Canyoning in Australia

Page sponsored by Cradle Mountain Canyons

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There are several destinations for canyoning in Australia. Most popular due to its location and number of canyons are the Blue Mountains, located 50 kilometres west of Sydney. Canyoning is also practised in Far Northern Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria and most recently, Tasmania. Most of the canyons in the Blue Mountains and Western Australia are classed as 'dry canyons', with relatively small flows of water. Dry canyons generally involve activities including walking, scrambling, swimming and abseiling. Most canyons in Tasmania and Far Northern Queensland are 'wet canyons'. Wet canyons involve activities including walking, swimming, scrambling, jumping off waterfalls, sliding down natural waterslides and abseiling.

Many of the popular canyons in the Blue Mountain, including Butterbox, Claustral and Kalang were discovered in the 1950's and 60's. However most exploration took place in the late 1970's and 80's. Now several commercial companies have been established and canyoning is a popularly practised sport for Sydney siders and canyoning enthusiasts around the world. Canyoning has only really taken off in Tasmania over the last few years. Canyons have been navigated since the 1970's, however as a sport, people have until recently only actively begun seeking out new descents. These descents have led to the establishment of the first commercial canyoning company in Tasmania, Cradle Mountain Canyons.

Popular canyons in Tasmania include the Lost World Canyon, Cocky Canyon, Narrawa Creek Canyon and the spectacular Dove Canyon. Dove Canyon was discovered in the late 1970's by a group of Tasmanian bushwalkers. Until 2008, only 3 groups had negotiated the canyon - until the establishment of Cradle Mountain Canyons. Commercial tours are now taken on the Dove Canyon and Lost World Canyons, located in Australia's world renown Cradle Mountain National Park. For more information on the tours see Cradle Mountain Canyons' website www.cradlemountaincanyons.com.au.