4.21 howling arch, the pool of diana and the pool of aphrodite › media › reports ›...

550 | The Gardens of Stone National Park and beyond

4.21 Howling Arch, the Pool of Dianaand the Pool of Aphrodite

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MAPS ETC.Department of Lands topographic mapRock Hill, 8931–2N, 1:25000, secondedition. GPS setting WGS 84.

WALK DESCRIPTIONAND ROUTEDrive to approximately GR 468 058 onthe Deep Pass Trail. Head down a spurtrending slightly west of south and thensouth as it nears Dingo Creek. VisitHowling Arch, an amazing naturalfeature. Enter Dingo Creek and progressdownstream for about 1.3km visiting the

scenic Pool of Diana on the way,continue underneath high cliffs to GR476 048, the start of a north north westtrending ravine. Follow the ravine up,visiting the spectacular Pool ofAphrodite along the way, to eventuallyreconnect with the trail and the vehicles.About 6km.

GEAR ISSUES1 litre of water, GPS, PLB, appropriatehead and footwear, camera electrolytes,map, compass. 30m tape (leader only).Change of gear for afterwards.

Walk 4.21 Howling Arch, the Pool of Diana and the Pool of Aphrodite | 551

Howling Arch, north side Dingo Creek. Photo: Brian Fox

COMMENTSWild, spectacular country. Wet feetpossible. Partly exploratory.

Date walked 27th July 2012.

TRACK NOTESA fine but cold day with morning windgusts; overnight rain left the already wetground very soggy and bushes wet inthe gullies - temperature range from 4to 10 degrees. Rock surfaces were wetand treacherous.

This walk was constructed to retakephotographs for two walks done in thearea several years ago, the magnificentPool of Aphrodite, 31st October 2007,and the Pool of Diana, 28th April 2010.In addition, and because of itsproximity, the Howling Arch, last visited19th January 2011, was included. Each ofthese destination features is spectacular.Including three such wonders on onewalk is a truly special day out. Havingsaid that, there is a price to pay. Noneof these places is easy to reach, and the


Michael Keats on the Howling Arch, north side of Dingo Creek. Photo: Brian Fox


Pool of Aphrodite.Photo: Emanuel Conomos

dense undergrowth in this section ofDingo Creek is abominable. In manyplaces, walking progress is measured inmetres per hour, not kilometres perhour. The measured map distance forthis walk is about three kilometres. Onthe day, with time to enjoy the featuredlocations, it took nearly seven hours tocomplete the circuit walk.

The vehicles were parked at GR 468 057where a side track heads south eastfrom the main Deep Pass Trail. The windchill factor made the temperaturestanding at 4 degrees feel likesomething closer to zero. I opted to puton my over pants for two reasons,firstly, the bushes in the sheltered gullieswould be wet, and secondly, the pantsprovided some extra insulation. I wascomfortable with leaving them on allday. Similarly, the beanie stayed on allday as well.

Having set the scene, we headed offwalking generally south south westdown towards Howling Arch. As weprogressed, the southern cliff line ofDingo Creek became visible through thethinning forest, the early winter sunlighting up the cliffs. Underfoot, it waswet and no rock surface could betrusted. A small deviation from the usualentry ridge was a nice change as wearrived on the western side of HowlingArch rather than the eastern side. It wasthen only a small scramble down apagoda to enjoy an easy walk over thearch.

In retrospect, we should have deferredwalking over the arch until we had

reversed back up the western side ridgeto take photos. The Howling Arch is avery tricky photographic item. The gullybehind it is very steep and supportsstrong, luxuriant growth, making picturetaking from the northern side a nearimpossible challenge.

To secure good photos, we walked bothnorth and south along the eastern


Stephen Murray and Michael Keats in the canyon section, Dingo Creek.Photo: Cotter Erickson


Waratah, Telopea speciosissima.Photo: Cotter Erickson

pagoda ridge, where it is possible togain some idea of the magnitude of thisnatural wonder. Even so, this is notenough to really appreciate just howmassive it is. By following this easternridge south, it is possible to descendabout 40m into the gully then walknorth hard against a shear rock wall andemerge almost underneath the arch. Itis from this vantage point that the archcan be best appreciated.

It is such a great arch, that aftercompleting the descent it was decidedto have an early morning tea on anelevated dry rock shelf. This naturalviewing platform on the eastern side,was just the place to take in itsbreathtaking majesty. Fifteen minuteslater, we were on the move. Ahead ofus was one of the most demandingcrossings of Dingo Creek.

