Wheengee Whungee Creek
October, 1995
by Vanessa Haverd
It was with expectations of a great weekend's abseiling that we set off along the Unirover Trail, heading for Wheengee Whungee Creek.
However the first descent was no-one's idea of a dream abseil for the cliff face was covered with dense scunge. Moreover, decent belay points were virtually non-existent, forcing us to repeatedly rebelay off clumps of grass.
Lunchtime came and went unobserved- we were nearly tempted to perch on a ten centimetre wide ledge to refuel. But then we discovered that none of us were carrying a drop of water, and the the waterfall cascading down the cliff only metres from us might as well have been a mirage for it was totally inaccessible.
So, famished and parched, we pressed on regardless under the fearless leadership of Doug. Our efforts were rewarded when, four and a half hours after commencing it, we finally reached the bottom of the first abseil.
We then continued on down Wheengee Whungee Creek, encountering a few comparatively trivial abseils on the way. Shortly before dark, we set up camp at the junction of Wooglemi and Wheengee Whungee Creeks.
That night, utterly exhausted, even the simple task of cooking dinner seemed beyond us. Instead, we ate food designated for Saturday's lunch, followed by Acko's delightful little red sausages. These were cooked in a cake tin and passed aroud to everyone except Mr Bean (who continues to harp on this injustice several months later).
The quality of Sunday's abseiling was infinitely better than that of Saturdays. Much to our enjoyment, we found ourselves bouncing down sheer scrub faces, often into crystal clear pools of waste deep water.
Sally's reputation for dislodging rocks was further confirmed when she managed to shift a boulder the size of a house. It rolled onto her leg before proceding to go thundering down the cliff, narrowly missing Mr Bean. Sally was left with a bruise the size of a dinner plate and claims to still have a 'dent' in her leg- we'll have to send her to the panel beater.
Acko wisely vowed to never go on another trip with Sally without a hard hat.
The trip ended with a pleasant climb out along Spinebender Ridge and a walk along the Unirover Trail back to the car.
It was a most memorable weekend.