Cradle Mountain Canyoning

Sunday, March 31, 2013

We left Bicheno this morning and headed towards Cradle Mountain. Our canyoning trip was changed due to a rise of water in the river. We were now going on the all day adventure that includes abseiling. We found out after we got there that this trip is a few steps up from the one we were going to go on. It is the Machinery Creek Tour.

Walking down the river into the canyon.

We got suited up before heading out. We wore wetsuits, a wetsuit coat, booties with socks underneath, a harness, and helmets. We then started our walk. It was a good 45 minutes out to the start of the canyon. We walked a path by the road, and then walked in the river.   It is more difficult than it seems. The rocks were jagged and slippery. You really had to pay attention to where you were going.   Plus, the booties were difficult to walk in and the wetsuits were like a sauna.  We were very glad when we got into the cold water.

Rudd in the waterfall.

Sydney in the waterfall

Dagan at the top of the waterfall.

Our first abseil was 18 meters through a waterfall. You walked to the top of the waterfall, sat at the edge with your legs dangling over the side, and then you turned around and were lowered into the waterfall. You couldn't see how high up we were until you were sitting. As you went down, the water gushed over your head which made it difficult to see, but lots of fun. The guides took pictures of us throughout our adventure which was nice.

I am in there somewhere.

Dagan's first jump.

We love his facial expression!

We walked a little ways in the river, and then got to jump into a pool of water. You either were supposed to land on your butt with your feet in front of you or jump like superman and land on your side. Dagan went with the butt jump. The rest of us went with superman. Adam laughed and said it hurt more than he thought it would with all our padding.

My boys cooling off after their jumps.

Don't you love the pose?

Rudd ready to go.

We did another abseil before having lunch out on the rocks. We ended up doing 6 abseils and two jumps. The abseils were in or next to waterfalls. We did have to walk from one abseil to the next.

A look at part of the canyon

More views of the canyon

One of the abseils

Sydney jumping

The rock slide

Dagan jumping

Rudd jumping

We could do a third jump if we wanted to jump from a high position. Sydney, Dagan, and Rudd all did that one.  A couple of places in the river were interesting to get down. The guide had to hold you up.  You stepped on their knee or foot.  When it was Adam and Rudd's turn, they would laugh and say "Now for you two."  They had to go a different route at one point.

Dagan at the top

Sydney halfway down

Rudd waiting at the bottom

Our last abseil was the biggest at 28 meters. Rudd was volunteered to go first because he was able to unhook the carabiner and help everyone at the bottom. Some of the pools of water were over my head.  I like this one the best.  It was a great way to end this part of the adventure.

Adam's ready to go

Look No Hands!

Group photo at the end of the trip

 At this point, we were rather tired. Unfortunately, we had another 30 minute walk out of the canyon along the river.  The rocks seemed to be even more jagged, and the shoes were not helping support or protect our feet, so it was a long 30 minutes. It is difficult to concentrate when you are getting tired. With the slippery rocks, that is exactly what you need to do.

We piled in the car after changing out of our wet clothes, got some dinner, and drove to our hotel in Smithton. It was almost a race to see who could get to bed first.