Canyoning is one of the most rewarding recreational sports you can get into, but it is not without its risks! It can certainly be hard and dangerous. Beautiful slot canyons with sculpted rock, crystal clear water and thundering waterfalls are usually balanced with one hell of an exit hike (or climb) and dense prickly Australian bush that wants to punish you for being there.
But alas, here are recounts of my favourite canyoning experiences, the mishaps, the close calls, the slogs, but most importantly the beautiful scenery in parts of the world you would never get to experience without canyoning.
Twister Canyon
It has been a VERY long time between Blue Mountains canyons for our group, longer than I think most of us can fathom or want to admit! But sometimes life gets in the way…
Mares Forest Creek Canyon
It had been a while since Tiana and I had caught up, so we decided to try and pick an adventure between where we both live (which is 4.5 hours apart) for some much…
Ocean Slot
How about an abseil closer to home? After all, the Blue Mountains is a 2.5 – 3 hour one way drive from where I live, and I was starting to feel very burnt out…
River Caves Canyon
This canyon trip was a little different to all the others… this time Luke, Zac and I were heading into a canyon to take photos to celebrate our recent engagement! What better place to…
Wolgan Falls
Not so much a canyon but rather a fun waterfall abseil… it was Jess’s birthday and it was time for an adventure to celebrate! The birthday girl on the first pitch down the big…
Popeye Canyon
This trip it was just me, Luke and Tiana, keen to explore a new canyon in mid July. If reading the track notes from Rick Jamiesons Canyons near Sydney guide, Popeye canyon is the…
Marijuana Canyon
It was the middle of winter (literally) which seemed like the perfect time to explore a new canyon! I had read up on some track notes for Marijuana canyon, which all exited by travelling…
Galah Canyon
Galah Canyon has long been on the canyon bucket list – so we finally got a bit of a group together and made it happen! It has the same entry track as breakfast creek…
Wotta Canyon
It was my 30th birthday! So I decided I wanted to spend the day doing a cruisy short canyon with some of my favourite people. Unfortunately, I chose Wotta canyon. To be fair, I…
Surefire Canyon
We had big ambitious plans to hike in with our canyon and camping gear, set up camp, go on a trip through Surefire canyon on Saturday and then Heart Attack canyon on Sunday. Bliss!…
Bells Corner Canyon
Bells Corner is a sweet, short, punchy canyon near a corner bend of Bells Line of Road. The short canyon also features the shortest entry and exit hike of any Blue Mountains (or any)…
Hat Hill Canyon
It was Slaydies weekend! Held annually in the Blue Mountains on the first weekend of summer/December, so Jess and I decided to put up a group canyoning trip through Hat Hill Canyon. Hayden also…
Water Dragon Canyon
This time it was just me, Haydo and Ethan, out for a little canyon frolick in nature. It had been a while since we had visited the Gambe, and we hadn’t yet been through…
Watta Canyon
Luke and I were down in the Southern Highlands for the weekend for a Wedding, so thought it was a great idea for a trip down Watta Canyon on the Sunday. We met up…
Deep Pass Canyon
This time it was just Luke and myself, exploring Deep Pass Canyon. What a treat. I had heard a lot about Deep Pass, but seeing the photos of all the ropes and wooden planks…
Dargans Creek Canyon
It was an exciting weekend! I was bringing Luke to the Blue Mountains to meet my group of wild adventurous friends. We had only been officially dating for a month at this stage, but…
Great Uncle George Canyon
I heard about this canyon from the Upper Blue Mountains Bushwalking Club, and was interested in checking it out. Typically, access to and from the canyon involved crossing over private property, but after some…
Sleeper Canyon
The Sunday after we completed our 3 Canyons in a day, we decided why not add a 4th canyon into the weekends adventures! We had seen a bit of an online discussion about a…
Sunnyside, Zorro and Alcatraz Canyons
Sunnyside, Zorro and Alcatraz Canyons are all relatively short canyons in close proximity to each other in the Newnes Plateau, which means… 3 canyons in one day?! Heck yes. Sunnyside Canyon (Also known as…
Multi-pitch Abseils in the Blue Mountains
When the weather feels a little too cold for a winter Canyon adventure, there are plenty of epically enjoyable abseiling adventures that make a sweet alternative! There are a few bolted dry abseil trips…
Coinslot Canyon
There are not many canyons in NSW where you hike up the mountain and finish hiking downhill back to the cars, but Coinslot Canyon is one of the very few! Ethan, David, Laura and…
Breakfast Creek Canyon
On a frosty winters day in June 2023, Ethan, Jess and I decided it was a perfect day for a canyon. Technically, the canyon ‘season’ typically runs from late spring – early autumn, usually…
Grand Canyon
Funnily enough… I had only completed Grand Canyon twice in the two years I had been canyoning, both which happened to be during the night-time to see the glow worms. My first trip through…
Fortress Canyon
I’ve always been curious about doing Fortress Canyon, I didn’t know much about it, but always heard about it through the canyon community. So one weekend Ethan and I thought heck, why not, let’s…
Claustral Canyon
Claustral Canyon is dubbed by many as the most beautiful of the Blue Mountains Canyons, and well so, even though some seem to view it as a little ‘overrated’. In my opinion, how can…
Tigersnake Canyon
A week or so after getting back home from our epic New Zealand mission, it wasn’t long before the adventure itch was itchin’. We had plans to meet friends on Sunday for a trip…
Kanangra Main Canyon
For a while, Kanangra Main was considered the epitome of New South Wales canyons, before NNSW Canyons were opened that is (I think Glennifer now takes that cake). In some regards, I think it…
Dione Dell Canyon
Once you start canyoning in the Blue Mountains, Kanangra becomes the next biggest challenge. Canyoning in Kanangra National Park almost becomes a right of passage, once you have canyoned there, are you officially a…
Upper South Bowens
With an up-coming hiking and canyoning trip to New Zealand coming up, it was decided to have a bit of a training run through Upper South Bowens. It was the first time I had…
Koombanda Canyon
Sometime in December 2022, I had an idea to go through a canyon solo. I honestly can’t recall exactly why I wanted to do this, I think it was mostly for the serenity, the…
Rachmartee 