A first-timer's adventure in the Serendipity Canyon!

by Carol

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

Ready, set…just do it!

Serendipity is a beautiful Blue Mountains canyon where you'll see freshwater yabbies, birdlife, plants, cool fungi, and amazing rock formations.

I signed up for this Diamond day trip with a degree of trepidation, having never canyoned or abseiled before (apart from a very tame abseiling experience at Year 7 camp sometime last century, which doesn’t really count). I knew it would take me out of my comfort zone but hoped my regular Diamond trek training would hold me in good stead and I would be up to the challenge when the time came – and it definitely didn’t disappoint!

The day started early at ASM HQ in Katoomba, where we met our Diamond leader Jacq and our experienced canyoning guides and got kitted out with wetsuits, helmets, harnesses, canyoning packs, and dry bags. We were then transported by minibus to Mount Wilson (a lovely scenic drive), where we hit the walking trail down into the canyon.

There was an unscheduled stop about halfway in when one member of the group got attacked by a feral stick, but thankfully we had the unflappable Nurse Akhurst on hand to render first aid (in conjunction with our very competent guides) and get us all on the move again with a minimum of fuss.

We spent the next few hours walking/ wading/ swimming through the magnificent Serendipity Canyon, interspersed with three abseils (down a variety of steep, wet, and slippery rock faces!!) and a 3-metre water jump, until we reached the Wollangambe River. We were then able to change out of our wet gear and enjoy a leisurely lunch of delicious (and seriously enormous) sandwiches while thawing out in the sun, before beginning the steep climb back out.

A few lessons learned:

1.       A thermal top worn underneath your wetsuit makes all the difference when you’re immersed in chilly water for an extended period of time (thankyou Jacq for that tip).

2.       When jumping into deep water from a significant height, remember to hold your nose (whoops).

3.       If you lose your footing when abseiling (or in life generally), all is not lost - you can always execute a “correction.”

4.       Feel the fear and do it anyway.

5.       Nurses rock!!

New experiences/ challenges in a pristine mountain environment, perfect weather, and lots of laughs with a great group of like-minded women made for a fabulous day. Highly recommended!