember an explanation in terms of
flood power, river gradient, catchment area etc, but I'm sure the answer
lies there somewhere.
Marsh.
David Noble
Anthony Dunk wrote:
>
> Wollemi Creek is actually quite sandy further up. If you reach it in
> the Mellong area its only a few cms deep, flat and sandy. Its probably
> only a matter of time until the sand load reaches the Colo junction.
Yes - Wollemi is certainly sandy. We tried to find a swimming hole to cool off once on a
long walk - and had to be content sitting in 10cm of water.
>
> * There is a lot of farming activity in the catchment of the Wolgan
> and Capertee rivers - the ones which form the Colo. It seems likely
> that this activity contributes significantly to the high sand load.
Perhaps the increased runnoff during large rainfall events may cause more sand that is in
the rivers to be washed further downstream. But remember Gospers and Girribung creeks have
no clearing in their catchments - and they are very sandy.
Its possible that bushfires are just as responsible.
Dave
simon
wrote:
You Say you came close to destroying the cairns, and in the next
paragraph you are asking for directions.
Thats the sort of contradiction I would expect from a rent-crowd
greenie.
Anthony Dunk
> paragraph you are asking for directions.
Cairns are a bit of a controversial issue, and I'm sure we could have a
whole new thread just about them :-)
Anthony.
Roger Caffin
> Perhaps the increased runnoff during large rainfall events may cause
> more sand that is in the rivers to be washed further downstream. But
> remember Gospers and Girribung creeks have no clearing in their
> catchments - and they are very sandy.
>
> Its possible that bushfires are just as responsible.
I was wondering what could have hit those rivers.
I'll go with your explanation.
Cheers
Roger Caffin
Tom Brennan
"simon" <jets...@mailandnewstakeout.com> wrote in message
news:eGy1PLcTTWjZo0...@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 8 Apr 2002 22:55:59 +1000, "Tom Brennan" <to...@mindless.com>
> wrote:
>
> You Say you came close to destroying the cairns, and in the next
> paragraph you are asking for directions.
>
> Thats the sort of contradiction I would expect from a rent-crowd
> greenie.
Perhaps I should have said that I came close to destroying *some* of the
cairns. I don't remove cairns in general but in this particular case I
thought there were more than enough for anyone. As Anthony Dunk noted in a
reply to this message, people have their own opinions on placing
cairns/removing cairns. If you search in the archive to this newsgroup at
http://groups.google.com you will find a number of threads relating to this
topic.
I suppose you could read the next paragraph as asking for directions. But
since I've already finished the walk, my point was actually that I found the
going quite tough compared to the sections of the Colo I have walked. I was
curious as to whether it was Wollemi Ck in general, or just my choice of
sides.
BTW, what's a "rent-crowd greenie"?
cheers
tom
Vicki Steven
bud...@hotmail.com wrote on 11/4/02 9:51 AM:
> I'm not
> a fluvial geomorphologist
Wow!
G Hutch
is a bit excentric about these issues.
What I can't understand is how you can walk downstream from Crawfords Lkt on
Wollemi. Isnt it above the Colo/Wollemi junction?
Is this track you are talking about one that goes north and parallel to the
Wollemi until it reaches it, then you walk back along the Wollemi to the
junction below the lookout?
There also used to be a track that went south into a creek that dropped down
onto the Colo just south of the junction?
Greg H
"Tom Brennan" <to...@mindless.com> wrote in message
news:a96ms7$r69$1...@lust.ihug.co.nz...
Roger Caffin
> since I've already finished the walk, my point was actually that I found the
> going quite tough compared to the sections of the Colo I have walked. I was
> curious as to whether it was Wollemi Ck in general, or just my choice of
> sides.
Wollemi Ck in general, I'd say.
Cheers
Roger Caffin
Roger Caffin
> What I can't understand is how you can walk downstream from Crawfords Lkt on
> Wollemi. Isnt it above the Colo/Wollemi junction?
The Lookout is, but the track down from there hits the Wollemi about
20-30 minutes upstream from the junction.
> Is this track you are talking about one that goes north and parallel to the
> Wollemi until it reaches it, then you walk back along the Wollemi to the
> junction below the lookout?
Hum - not exactly how I would describe it, but that is probably it.
Cheers
Roger Caffin
Tom Brennan
> What I can't understand is how you can walk downstream from Crawfords Lkt
on
> Wollemi. Isnt it above the Colo/Wollemi junction?
from Culoul Range to Wollemi Ck and then downstream to climb out to
Crawfords LO.
> Is this track you are talking about one that goes north and parallel to
the
> Wollemi until it reaches it, then you walk back along the Wollemi to the
> junction below the lookout?
Unsure which track you are referring to, but I would say no. How would you
go north and parallel to Wollemi Ck?
> There also used to be a track that went south into a creek that dropped
down
> onto the Colo just south of the junction?
