19 February 2006
The Back Creek walk involves abseiling down a number of
waterfalls. Some of us had never done this walk before
but had heard a lot about it. Ten of us met up in
Canungra and drove up to the entrance to back Creek
which is on the way to Binna Burra. We had all done
some abseiling before but for a few of us, they had had
only training days. This was the real thing.
At the start point we donned our harnesses and the
abseil gear was shared around. After a safety talk by
John, we walked along a small track to Back Creek.
The first waterfall was reached quickly and the anchor
points were checked. We then lined up and before each
person abseiled down there was a check of gear and a
double check.
I must admit that I was a bit nervous on the first
abseil and at the bottom my legs felt like jelly. The
second waterfall though was exhilarating as there was a
free fall drop down into the pool at the bottom of the
falls. I enjoyed a short swim to cool down and began to
enjoy the beauty of the day.
The third and fourth abseils also involved short free
fall drops and everyone was enjoying the abseils and
scenery. The fourth abseil involved a compulsory
descent into the pool and disengaging from the rope. We
all managed well and had lunch on some rocks next to
the pool.
There was one more abseil to do and after a short bush
bash we arrived at a very picturesque spot. Here there
was a tumbling waterfall in a narrow gorge which then
widened out to another high waterfall. We explored the
area which would make a great day walk without any
abseiling necessary.
After the fifth and final abseil it was time to take
off our harnesses and stow away the gear. There was a
steep walk up to a cliff line which we then contoured
around. We then walked up a narrow ridge up to a
walking track which led us directly to the cars.
Finally we could get into some dry clothes on this hot
and humid day.
The obligatory afternoon tea at Canungra was filled
with talk of possible future abseil days.
Many thanks to Steve for the use of his equipment, John
Brunott for his leadership, Trevor and Kieren D, and
Trevor S for their assistance and all the others who
joined in to make this a memorable day. Richard