Danae Brook Canyon
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| | Raps:11-15, max ↨115ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:Optional Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 19 Apr 2025
"Great day out. A little chilly late in the season but it was worth it for "The Car Wash". Out via the climbing exit. Despite minimal rain in April the |
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| Best season: | Oct-Apr (avg for this region)
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-33.9672, 150.1087
-33.9948, 150.0878
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Weather forecast
Waterflow
Introduction[edit]
Danae Brook follows a spectacular slot through the Kanangra escarpment. It is the longest of the one-day Kanangra canyons due to the extended boulder field and creek walk at the bottom. Allow anywhere between 10-18 hours. It is possible to bypass the boulder field, requiring climbing out, which can save you a few hours (see below).
Water levels[edit]
Use the river gauge 212260 Kowmung River @ Cedar Ford
- <100 ML/d: Low water, A2
- 100-250 ML/d: A3
- 250-600 ML/d: Medium water, A4
- 600-1000 ML/d: High water, requires a high level of canyoning skills and high volume falling water skills for all party members
- >1000 ML/d: You’re on your own. Don’t expect a rescue. Rather go do Kalang.
Note: The Kowmung gauge does not measure the volume of water in Danae Brook directly. It is a "proxy gauge" and has a 733 square kilometre catchment as stated by WaterNSW. The catchment above Danae Brook is much smaller at approximately 4 square kilometres. History has shown it to be a somewhat good proxy for water levels.
Do NOT make the assumption that a 4 km sq. catchment will result in easy/low water levels. Danae Brook can absolutely pump, as the entire water flow is forced through a narrow constriction.
Rainfall[edit]
Rain gauges can provide useful historical data for how much rain has fallen over a given period of time. There are no publicly listed online rain gauges or weather stations located at Kanangra. Rainfall for Kanangra reported by the Bureau of Meteorology is using data collected from sites over 40 km away from Kanangra and can be very unreliable proxies for rainfall at Kanangra.
The closest rain gauges for Kanangra include:
- INSWPORT16 via Weather Underground - approximately 22 km West
- Mount Boyce via Bureau of Meteorology - approximately 44 km North North East
- High Range via Bureau of Meteorology - approximately 40 km South South East
Approach[edit]
It is convenient to leave a car at the Kanangra Walls parking lot. Park/leave the Kanangra Walls road on the Mount Thurat firetrail at 30998 34589 (-33.99477, 150.08775). Follow the fire trail north, then branch off as per the GPX track. Follow the GPX track closely. It is slower to enter the creek too early. Follow the creek to the first abseil.
Descent[edit]
Follow the abseil quick reference list or canyon topo. For R3, the alternate route through "The Car Wash" cave is great fun; splash-proof head torch required.
Topo[edit]
Drop summary[edit]
| # | M | Location | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 | RL | Tree anchor. Or RR (natural slightly down around clump of trees) and get wet. Note - there are no double bolts on the RR (as the topo might be interpreted) at the top of P1. | |
| At P2 anchor, decide if staying on surface or going underground. Can continue dry line on the surface using P2a to R3. Or go underground into "The Car Wash", get-wet head torch required for every party member: Use P2b and P3b; or P2c. Most newer parties plan to use P2b then inadvertently miss the P3b bolt; be prepared to run out more rope. The Car Wash is highly recommended. | ||||
| 2a | 26 | RL | Swing right (downstream) of chockstone. Abseil onto slippery log and grab the handline to get onto rocks. Get onto the stone bed. Then P3a. | |
| 3a | 28 | RR | Hangers on wall (as of 16 March 2025) (bring stainless steel maillons/quick links to add to hangers if first party since). Old bolts on top of large boulder are now buried under lag logs and significant debris, unusable. | |
