Katoomba - Blue Mountains, Australia (Center on Interactive Map)

Eucalyptus forests in a sandstone environment.

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Trips

Eastern Australia

11/18/2012: Against my better judgement, I signed up for an abseiling course in Katoomba. My main intent was to check out the slot canyons in this area, and I wasn't about to let any 100 foot waterfall get in my way.

The abseiling course was not quite as terrifying as I thought it might be. In fact, I did not let the screaming teenager affect my level of stress in the least.

Basically, we started small with a 15 foot drop, and then we doubled that a few times. By the time we got to the first 100 foot drop, I was at the stage where I could no longer control my descent. There were a couple of times that I found myself upside down. Since I didn't fall to my death, however, I gained the experience that I would need later for the waterfall descent.

The water in the slot canyon was pretty much close to freezing. It was sure a good thing that we had wetsuits. After getting to the point of near-hypothermia, we arrived on the ledge to the 100 foot waterfall. Whatever you do, I was told, do not stop on the ledge just a few yards below.

Of course, I found myself on that ledge, and surprisingly, I did not find it too difficult to jump right off the edge of it (backwards). I arrived in the pool of water below tangled in the ropes. My hands were so cold that I could not detach the carabiner, but despite all the troubles, I survived.

The next day, I came back to the same area with the camera to hike on a few of the many good trails in this area.

Previous Visit (Redden Island: 11/17/2012)
Next Visit (Bondi Beach Coastal Trail: 11/20/2012)

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