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It was Lachlan and Mark who invited me to join them on one of the classic canyons of the Kanangra wilderness. We brought the date forward a little so that the water would still be pleasant enough to enjoy (a little) and then Leo agreed to join us to complement a team of four. We left early on Friday afternoon with a very unpleasant forecast but the beer at Mt.Victoria cheered us up and we decided to drive past Jenolan Caves anyway despite all the rain from several days. We arrived in the majestic grandeur of the Milky Way above us after 32km of dirt road. The storm system was lighting up the night to the South of us and we quickly went to Kalang Falls to get an idea of how strong the current was. It was a dangerous scenario and a tough call to make after traveling so far. We were going to decide early in the morning.
We woke at 5am but the sky was still alight with the thunderstorm in the South so we delayed for another hour of sleep. A 6am the ski appeared clear and it was decision time. Mark and Lachlan opted for a shorter alternative just in case and Leo and Roman decided to try to find the entrance to Danae Brook. Once we reached the first drop we would make a judgement call whether it was save enough. The rest is the story of Danae Brook:


First Waterfall	Cave Buddha before the slot	Leo in the slot	Backup of anchor before the slot

The hidden hole	Roman getting ready for the hole	Leo in waterfall rap	One of many pools

We left the car at Mount Thurat Fire Trail (2.5km back from Kanangra Walls) and began the walk to the ridge from which to access Danae Brook. Our plan was to start at the highest point of the ridge and find the closest side arm to Danae; then follow it until the Canyon. The distance I estimated at about 3.5km of firetail. We left a chain where we left the firetail and headed bush. To our surprise we found the first creek after a short scramble and then began following it until it merged into the large river. It took a couple of hours to follow the river to the beginning of the first fall and perhaps three hours from the car. It was about 10am when we began to descend the first abseil to test the fall. The water was flowing heavily but not too heavy to return three hours back to the car. So we decided to go for it and head into the slot. Luckily the slot is mostly free of waterfall which descends deeper behind in a narrow gap.
This brought us to the first of the major falls. Straight down a 30 meter waterfall. It was majestic and we started to feel the full power of the water. It was only early autumn but already the water temperature was less pleasant and Leo's spring suit was decidedly out of season.

This brought us to the hole: another waterfall drop just below a huge choke stone via a dark cavern. One more abseil into a crystal pool via several choke stones was followed by a lengthy swim through an emerald pool nice but somewhat refreshing. There were several more falls but I started to loose count and it was only until the final big drop down another major fall that we found ourselves at the beginning of the boulder field. The boulder field requires at least one major abseil and can be done mostly on foot though we decided to bring out the rope a few more times when things got pretty steep. It is a very time-consuming section that ends back at the river and should be done in about 2 hours. From the bottom of the boulder field it is a long walk along the river to the junction with Kanagra Creek, so long in fact that we thought at times we head missed the connection of the two rivers. It felt like about three hours over very slippery rock with our legs receiving a lot of punishment from slipping of moss covered boulders.


Looking back up the falls	Piton anchor	CLimbing to the last fall	The last major fall

Leo in action	Major big walls all around	The last of the little raps	Looking back up the hole

We glad to find the junction but the last major obstacle was waiting for us. We now head to climb up the slope from the bottom of the valley to regain the ridge that would lead us back to the car. Needless to say there are not paths and we followed the line of least resistance straight up but trying to avoid the scrub as much as possible. It felt like an eternity but we probably gained the ridge in under two hours with the last light now on the horizon. The views were spectacular and we found ourselves high above the junction point were Danae Brook joined with Kanangra Creek both in majestic view deep before us. Luckily we found Killpatrick Causeway – a majestic name for a narrow trail which pointed the way towards Kanangra Walls and Murdering Gully. With the light fading fast now we pushed for two more hours along the escarpment before Mark and Lachlan welcomed us just when it got dark. It was 20:30pm and we had walked,slided,fallen and rapelled for just over 13 hours. We were bathered and bruised from many falls but the smile on our face won’t disappear for a long time.
Below is a pitch by pitch description for Mark and Lachlan based on the fantastic Ozultimate description with more details added by us:

1) The first waterfall can be abseiled (28-30m) from a tree on the left, or scrambled on the left. Note: it is shame to miss this drop if it is warm. Take some extra slings to leave behind and go straight through the falls from a big tree to the right (facing down) of the fall. It has a gentle angle and will ease you in the more tricky rappels below.

