Showing posts with label Grand Canyon (Blue Mountains - NSW). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grand Canyon (Blue Mountains - NSW). Show all posts

Saturday, December 28, 2024

Shafts of light, Grand Canyon, Blue Mountains



Amazing wonderful shafts of light !!!
in Grand Canyon, Blue Mountains,
    NSW, Australia

2024 December 14

Time we were down in the canyon, in the creek:
2:30pm to 4:30pm




Background

I had been to the bottom of Grand Canyon at night,
to see the glow-worms inside the canyon.
That was a fantastic trip.

This one, in daylight, is just as amazing !

It is also the first time
I'm inside the canyon in daylight.
And get to witness the magical light show.

But note:
You need abseiling gears to do our trip.

Also, there are sections that require a swim.
Hence you should wear a wetsuit
as water is cooold ... bbrrrr !!!


(There is a foot track through the canyon.
But it is above the canyon floor.

No abseil, no swim ... meant for normal hikers.

The downside:
You won't see the fantastic light show
from the foot track 😭)



Our group

7 of us:
     Lyndal Tegel - leader + all rope work
     Amy Chi
     Helen Heng
     John Graham
     Paul Ma
     Tracey Coates
     Vijay Kini




Abseil down into Grand Canyon

First thing is to abseil down into the canyon.


1)  Lyndal abseiling down.
- Watched by John

Photo by Amy Chi




2)  Abseiling down into Grand Canyon.
- Amy
Photo by John Graham




Shafts of light near abseiling area

3)  Group photo of the 7 of us:
- John, Lyndal, Amy, Vijay, Helen, Tracey, Paul
- Shafts of light behind us ... not waterfalls

Photo by John Graham




4)  Vijay in the limelight.
- White arrow: Only this one is a waterfall.
                       The rest are all shafts of light.

Photo by John Graham




5)  Amy's turn in the limelight.
- White arrow: Only this one is a waterfall.
                       The rest are all shafts of light.

Photo by John Graham




6)  Amy again.
- White arrow: Only this one is a waterfall.
                       The rest are all shafts of light.

Photo by John Graham




7)  Left to right: Helen, Tracey, Vijay
- White arrow: Only this one is a waterfall.
                       The rest are all shafts of light.





8)  The lights are sheer magic !
- White arrow: Only this one is a waterfall.





9)  Left to right: Tracey, Helen
- White arrow: Only this one is a waterfall.
                       The rest are all shafts of light.





Shafts of light at another part of the canyon

10)  Lyndal under the lights.




11)  Beam us up, Scotty 😀
- Vijay, Tracey, Helen, Lyndal

Photo by John Graham




12)  Beam us up, Scotty 😀
- Vijay, Amy, Helen, Paul, Lyndal, Tracey

Photo by John Graham




Another shafts of light

13)  Shafts of light at another part of the canyon.
Photo by John Graham




14)  Same scene as previous pic.
- Lyndal, John, Tracey





15)  Same scene as previous pic.
- Lyndal, John, Tracey





16)  Same scene as previous pic.
- Tracey, Helen, Vijay, Paul

Photo by John Graham




Yet another shafts of light

17)  At another part of the Canyon.
- 2 in the front: Amy, Paul
- Lady in black at the back: Not our group

Photo by John Graham




18)  Same scene as previous pic.
- 2 in the front: Vijay, Tracey
- Lady in white at the back: Not our group





19)  Same scene as previous pic.
- Vijay watching ...
- Helen, Tracey ... at the back





20)  Same scene as previous pic.
       Fantastic shafts of light !
Photo by John Graham




21)  Same scene as previous pic.
- Tracey
- Lady in black up on the rock: Not our group
Photo by ???




