No impression of interest any more, trip on the long October weekend 5th October – 7st October will take place :-)
Please feel free to join even if you don’t want to go down in the tight parts of the case or not all….. it is also just a lovely camping spot with a nice river to go for a swim

Hello everybody,
I am running the annual camping and caving trip again on the long October weekend.
A bit early notice butas always this club trip is a bit different. ;-)
It is not strictly speaking a 4×4 trip either beside a few kilometers of dirt road along the Goodradigbee river and if we want to explore, there is the Bridabella NP close by.
And I don’t have limitation on participants, no recovery gear or UHF required but I have a minimum number required to run it.

Camping is at Billy Grace reserve, at a small pleasant river at Wee Jasper, maybe an hour from Canberra.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir//-35.1379624,148.6874789/@-35.1405769,148.6777157,16z/data=4m1!3e0
There are several camping areas, which cost a few dollars per night) but the Billy Grace has even hot (!) showers.

Total travel time from Hornsby between 4-5 hours
So far so good.

But the both hills are home to large sweet blackberries (maybe not in October) and the Wee Jasper Caves.
But if you want to give real caving a shot that is the trip for you.

Please note: that is not a cave with light and guided tour!
That is the real thing! Not a tourist cave.

But similar to 4wd: it is save as long as you are able to follow instructions e.g. how to put your feet on steps you can’t see

The hills contain quite a number of caves. Some are larger and at least the main cambers are relatively easy accessible .
But there is one which requires some gear to get in and potentially a few able bodies to get out, as there is a decent 15Meter drop.
The drop is not mandatory, purely optional but I want to do after I had never the required gear with me in the past.
For that I would like to have commitment of at least three people who want to do the drop (two or three as a counterweight to support the weight of the third on a rope for safety reason) and a unlimited number of spectators at the top :-)
You need to bring your own torch (better a headlamp), may be a bicycle helmet as the ceiling height is not always according to NSW health and safety regulation, sturdy shoes and some gloves for the climbing rope
As said In case that you are more adventurous (and you are not claustrophobic) we can than get in the more interesting parts but it is not mandatory
That starts from pulling the head in, getting on your knees, on your belly and potentially going through tight squeezes to see other chambers hidden further inside the hills.

There are larger caverns for warmup with few side-tracks which are scalable depending on mindset and body shape ;-).

I have been there few times and the caves as such are save. I still like to have at least three people going with me in case some manpower is required to pull or push see above.
But saying that the caves are absolutely suitable for teenagers or kids (ours where `12 when we went the first time)

If more are coming and just enjoying a quiet weekend at the river that is ok as well but I would like a commitment of three cavers minimum.
The plan is to do a few caves each day including some exploring along the river and, if weather and water level allows we can go for a swim or drift along the river.

Cheers
Michael

Location

Wee Jasper, Billy Grace Reserve -35.1405769 148.6777157