02.24.10
One wet, wild, and crazy ride…
Somehow I was able to convince Jess to join me in a day of ‘abseiling’ and canyoning. I’d had so much fun canyoning out in Utah and decided it was time we got wet and had some outdoorsy fun with the aussies. Our day started out similarly to two days before with us catching 2 trains to get us into the mountains. Note to anyone visiting sydney: never assume anything is on time – if anything it’s early! Luckily we had 2 trains to choose from and were able to catch the 2nd express train that got us to Katoomba just a few minutes late.
We climb the stairs to our outfitters and meet our guide Shannon who runs BMAC Adventures along with Bobbi and Janna who were also signed up for the same trip (who also happen to be from the states). After getting set up with gear we are on our way! (notice the sexy harness)
The morning started out with progressively longer abseils (rappelling to you folks in the states), and as luck would have it mist throughout the morning and then progressively more rain. We started out with a little baby rappel so the rest of the gals could get a few practices in before we continued on to a few longer ones just a bit further down the cliffs. The 2nd one ended up having an overhang, which meant a free rappel. I’d done this before so it wasn’t a big deal for me, but i think it suprised most of the gals but they all made it through just fine so we moved on to the next and final rappel of the morning.
This 40m cliff was a bit scary (even for me) – Shannon prepared the achors and as we walk up there’s the usual quick peek over the side to see the landing area. Well on this one you couldn’t really see it at all, when you glance down all you see is very small trees and a cool misty cloud cover. The cliff of course was slightly overhanging and our landing was down there, just a bit out of sight. It was just slightly disconcerting to those that were first timers (or even 2nd timers).
I went first (as i did a bunch throughout the day as i was a bit more gung ho) and truly enjoyed the view, taking my time on my way down and even stopping to take a few pictures about halfway down. The landing was a bit nerve wracking as there was still a good drop, but we all just hugged trees until we got on stable ground. I waited for Jess who wasn’t so sure on this whole can’t see the bottom thing… and helped her to the trees. We took the long hike back up to the top and I went down another time – the view was just too good!!
After a quick simple lunch we continued on into the Valley of the Waters in Wentworth Falls. We didn’t get to those falls but instead headed for Empress Canyon (and falls) which meant a bit of a hike. Our tired feet somehow got us to the canyon entrance where we unpacked our wetsuits and wriggled into them (I must admit putting on a wetsuit is much easier when both the suit and your body is dry – not sweating from intense hiking). Suits on and bags packed up we were on our way!
The canyon was tall and skinny with just a small stream flowing through it. It felt very rain foresty (and in fact we had passed through termperate rain forest to get to the entrance). There were ferns all over and very tall trees when we were surrounded by rock walls. The stream dips and weaves its way around, over, or under trees and rocks… occasionally there’d be a rock to slide down, a pool deep enough that we’d swim, or in a few cases rocks and pool where we’d have to jump! Of all the parts of canyoning, the jumping i think is the scariest for me.
Our first jump was pretty small – maybe a bit over 5′. Leap out as far as you can, tuck your feet and land on your back!! ok?? got it? GO! The first one i had no problem with, but the 2nd one was a bit higher – probably more like 10+ feet and there of course is a rock right below in the pool, “don’t land on that” so no pressure at all (nope, none!). After a quick “go on 3″ I sucked it up and counted… 1, 2, 3 (deep breath) JUMP!
We all did just fine and the canyoning specific backpacks were great in that they had floatation which meade the swimming and random floating a bit easier (and landing after a jump). Sometimes I would end up “turtling” while trying to take pictures (imagine a turtle stuck on its back, now imagine me in water trying to flip back over). We all looked quite silly while balancing on rocks, stumbling over hidden things in the water or even whacking knees or toes on unseen things. In other words, we LOVED it 
!
The canyon ends in a huge drop off of about 100′ and that stream becomes empress falls. No other way out except down! So we put those abseiling skills to work and each got in line to rappel down the falls. We went to the side initially so that we wouldn’t be getting insane mouthfuls of water but eventually gravity kicked in and about 1/3 of the way down we swung back over and were literally in the middle of the falls as we came down – landing in the pool at the base. On my way down I decided that since i was the first down that i’d take video – i of course decided this at the 1/3 mark when i reached the little ledge so it starts in the thick of the fun, but feel free to check it out ! I took photos of the rest of the girls and helped each get off the rope , then did my own swim to the edge of the pool. Absolutely amazing!
Our day finished with a hike out to the car and a quick trip back to Katoomba. After saying goodbye to the girls and Shannon, we got a wonderful HUGE hot chocolate across the street then caught the train home.
I have to admit that this may have been the best day yet on this trip!! I’m not sure what could top something as truly awesome as that. but maybe seeing the Great Barrier Reef or riding in a hot air balloon up in Cairns might give it a run for it’s money… we’ll see!