Walk/swim downstream a bit more,
then another shafts of light


22)  We are meeting more bushwalkers now.
       They didn't abseil into the canyon.
       They walked/swam in
       from where we'll exit the canyon.
- 3 with helmets: Tracey, Helen, Vijay
- Others (without helmet): Not our group




23)  Same scene as previous pic.
- Helen, Tracey, Vijay
Photo by John Graham




24)  Same scene as previous pic.
- Amy
Photo by John Graham




25)  Same scene as previous pic.
- Vijay in the limelight
- Paul, Tracey ... photographing Vijay

Photo by John Graham




26)  Same scene as previous pic.
- Tracey, Lyndal
Photo by ???




27)  Same scene as previous pic.
- Tracey, Lyndal
Photo by ???




More shafts of light

28)  These shafts of light never ends 😀




29)  Amy ... the star !
- Behind her is Lyndal.

Photo by John Graham




Swims

There are swimming sections inside the canyon.
You should wear a wetsuit.

There are cases where hikers without wetsuits
suffered hypothermia.

They had to be rescued by helicopters.



30)  One of the swimming sections.
- Clockwise from bottom:
       Helen, Vijay, Tracey, Lyndal, Amy

Photo by John Graham




31)  Another swimming section.
- Lyndal ... standing
- Amy... swimming

Photo by John Graham


Please visit my main page at
https://mntviews.blogspot.com/


Friday, March 8, 2024

Glow-worms


Arachnocampa richardsae
Glow-worms

Greater Sydney / Blue Mountains
NSW, Australia



Glow-worms are insects having
a bioluminescent larval stage.

The roof of a cave / overhang
covered with glow-worms
can look remarkably like a blue starry night sky ...
due to the collective bioluminescent glow
from the larvae.

The larva hangs down sticky silk threads
from the ceiling of a cave.
The glow from its head attracts prey
and ensnare them in the threads.

Generally glow-worms have few predators.
Their greatest danger is from human interference.

More details are in wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachnocampa




Photos/videos here are from my trips:

- 2024-Jun-08  Night walk
Birdwood Gully, Springwood, NSW

Detailed trip report:
https://mntviews.blogspot.com/2024/06/birdwood-gully-blue-mountains-nsw.html

- 2024-Mar-07  Night walk
Birdwood Gully, Springwood, NSW

- 2023-Dec-16  Abseil & swims at night
Grand Canyon, Blue Mountains, NSW

- 2020-Jul-11  Bushwalk
Glowworm Tunnel, Gardens of Stone NP, NSW




1)  Video: Glow-worm moving in UV light.

- Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood

Note: Slightly clearer videos are in:
YouTube:
https://youtube.com/shorts/qHG3q9e_F48
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C4Q9FUZCOUK/

Video by: John Graham




2)  Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham




3)  Location: Grand Canyon, Blue Mountains
Photographer: John Graham




4)  Location:
     Glowworm Tunnel, Gardens of Stone NP

Photographer: Yours Truly 😊




5)  Location: Grand Canyon, Blue Mountains
Photographer: John Graham




6)  Location: Grand Canyon, Blue Mountains
Photographer: John Graham




7)  Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham




8)  Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham




9)  Sticky silk threads hanging down from ceiling.
Location: Grand Canyon, Blue Mountains
Photographer: John Graham




10)  Sticky silk threads hanging down from ceiling.
Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood

Photographer: John Graham




11)  Sticky silk threads hanging down from ceiling.
Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood

Photographer: Melody Guo




12)  Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: Elizabeth Zhu




13)  Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: Elizabeth Zhu




14)  Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham




15)  Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham




16)  Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood
Photographer: John Graham




17) A glow-worm and its sticky silk threads.
Under ultra-violet & red lights combination,
they show up nicely.
Location: Birdwood Gully, Springwood

Photographer: Yours Truly 😊



Detailed report on the 2024-June-08 trip,
to see the glow-worms, is in this link:
https://mntviews.blogspot.com/2024/06/birdwood-gully-blue-mountains-nsw.html


Please visit my main page at  https://mntviews.blogspot.com/

Donations are welcome to support the creation of more interesting articles in this blog  :-)

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