Kanuka Brook Crayfish Pond via Red Hands Cave in Glenbrook

[khouw]

Are there anyone out there who knows this walk from Glenbrook NPWS Visitors Centre to Red Hands Cave then into Crayfish Pool at Kanuka Brook? It is an easy walk, thinking of bringing the kids there for some education about Aboriginal artefacts and for a dip at the pool. I have not been there for ages, just wandering what the pool condition is like these days, is it safe and of sufficient depth for a swim? I recall a waterfall too, still there? And in case we think of it, can we camp overnight like I did so many many years ago? I understand camping in the Blue Mountains NP is now restricted to designated campsites?

Any info would be appreciated, including pictures.

[johnw]

I actually did this walk two or three weeks ago for maybe the third or fourth time. The walk to Red Hands Cave and beyond to the Kanuka Brook/Crayfish Pool turnoff (unmarked) is quite easy. The descent gets quite steep approaching the creek with a few sheer drops here and there. Nothing dangerous with normal care and commonsense, but may need to watch younger kids and assist them down a couple of mini scrambles. Waterfall is still there and had reasonable flow. May be a bit drier now but I would think still OK. Not sure about the camping rules around there but was evidence of people doing so. Deep enough for a swim. The rocks near the falls are very slippery - I was on my own so elected to have a quick swim downstream where it was more sandy and still deep enough in places. A few pics will feature in the November photo competition, probably posted in the next few days, of the falls and aboriginal artefacts on the Red Hands circuit (labels won't be location specific though). HTH.

[khouw]

Wow John, thanks for the quick reply. Yeah am curious as to what the pool and waterfall looks like today, so what photo comp you are talking about so that I can take a peep? I remembered there was a sandy beach area too, safe for children but climbing the waterfall was rather dodgy, indeed slippery. Can you recall how big is the area for pitching tents, like how many 2-man tents you reckon we can fit there? Might invite a few mates and their kids too...

Steve

[johnw]

Wow John, thanks for the quick reply. Yeah am curious as to what the pool and waterfall looks like today, so what photo comp you are talking about so that I can take a peep? I remembered there was a sandy beach area too, safe for children but climbing the waterfall was rather dodgy, indeed slippery. Can you recall how big is the area for pitching tents, like how many 2-man tents you reckon we can fit there? Might invite a few mates and their kids too...

Steve

Steve, The photo comps for November will appear on this page once posted http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=22. From memory I entered the waterfall one in the "Other States" category. Caption is "A Secret Spot". The evidence of camping was under an overhang near the waterfall, up fairly high above the creek. Would not be a lot of room for tents, at a guess maybe one, two would probably be pushing it (but memory is hazy as I wasn't looking for camping spots). It looked like people had just used the natural shelter. I don't recall much space elsewhere (a bit overgrown) although I noticed a flat-ish area on the opposite bank a bit downstream from the falls. You can almost see it on RHS of this photo:

Kanuka Brook

PB302685 resized.jpg (63.82 KiB) Viewed 6950 times

[khouw]

John, one more thing: this walk links with the Euroka Circuit and there are a couple of campsites there suitable for bigger groups. Do you know much about this track? Oz Ultimate rated it "hard" so is there lots of hill climbs perhaps? Does anyone know much about it?

[johnw]

John, one more thing: this walk links with the Euroka Circuit and there are a couple of campsites there suitable for bigger groups. Do you know much about this track? Oz Ultimate rated it "hard" so is there lots of hill climbs perhaps? Does anyone know much about it?

Have a look at my reply to your post in the Euroka topic Sreve, but in short I wouldn't rate it as hard. I haven't had a chance to look up what Tom has on Ozultimate but suspect it would be a more difficult and/or extended variation of something.

[johnw]

John, one more thing: this walk links with the Euroka Circuit and there are a couple of campsites there suitable for bigger groups. Do you know much about this track? Oz Ultimate rated it "hard" so is there lots of hill climbs perhaps? Does anyone know much about it?

Have a look at my reply to your post in the Euroka topic Steve, but in short I wouldn't rate it as hard. I haven't had a chance to look up what Tom has on Ozultimate but suspect it would be a more difficult and/or extended variation of something.

Steve, I know the area well and I can't find anything on Ozultimate about a Euroka circuit walk. Can you provide link so I can see how it relates? Or did you mean wildwalks, which shows a 2 day trip? Also you have posted more or less the same question in three different forums. This is frustrating for people who may be willing and able to help. This forum is a general discussion forum and your query is NSW destination-specific. It would be best kept to a single topic in the NSW forum. I think you will more likely get the responses you seek.

[khouw]

John, OK as regarding the multi-posting I am really sorry, for I needed answers real quick. Won't happen again. I am accustomed to great walks in small numbers in more challenging terrains...but here I am tasked to lead 2 very different kind of walks (a) with my young teen son and (b) a bunch of novices. And I thought I could do it in this same area that I often bushwalked in my cub scout days. This forum is about trip (a) whereby the other twos are about trip (b). As to the link, I am also sorry my mistake, not Ozultimate rather indeed Wild Walks (http://www.wildwalks.com/bushwalking-an ... rcuit.html) which from the surface and my memory should be easy enough for both (a) and (b) but what stumped me was in the PDF version the walk is rated "hard." So there you have it, I was just seeking information from the bushwalking community.

[johnw]

...what stumped me was in the PDF version the walk is rated "hard." So there you have it, I was just seeking information from the bushwalking community...

No problem, that's one of the purposes of this site and many of us are happy to help if we can. Just gets confusing when what looks like the same question is posted multiple times and in forums that may not get the attention of people with the local knowledge being sought. Can also mean a higher risk of generating conflicting responses as posters may not necessarily read what others have said.

Anyway, yes I don't consider this walk especially difficult either. In fact I occasionally whip around much of it in 1/2 a day or so when I'm short of time for something longer/more challenging. But remember to allow for the aerobic effort of carrying overnight gear up and down a few steep hills. To get an idea of how Matt grades the Wildwalks tracks notes have a look here:
http://www.wildwalks.com/bushcraft/technical-stuff/track-classification-system.html
Essentially it's based on the Australian Standard and ultimately rated on the hardest part of the walk (which could be a very small part of it).

[khouw]

Hi John, thanks for your understanding. Aye I agree with you, it's an easy walk, if not perhaps some sections close to Darug one could classify as moderate.