Du Faur Creek Canyon - track notes

Entry

From the Fire Station at Mt Wilson, head west along the fire trail towards Du Faurs Lookout, and turn left after about 300m through a gate to the left (not marked private property). Follow this fire trail for almost 2km until it heads downhill and veers left at AGD541884. Take the foot track that continues straight ahead. When you reach the saddle at AMG536883 (Mount Wilson), turn left and follow the track down into a creek. You can avoid getting your feet wet until you reach the junction with a much larger creek. This creek (October Creek) leads into Du Faur Creek after about 800m. The first canyon section is about 200m before the junction with Du Faur Creek. There are a couple more long canyon sections with swims before the alternative entry below comes in.

Alternatively, turn right at the saddle and follow the track down the creek. Not far from the end scramble up right on to the ridge and do a 10m hand-over-hand from a large gum tree near the junction to regain the creek. This misses out on some very good sections of canyon. You may also need a 10m rope in case a fixed line is not there.

Notes

There are quite a number of canyon sections, interspersed with creek walking. The canyon sections are of good quality, but never really sustained. The creek walking is for the most part easy and relatively scrub free, and the surrounds are delightful.

We took a lilo, but never inflated it. If you are a competent swimmer I would recommend doing without the lilo. There are just too many sections where it is useless, and needs to be dragged. However, you need to take sufficient thermal layers to keep you warm, and also some other flotation (eg dry bag), as some of the pools are quite long.

About 300m after the Bell Creek junction, the creek starts to drop through boulders, and then flattens out. This last section is the trickiest, as there is a fair bit of scrub, and the creek bed is covered with large slippery rocks. Bell Creek then flows into the Wollangambe River, which is much the same, although you can walk along the left hand bank quite easily. About 200m after the junction, the river turns a sharp left hand bend. There is a large sandy beach on the left, and the exit track starts directly across the river.

Exit

The track heads up to the top of the saddle, and turns right. It contours round the gully and then heads steadily up, reaching the main ridge, and the entry track to the Tourist Section of the Wollangambe between two pagodas. Turn right and follow the track up, crossing a fire trail, and joining another fire trail. When you reach the road, turn right back to the Fire Station where you left your car.

Comments

Du Faur Creek was an enjoyable but long canyon. I had read a description that implied there was a lot of creek bashing, but we found that the creek was very pleasant, even in the sections where there was no canyon. There was very little boulder scrambling until very near the end, and the creek was never heavily overgrown.

As noted above, we didn't bother with lilos in the end. This was a good move. The amount of creek walking would have made the lilo more annoying than useful.

I was impressed by the volume of wildlife we saw. Numerous water dragons and yabbies, and a kingfisher, just to name a few. There was also remarkably little rubbish. We only picked up a couple of pieces, which I thought was good for a canyon that could have been quite dirty.

A lot of people enter Du Faur by turning right at the saddle at AMG536883, following a track down into a creek that leads into Du Faur with a 5m hand over hand from a gum tree at the end. Although this results in a shorter trip, it also misses some of the best bits of the canyon. If you are doing it for the first time, I highly recommend the route suggested above.

Time

2 people, 7.5h from car to car, including a relatively short lunch.

Tom Brennan : website@ozultimate.com: updated 2007-12-03