On our second trip after COVID restrictions eased we headed up to Bungonia National Park to explore Drum Cave. One of the more spectacular caves in the area (or so I’ve been told) it can normally only be visited for a brief window during winter due to high concentrations of foul air over summer. read more
This was our first club trip in almost 4 months. We decided to do some dry canyons in the Blue Mountains since it was far too cold to be swimming and most all caving locations in NSW were shut from either the fires or COVID. read more
The road to Wee Jasper passes through beautiful rugged country – I was impressed. Maybe it’s because I was used to driving to and from caving areas late at night with SUSS when the surrounding countryside is invisible. read more
On Sunday 1st March ANUMC and the National University Caving Club (NUCC) joined forces and held our first Clean Up Australia Day event. 18 members across both clubs headed to the Wee Jasper Reserves in the Goodradigbee River valley, NSW, where they removed rubbish from the trails leading to the popular Dip Cave system. read more
This was one of the first trips of the year after Market Day, so it was a big four-car convoy that left the regroup point at Robertson. We were relieved that the smoke had now definitely cleared and the fires had stopped – even on Market Day, it hadn’t been entirely certain whether the trip would go ahead. read more
I joined ANU’s caving club quite by accident in the haze of o-week. I was with a friend, fully intending on going to the mountaineering stand when I suddenly found myself not only holding a caving flyer, but also committing to attend the first caving trip of the year – the beginners Mount Fairy one. read more
With seemingly every other caving area in the state on fire or already burnt, I headed up to Abercrombie Caves for a weekend caving. This was an MSS trip to work on their book, but they kindly let me come along, as they needed a keen, thin and flexible caver to survey Rabbit Trap cave. read more
There was a thick haze of smoke as we departed ANU at 7AM which seemed to worsen as we approached Bungonia. Fortunately as we descended into the canyon the smoke seemed to clear (or we just got used to it). read more
Glenlyon and Viator Caves (collectively Texas Caves) are south-eastern Queensland’s most significant cave systems. Unfortunately, they were flooded by the construction of Glenlyon Dam in the mid 1970s. This was an act of blatant environmental vandalism that the local caving club, the University of Queensland Speleological Society (UQSS, since defunct), fought in vain against. read more
Once again the annual SUSS cave surveying course was back through popular demand. I went along because I’ve picked up a taste for cave surveying- that’s what happens when you gatecrash too many SUSS trips. read more
31-8-19 (Saturday): In Transit Lachie: Woke up at the awful, awful time of 5:30am to finish packing, tidying and cleaning… Spent all morning running around like a headless chicken, but even despite delivering my spare raincoat to Whitley in Gunners for her to (hopefully) take next Saturday I was ready by the time Chris Snr, Chris Jnr and Andy came past at 11:45am to pick me up. read more
This trip nearly didn’t happen, as we were really worried about all the snow. Instead it turned the Snowy Mountains into a snowscape, all the way from Adaminaby. Lots of brumbies on the way up, and snow around Cotterills Cottage in Yagby Village. read more
It was time for our Semester 2 Bungonia Beginner’s trip. We had a fantastic day’s caving planned- B4-5, Grill and Hollands Hole, all a great introduction to sport caving. As normal, we piled into cars, this time fitting all 11 cavers into two cars (six in one, and five in the other) for the short drive out to Bungonia. read more
The trip began with everyone arriving promptly before 8am, except the trip leader who arrived five minutes late (supposedly a tradition). We collected gear from the store room, split into three cars and left for Wee Jasper. read more
A last-minute-organisation trip out to Mount Fairy to do some of the stuff on the massive hit- list. We literally got access permission the night before, so there had been some talk of SRT at Bungonia instead. read more
On Saturday morning, a group of intrepid cavers left ANU bright and early to go and explore Wyanbene Cave. Dressed to survive the wet and cold conditions of a streamway cave, we entered the dark and got down to business (eventually, after much deliberation about how many ladders were needed – for the record, 1 x 50ft was fine). read more
The April 2019 Easter Cooleman- Yarrangobilly trip, originally planned as a double between Cooleman and Yagby, was rescheduled to a four day Cooleman due to numbers. Initially, four NUCC members headed up on Friday to set themselves up for an early start the next day. read more
There is currently a statement on the NUCC website under the page on Mount Fairy: “We always go to Mount Fairy as a day trip”, so of course Lachie set out to prove the author wrong. read more
Having been on too many SUSS trips, Lachie came up with the bright idea that it was time for NUCC to begin surveying again, after the club took an extended break from it all in the early 1990s. read more
Jenolan has long been one of NUCC’s favourite caving locations, as it has a wonderful range of varied caves with plenty to see in them. Plus, it has the added bonus of a caver’s cottage with all sorts of useful bits and pieces, like a microwave for the two-minute noodles. read more
As our first trip for the year after the annual influx of beginners on Market Day, there were scores of new cavers spread between six cars heading up to Bungonia on Saturday morning. read more