| 2b | 26 | RL | Careful to find the P3b single bolt at the chockstone, many miss it, be prepared to run out rope. Then P3b. | |
| 3b | 8 | RL | Then P3c | |
| 2c | 40 | RL | All the way to the bottom skipping P3b bolt, but be very careful of long pulldown. Pull from upstream as rope tends to fall on the downstream chockstone. Then P3c | |
| 3c | 15 | RL | Into the depths. Abseil all the way to the pool. Be very careful in high water, syphons. Walk through to the light. Then P4. | |
| 4 | 5 | RL | Straight down the hole (pokey squeeze). | |
| 5 | 21 | RL | Rig a traverse line, very slippery. When pulling rope, careful the knot in the groove at the spillover; rig the knot and pull strand on the downstream bolt; last person should pull the knot over the edge; or a very good flick will get the knot out. High Water: use bolts further up and along, to avoid being smashed in the spillover area. | |
| 6 | 35 | RL | Bolts left up high adjacent to spillover. Money shot 2. | |
| 7 | 21 | RL | Approach via traverse line. Consider building a guideline to avoid the narrowing flow at the bottom. | |
| 8 | 16 | RR | Bolts up high at spillover. | |
| 9 | 7 | RR | Hangers on wall (no stainless steel maillons as of April 19 2025) (bring stainless steel maillons/quick links to add to hangers if first party through since). | |
| 10 | 8 | RR | Hangers on wall (no stainless steel maillons as of April 19 2025) (bring stainless steel maillons/quick links to add to hangers if first party through since). | |
| 11 | 8 | RR | Bolts up high. | |
| RR | Climbing exit on a clean slightly sloping cliff. See "Exit" section for description. | |||
| 12 | 29 | RL | Bolts | |
| 13 | 13 | RL | On boulder. Then comes boulder field | |
| 14 | 10 | RL | Single bolt. After boulder field, canyon closes to pool. Can scramble down and slide in. | |
| 15 | 10 | RR | Pitons top of boulder. Now for the creek walk. |
Exit[edit]
Gain the confluence of Danae Brook and Kanangra Creek (not always obvious). Walk directly up the opposite/south slope, breaking through the cliffs at about 35432 36453 (-33.97920, 150.13624). Pick up the well-worn path on Kilpatrick Causeway/Gangerang to return to Kanangra Walls.
Climbing Exit P11[edit]
Early Climbing exit River Right after P11. 2 connected grade 16-18 pitches of ~25m each (take a minimum 8 quickdraws). Wet rock makes it about 18. Doable without climbing shoes.
- P1 ~g18 ~25m: 8 to 10 quickdraws. Some bolts are hard to spot because they are bolted on the ledge and not the face. Crux at bottom (if wet) and last ~2m. Double Ring Bolts to end P1.
- P2 ~g16 ~23m: 4 bolts. Typically dry although this was very slimy on 19/4/25 despite minimal rain. Tree anchor to end P2.
Left & up at the top, follow walls, a few very narrow ledges to traverse. Relatively clear goat track in 2025, go back & check again if lost. Once you hit the easier top ridge, follow the GPX to return to the entry track. Expect some thick bush in the last ~30%.
Red tape[edit]
Beta sites[edit]
Trip reports and media[edit]
David Noble : David Noble, 1973 descent of Danae Brook
- YouTube.com : Richard Pattison, Danae Brook & Thurat Spires in a day. Note that this video predates the rebolting of the canyon. The anchors have changed entirely.
- YouTube.com : Descending Danae Brook Overnight. Note that it is not necessary nor advised to overnight in the canyon.
Background[edit]
Named by Myles Dunphy (late 1920's). A species of Eucalypt grew on the plateau above the creek (and near Mt Cloudmaker). These trees had a striking gold coloured bark. They were all wiped out by a bushfire in about 1929.
"King Acrisius of Argos locked his daughter Danae in a tower after an oracle told him she would bear a son who would someday kill him. But Jupiter fell in love with Danae and came down in the form of golden rain to impregnate her. Their son, Perseus, would later kill his grandfather accidentally with a discus."
