Bushwalk Australia

Can anyone show me how to get to Rennies tunnel from both ends. The grid coords of the entrances on both Jamison Valley and Megalong valley ends would be a great start. Thanks in advance.

The entrance on the eastern side is very easy to find - as it is on the track (Federal Pass) between the Landslide and the Golden Stairs junction (- about 20 minutes walk from the Golden Stairs?) - look for a creek coming out of the hill and making the track muddy. Look where the creek emerges, it does look unlikely - but there is the portal into the tunnel. You will get muddy shoes! (red muddy shoes)

Dave

DaveNoble wrote:The entrance on the eastern side is very easy to find - as it is on the track (Federal Pass) between the Landslide and the Golden Stairs junction (- about 20 minutes walk from the Golden Stairs?) - look for a creek coming out of the hill and making the track muddy. Look where the creek emerges, it does look unlikely - but there is the portal into the tunnel. You will get muddy shoes! (red muddy shoes)

Correction: you will get muddy.
(Sorry, Dave)
Cheers

Last time I bothered looking for Rennies tunnel on the Federal Pass side (summer 2010, while running the Jamison Valley loop), it had closely-spaced vertical metal bars in place.

If open - it is best if you help each other clip your back-packs onto your chest/tummy, even without abseil gear - you are compelled to bend forward.

Once did Boars Head abseil route, then carried an 80m rope through Rennies tunnel to exit up the railway

Wollemi wrote:Last time I bothered looking for Rennies tunnel on the Federal Pass side (summer 2010, while running the Jamison Valley loop), it had closely-spaced vertical metal bars in place.

From what I can gleam off the web access is still possible from the Megalong side. Apparently these co-ords are for the Megalong entrance: Rennies Tunnel.

Haven't checked the co-ordinates, but as the linked Google map shows Taros Ladder to the NORTH of the Golden Stairs, one does wonder about the accuracy.

Be ready for a leech fest!

Here's some coordinates (taken from the listing on geocaching.com)
megalong side - S 33° 43.796, E 150° 17.118 - the entrance here is about 25m up a steep slope from a fire trail, it can also be reached from the climbers track that follows the base of the cliff line from the bottom of the devils hole, past lower psyn cave and the the bottom of the old waterboard ladders. that track eventually bluffs out, you should be able to see a faint foot pad that leads to a small cliff with a fixed chain, from there just follow whatever line you like, if you hit the firetrail you have gone too low. the entrance was once sealed over but has since reopened. it's a bit of a tight squeeze / crawl to get in but soon opens up (although if you are tall like me, there's very few spots in the tunnel where you can fully stand up)

jamison side - S 33° 43.827 E 150° 17.371 - as others have said, on the federal pass between golden stairs and the landslide, where there is a distinctive orange ooze on the track, the entrance is like 3M from the track, and the bars the NPWS installed on this side have long since been pushed aside.

Wollemi wrote:Last time I bothered looking for Rennies tunnel on the Federal Pass side (summer 2010, while running the Jamison Valley loop), it had closely-spaced vertical metal bars in place.

Wollemi, any chance you took a photo of these bars? I'd heard a few rumours about them, but no one could substantiate them. They're also referenced by Michael Keats in a Bush Club newsletter from last year (http://www.bushclub.org.au/down/Newslet ... letter.pdf). He references a "recently installed heavy duty barrier to prevent bushwalkers and others from attempting the tunnel traverse".

I went through the tunnel three weeks ago, and not only are there no bars, I couldn't see any sign of where they would have been installed. The only change from when I was last in there, about 5 years ago, was one of those crappy fold out barriers with a laminated warning sign just inside the entrance (see below).



You can see out the rest of the photos from our trip, which included the E - W traverse through Rennies, here: http://fatcanyoners.org/2013/08/24/rennies-tunnel/

I am genuinely confused by all these access rumours. I was planning to check out the entrance from the east, run into the new barrier, then take the group up the Golden Stairs, down Devils Hole, and enter from the west. When I found absolutely no change to access (except the fresh landslide just to the north of the entrance) I was quite surprised. It seems unfathomable that they would remove a heavy duty barricade. I can't help wonder if people saw the crappy movable one, didn't look very closely, and just assumed it was now shut off.

Oh, and the western access is now easier than ever to find. A massive landslide has blocked the fire trail (you have to climb over trees and rocks to pass by) directly under the tunnel entrance. When you hit the landslide, just go straight uphill for 20m and you'll be there.

Spiersy wrote:Be ready for a leech fest!

Really? I've done Rennies three times and never come across a leech. You'll get far more resting at the bottom of the Golden Stairs than you will around the tunnel.

jonnosan wrote:Here's some coordinates (taken from the listing on geocaching.com)
megalong side - S 33° 43.796, E 150° 17.118 - the entrance here is about 25m up a steep slope from a fire trail, it can also be reached from the climbers track that follows the base of the cliff line from the bottom of the devils hole, past lower psyn cave and the the bottom of the old waterboard ladders. that track eventually bluffs out, you should be able to see a faint foot pad that leads to a small cliff with a fixed chain, from there just follow whatever line you like, if you hit the firetrail you have gone too low. the entrance was once sealed over but has since reopened. it's a bit of a tight squeeze / crawl to get in but soon opens up (although if you are tall like me, there's very few spots in the tunnel where you can fully stand up)

Huge thanks for this, I've been looking for the Megalong entrance for a while now. Can confirm Megalong side still open, though a big rock covers the entrancing making it harder to spot (you can see the wind draft blowing the plants around the opening). Will be coming back to go through soon. Also big thanks to fatcanyoner for his trail notes.