I’m back at the Wollangambe River again, a week after Wollangambe Three, to tackle Wollangambe Four on another adventure led by Andrew Dumphy. One of (at least) ten sections of the Wollangambe River that can be tackled as day-trips, the entry and exit routes for Wollangambe Four were reconnoitered by Yuri Bolotin.
The way down to the river is the reverse of the exit route from Wollangambe Four, and our party of seven makes quick progress along the Boronia Point Trail and down the access spur.
There’s a quick stop at the saddle and lookout before the final very steep descent to the Wollangambe Four starting point. It’s a little foggy and overcast in the morning, so the view over the river is not as photogenic as it was the previous week.
It’s wetsuits on and li-los out before we enter the water: Wollangambe Four is about 80% swimming, and has the longest pools of all the sections I’ve done to date. Before the first pool, there’s a small cascade that’s negotiated by waking along the steep river bank.
It’s then into the water for the first short but deep pool, with steep cliffs towering above the river.
Some rapids and small cascades mark the end of the pool, with a bit of scrambling across debris swept down by floods. This becomes a recurring theme for most of the day: swim, scramble across rapids and swim again… I’m glad my li-lo (or to be more precise, my “High Performance Intex Monster Truck Swim Ring”) is staying inflated. Unlike my li-lo the previous week…
Ther river passers through a few deep gorges, with steep cliffs on both sides.
A small “sand island” provides a picturesque respite between two pools.
It’s back into the turquoise water for another long but scenuic swim…
…before another shallow (but this time sandy rather than rocky) section.
The next paddle (or float?) is a long 300m section below some of the tallest cliffs along Wollangambe Four, with its upper tiers of sandstone glowing in the morning sun.
An easy traverse of a rock outcrop takes us to the next deep pool.
The end of this pool is a set of shallow rapids, where the fast-flowing water tumbles over a series of ledges. A route along the edge of the river provides slow but safe access through this section.
Immediately after these cascades, the river disappears underneath giant-sized boulders: “right at the end of the rapids we stopped on top of a rock and surveyed in awe an extensive stone shelf, with the river bed plunging down five metres beneath our feet through a series of massive scattered boulders and then entering a huge tranquil blue-green pool seen in a distance.” (Yuri Bolotin)
It’s a photogenic spot, and would make a great spot for lunch… although it’s still a bit too early for lunch. And we’ve only done a about a third of Wollangambe Four.
There’s a short drop down a slippery slot at the end of the wide ledge.
And then another awkward scramble down to a ledge above the next pool and swim.
It’s a pretty short swim before the next set of rapids.
We’re soon floating past the Elevated Log – an enormous tree trunk that became lodged on a boulder when the river was in flood.
The Elevated Log also marks the Elevated Ledge where we stop for lunch, the wide sandstone platform over a photogenic pool providing a sunny spot for a break. This is about the midpoint in terms of distance and time – although progress is a bit quicker on the second-half of Wollangambe Four.
We continue a little further along the ledge from our lunch spot before re-entering the Wollangambe River, soon encountering another set of boulders and rapids. (It’s also possible to continue along the river bank, instead of wading through the rapids.)
The longest pool along Wollangambe 4 starts soon after these rapids, measured at a total distance of 500m by Yuri on the topographic maop. It’s an impressively long section of the Wollangambe River, but not as spectacular as some of the previous sections, as the cliffs on both sides are fairly low.
Another scramble over boulders follows the long pool.
Then another picturesque sandy bank under towering cliffs, before the next swim: “The last section, about one kilometre in distance, mainly consisted of shallow bouldery raceways with some slow deep stretches in between, one of them measured around 200 metres” (Yuri).
Another set of rapids is a bit slow and tricky to navigate, either by skirting around the edge of the river on the right-hand side…
…or just plunging down the middle of the cascades!
There’s not much more swimming, just a few more cascades to negotiate along the river.
After the last set of cascades is a very shallow and sandy section, at the end of which is our exit point.
Sandy Point is where we leave the Wollangambe Canyon; it’s not a gazetted name but a location which Yuri has noted from the Mount Wilson-Mount Irvine Rural Fire Brigade topographic map. The wide and sandy beach provides a very pleasant spot to peel off wetsuits and stuff lilos (and High Performance Swim Rings) back into our backpacks for the walk out. (I’m rather pleased that I’ve broken the Curse of the Wollangambe, and finished today without losing or destroying any of my cameras & electronic gear!)
The exit route is not particularly long – but it does involve a sustained climb which gains about 300m elavation over a kilometre.
The first spur takes us to a couple of pagodas, which offer a last glimpse of the end of Wollangambe Four and the start of Wollangambe Five.
The steep climb continues, over and through a series of pagodas and low cliff-lines, as we rapidly gain elevation.
We eventually reach the Boronia Point Trail – the same trail we used this morning on the way out – for the last kilometre back to the cars.
It’s been a fun day; having a functional flotation device made it a lot more stressful than my last Wollangambe trip. Wollangambe Four requires a lot more swimming (or floating) than any other sections, and can be summarised as a series of long pools separated by rocky cascades. We started at 8:30am and were back at the cars at about 4:30pm, about an hour quicker than Wollangambe Three.
Getting to Wollangambe Four
Access to Wollangambe Four is very easy, with the route starting and ending at the Boronia Point Trail, which is off Mount Irvine Road about 1.5km after the Cathedral of Ferns camping area. There is parking for 2-3 cars on the shoulder of Mount Irvine Road. Mount Wilson is about an hour’s drive from Richmond and two hours from Sydney.
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