There are a few possibilities on the Bob Buck sketch map, but I have no idea
how difficult those routes are.
cheers
tom
Marshall Wilkinson
rains following fires, until the vegetation recovers substantially several
years later.
Marsh.
David Springthorpe
wrote:
>I didn't say anything about walking downstream from Crawfords LO. I walked
>from Culoul Range to Wollemi Ck and then downstream to climb out to
>Crawfords LO.
As an aside, I haven't been in this area for years - how far can you
now drive out on the Culoul Range etc. with a 2WD ? 4WD ? Any locked
gates ?
Off to Canberra / Namadgi this arvo - wiill look at answers next
weekend.....
D.S.
Roger Caffin
> As an aside, I haven't been in this area for years - how far can you
> now drive out on the Culoul Range etc. with a 2WD ? 4WD ? Any locked
> gates ?
Hollow Rock car park. Boom gate.
Cheers
Roger Caffin
Tom Brennan
> now drive out on the Culoul Range etc. with a 2WD ? 4WD ? Any locked
> gates ?
If you reset your trip meter at the start of the Culoul Range fire trail,
there are some very boggy patches between 10.9km and 11.3km, even after dry
weather. My 2WD struggled a bit. You may have to do a bit of road patching
if it gets any worse. Definitely think twice if it is raining or storms are
forecast - you might have trouble getting out.
The gate is just after Hollow Rock car park at 12.6km. The gate was broken
when I was there - vandals or firefighters?
It was interesting to note the effects of the fires. They went through
large patches of that region. The ridge I walked down was pretty devoid of
undergrowth, which made the walking easy as far as not having to scrub bash
went. The slopes were a bit slippery due to lack of anything to hold the
sandy soil together.
cheers
tom
John Bennetts
Firstly, the cairns referred to (at least some of them) were appreciated
by my small group in 2000 when we did the Canoe Ck to Culoul trip,
essentially the reverse of the route described.
Second, the gradings used on the Bob Buck sketch map are not to be
trusted... some routes are pretty difficult to impossible unless you are
prepared for full on rock climbing, which I am not.
Third, this whole area was pretty badly scortched last January in the
fires, so I expect lots of additional sediment, not to mention track
damage due to loss of vegetation.
Lastly, someone posted a message that this section of the Colo is
becoming badly silted. I am only a relative newcomer to the area (say,
20 years), but a friend of mine who, sadly, passed away last year, had
excellent photos of the Colo taken in 1930 in his photo album. The bed
of the stream appeared not dissimilar to the present day and the whole
area seems to be in remarkably similar condition to 30 years back.
Perhaps I'm deluded, but I would think that an awful lot of sand has
passed through these parts for a long, long time. After all, isn't that
how the gorge was created in the first place?
Ock Hatherly was a remarkable athlete and bushman. One of his photos
shows his party with upwards of 60 bass strung up on lines at their camp
at the junction of the Colo River. Apparently the fish and birds, tea
and damper were all that they used to eat during an eight week four week
trip spread over two consecutive Januarys, during which they carried and
paddled galvanised iron canoes from Putty to Colo.
Times have changed greatly. Firearms are of course not welcome in those
parts any more. Cameras cost relatively less and weigh almost nothing.
Canoes bear no resemblance to the iron ones these iron men used. And
native birds are not on the menu.
Must be off now...
John
David Noble
John Bennetts wrote:
>
>
> Second, the gradings used on the Bob Buck sketch map are not to be
> trusted... some routes are pretty difficult to impossible unless you are
> prepared for full on rock climbing, which I am not.
The *gradings* on the Buck/Daley map are to be trusted - but you need to
note that only the asterisked passes are (realatively) straightforward.
Consult the notes for each pass - and use them to work out what the pass is
like. eg the notes on pass 22 ( a steep ridge - tricky- for experienced
scramblers - rope for pack hauling) is pretty accurate. One of the harder
passes (19) has the note - 15ft difficult section of rockwork - 60 ft of
rope needed. This is pretty clearly a harder pass - and perhaps too tricky
for the avergage bushhwalker to lead.
>
> Ock Hatherly was a remarkable athlete and bushman. One of his photos
> shows his party with upwards of 60 bass strung up on lines at their camp
> at the junction of the Colo River. Apparently the fish and birds, tea
> and damper were all that they used to eat during an eight week four week
> trip spread over two consecutive Januarys, during which they carried and
> paddled galvanised iron canoes from Putty to Colo.
>
> Times have changed greatly. Firearms are of course not welcome in those
> parts any more. Cameras cost relatively less and weigh almost nothing.
> Canoes bear no resemblance to the iron ones these iron men used. And
> native birds are not on the menu.
I once talked to an old guy (he had a name like "Major Cullit" or similar I
think) - who had visited the Colo with friends in the late 1920's. They had
taken down old tin drums and once on the river (using a big camp cave as a
base) - soldered together canoes out of the drums. They used them to go
upstream as far as Angorawa Creek (from near Hungryway Creek). He showed me
a number of old photos of the canoes on the river.
Dave