In this section, Dingo Creek is a bit likethe Sargasso Sea. It is a series of thickmats of ferns, scrubby plants, fallenlogs, hidden rocks, concealed holes andmultiple streams. It took the best part often minutes to cross 50m and reach thebase of the southern cliffs. Despite ourcaution, most of us ended up with atleast one wet foot.

The southern cliff line of this section ofDingo Creek is magnificent, also bysticking close to the base, it is relativelyeasy to negotiate, particularly whencompared with crossing or trying towalk in Dingo Creek. One disturbingaspect of this section was the incredibledamage wrought by feral pigs. Literally,they have ploughed the ground, and inplaces dislodged boulders up to 40

kilos. The individuals concerned mustbe very large. The area of damage ismore than 200m long. All this hashappened very recently. We alsorecorded many mounds of fresh dung.

At 1015, we reached the incised ravineentry to the Pool of Diana, GR 468049. The Pool was even morebeautiful than when we visited in 2010.Overnight rain had added significantvolume to the waterfall and the poolwas beautifully clear. The deep sectionof the pool glowed intenseaquamarine in the sunlight. The beach


Canyon section, Dingo Creek. Photo: Cotter Erickson


Above Dingo Creek, Roger Clarke and Michael Keats. Photo: Cotter Erickson

area was pristine and the backing ferngallery glorious. We spent over 40minutes enjoying this spot, takingphotos and appreciating the privilege ofbeing in this place.

With help from others, I did someestimates of the dimensions. The actualpool overhang / canopy is about 40m indiameter. The pool itself is about 30macross and at least 2m deep. The heightof the roof above the water surface isabout 12m. About two thirds of the poolarea is under the rock canopy. Theuncovered part of the pool is wedge

shaped, with the apex dominated by thedischarge point of the waterfall.

Reluctantly, we moved on, continuingour cliff hugging progress to a large dryoverhang, GR 476 048, the bioturbationefforts of the feral pigs still very evident.It was now 1205, and an opportune timeand place for a quick lunch. The noiseof water crashing over rocks in DingoCreek was awesome. What would ourcrossing involve? The time passed veryquickly as we all knew that once lunchwas over, we had to descend into DingoCreek, cross it and then work our way


Moss near the Pool of Aphrodite. Photo: Emanuel Conomos

up the ravine that contained the Pool ofAphrodite.

The descent into Dingo Creek involveda few slide sections, and as we wentlower, the noise of Dingo Creekincreased and the ground becamemore saturated and covered withslippery logs. Then, suddenly, down atcreek level, the noise disappeared andwe were in a remarkable world of quiet,broken only by the cussing of fellowwalkers at misplaced footfalls andwarnings about this or that particularlyslippery, slimy log.

When it came to crossing Dingo Creek,we did it right at the junction with theravine creek that drains from the Pool ofAphrodite. Better still, the crossing couldbe done without getting feet any wetter,on a semi submerged log with ahandrail log for support. For the record,Dingo Creek was flowing strong, clearand about 30cm deep. This junctioncrossing was at GR 477 048.

Time now to commence climbing upthe ravine to the Pool of Aphrodite.Using our accumulated knowledge, weinstinctively went to the dry east side of


Cliff climb. Top down, Stephen Murray, Brian Fox, Michael Keats and Roger Clarke.Photo: Cotter Erickson


Above Dingo Creek. Photo: Michael Keats


Dingo Creek. Photo: Michael Keats

the ravine and climbed up to the firstlevel of cliffs. At GR 476 050, there is thebeginning of a long, but intermittentoverhang that provides a useful accessfor about 500m. The overhang ispunctuated by several waterfalls, eachwith an attractive fern and moss glen.Some also had small sandy beachesmaking for a totally delightfulexperience.

As we moved higher up the ravine themix of vegetation changed toCoachwood forest interspersed with an

increasing number of large butcontorted elegant Soft Tree Ferns,Dicksonia antarctica. Then, at GR 474052, we arrived at the incrediblybeautiful, and unsurpassed, Pool ofAphrodite.

Due to the overnight rain, themultistage waterfall was in full spate,great bridal veils of water formed asuccession of offset semicircular curtainsas they descended from the cliffs above.The waterfalls alone are extraordinary,quite apart from the amazing beach


Gnarled tree on the island rock landing stage before crossing the hanging swamp.Photo: Brian Graetz

The descent below Howling Arch, front to rear, