It’s winter – there aren’t supposed to be snakes around

Posted on June 16, 2016 by marilyn

A little bit slopey on the way down to the creekMOGO AREA – JUNE 12 2016
I didn’t bother to put on gaiters because it was winter, snakes aren’t supposed to be out, at least that’s the urban myth.  I was walking along, luckily looking down and there it was, had to be 6 foot long (curled up) and was as thick as my wrist – maybe even thicker! Up until this point, the trip wasn’t even blog-worthy, but now it was!   Continue reading →

Posted in Bushwalking | 11 Comments

10 Caves in 4 days – I’m officially stuffed!

Posted on June 13, 2016 by marilyn

thumbnailYARRANGOBILLY – JUNE 2016
When the Yarrangobilly trip went on the MSS calendar, it was too good an opportunity to pass up. MSS had (figuratively) put its hand up to guide pre-conference caving trips at Yarrangobilly (“Yagby”) for the ISS Conference in 2017 (which will be held in Sydney).  Beth thought it was a good idea to re-familiarise herself with the Yagby Caves. Continue reading →

Posted in Caving, MSS | 8 Comments

We wish you were with us Nat

Posted on May 26, 2016 by marilyn

me on the 2nd pitch. Photo: Julie BMIRROR BALL ABSEIL – MAY 2016
Julie B, Aine G and I had intended going out to the Mirror Ball abseil to scatter some of Natalie’s ashes.  She had already been blasted out of a cannon at IronFest, scattered by acrobats at the Canberra Folk Festival, sprinkled in Fergies and MidWinter canyons and buried under a hundred tree seedlings.  Mirror Ball was the last abseil that Nat did (with Julie and Aine) before she found out she had cancer. Continue reading →

Posted in Abseiling | Leave a comment

How could there be two identical caves?

Posted on May 15, 2016 by marilyn

Brad climbing up to set handlineWOOLPACK ROCKS  #3 – MAY 2016
Unnamed pass > Newnes Plateau > Collett Gap > Red Rocks Creek > Woolpack Gap >  Collett Gap
This was our 3rd or 4th trip to Woolpack Rocks (depending on what you counted) and our 3rd trip down to Collett Gap, we knew what terrain we were looking for and when we dropped down into a pass, we convinced ourselves that the cave we saw was the one we had seen three times before.  Not! Continue reading →

Posted in Bushwalking, BWOC | 2 Comments

What if the overhang collapses on us while we’re asleep?

Posted on April 23, 2016 by marilyn

This hole in the rock was too good to pass up!ETTREMA THREE CAVES WALK – APRIL 2016
Sassafras > Ettrema Tops > Waterfall Cave > Discovery Cave > Bollards Cave > Sassafras
Three camp caves, waterfalls, stunning creeks and The Passages of Time rock formations … all in an area I’d not been to before, add to that the usual Ettrema Scrub, and this had all the hallmarks of an epic trip.  Continue reading →

Posted in Bushwalking, BWOC | 2 Comments