2) The next drop (27-28m) is abseiled from a tree on the left, to the beginning of the slot. At the bottom of this abseil you land in a large wet cavity with the slot on one side, which remains relatively dry and the waterfall disappearing into a chimney on the other side. Go and have a look at the falls disappearing into the rock. This would be an “interesting” way to explore (read very dangerous).

3) Rap number three is through the slot. One of the bolts has broken off but it has been backed up with an old nut placement and slings. The slings have been extended to allow raping from below the first boulder so establishing the belay is a little tricky. See the photo for details.

4) Past the slot is a spacious platform that leads to drop number Four - one of the highlights of the canyon. This abseil (27m) goes straight through the waterfall. There is a lower anchor that can be used in low water.

5) Abseil number five "Danae Direct’ (31m) goes straight down a hole topped with a massive choke stone. We nearly missed it because the hole is at the front of the stone with the back completely filled with debris. The anchors are hidden below the boulder again at your feet. Alternatively scramble on the left along a ledge to a tree for a 31m drop.

6) Abseil number six: There is then a short scramble. A narrow ledge leads to several pitons anchoring a safety line that leads to a double bolt anchor for a 20m abseil (the "Slippery Log Abseil", though the slippery log is no longer there). This goes down a chute and you are forced into the flow near the bottom. Note: We rapped straight of the piton abseil see photo and we didn’t notice the double bolt anchor.

7) The seventh abseil (15m) is an easy one from pitons on a ledge on the left. Then there are four short (5m) abseils or hand over hands, some of which may be climbable in low water. Note: We used our ropes for all of those short abseils because we had a lot of water to contend with and the rock was very slippery. It looked like some of those falls could be jumped but we didn’t try. In summer when you have checked the depth of the pools below this could be a lot of fun!

8) A short climb leads to the final major abseil (28-30m), from bolts on a ledge on the left. You have a choice to avoid the falls on the left or going straight through the guts of it landing in yet another emerald pool. Note: this is were we had our lunch break at about 2pm just before the start of the huge boulder field below. Note you are still quite high and a long way from the bottom. Looking down the valley the entrance is guarded by two massive ridge lines left and right (see photo) and you can just make out the orange rock band of the Kanangra Walls on the horizon. This is your where you are heading and it’s a long way off.

9) The beginning of the boulder field is described as follows: [From the far side of the pool, climb over the small knoll and down to a tree for a 12m abseil into the boulder chute.]Note: We thought that the first abseil in the boulder field is straight after the last waterfall but in fact when you walk downhill you are faced with a sudden drop off. This is not the rappel. Instead walk to the left (facing down) a little uphill and you will find a hidden scramble down a few rocks for about 20-30 meters downhill. This is where you will find the first rappel into the boulder field below.
There is then a long period of scrambling down the steep boulder chute. Abseiling can generally be avoided by good route finding. Near the bottom of the chute there is a 15m abseil from two pitons on the right side of a pool. The boulder chute can take a couple of hours to negotiate.

10) Continue rock hopping down the creek to the major junction with Kanangra Creek. This is a long and mind-numbing exercise. The creek was very wet and slippery probably because of the large volume of water and it probably took us over two hours to negotiate the tricky terrain. Do not underestimate this section: it was very easy to loose your footing and both of us took several falls into the knee deep water. Take your time here since a bruised ankle would probably mean you will spend the night here. Once you reach the junction rejoice only one more major obstacle to surmount. Have a rest collect yourself and head pretty much straight up the hill trying to gain the ridge. Kilpatrick Causeway will get you back to the car. Count on a 12 hour plus day and take plenty of food to keep you going. Large parties will take longer so take headtorches for the final walk back to the car. Though Kilpatrick is a fairly obvious bush track some disappearing sections could be hard to find in darkness. Oh! and finally watch out for leeches they like us........

Dedicated to Mark and Lachlan who waited for us till the end.

Thanks for the laminated maps and the ropes we did much better with them.

Roman and Leo10 March 2014.