Why Don't We Do It In The Road? Canyon - track notes

Trips

2005-12-04 - report - photos

2003-02-23 - report - photos

2002-02-02 - report - photos

Entry

Note that Why Don't We Do It In The Road? Canyon is often known as Serendipity Canyon - but this is incorrect as Serendipity is a different canyon.

Park at Cathedral Reserve at Mt Wilson. If you are going upstream, you could park at the fire station at Mt Wilson, as the walk in/out is much the same distance, but possibly a bit easier. Either way, follow the main fire trail to where the Wollangambe #2 entrance track turns off. Follow this track for about 1km to a fork where the track to WDWDIITR veers off to the right. A couple of hundred metres after here there is another fork. Left goes to an exit (see below), so take the right fork. This winds around and down to the start of the canyon.

Notes

There are a few options at the start of the canyon. We crossed the creek and abseiled 14m in two stages down the right of the waterfall. Be wary of the two sharp stumps pointing up from the halfway ledge. A 30m rope just reaches here. Then there is a scramble off a ledge on the right, or abseil about 3m.

Alternatively you can bypass both abseils on the left and drop in a little further down. However, it seems a bit of a waste to do it this way.

Almost immediately there is a 10m drop into the creek proper from a tree on the right. From there there is a reasonable creek walk of maybe 45min to the main canyon section.

The first drop is around 8m down a waterfall. Aim to stay to the right, particularly if there is a lot of water. It is not too far to the second drop. You can abseil from tapes around a tree a couple of metres further back, or jump about 4m. You may need to get someone to check the depth first. The last drop is an easy abseil or a tricky jump. You need to know where the ledges are underwater, and unfortunately they are under the easier jumping zones. It requires jumping rather close to a wall.

Exit

There are a number of options for exit. You can go downstream, in which case proceed as for Wollangambe #2. Lilos are a good idea as this is a reasonably long option.

If you go upstream the easiest way out is from a ledge to the left, about 100m upstream, just as the canyon bends to the left. A path leads up the obvious gully and then up the ridge, where it joins back to the entrance track not far from the main Wollangambe #1 exit track. There is also a more difficult climbing exit if wading up the Wollangambe is impossible.

Alternatively you can go further upstream. There is a somewhat tricky climb up of about 2m before you reach the exit for Wollangambe #1, which is not far past here to the left.

Comments

A nice canyon, although rather short, and with a longish but pleasant creek walk between abseils. It is better (but incorrectly) known as Serendipity Canyon, so I have tried to give its original name here. The real Serendipity Canyon lies elsewhere.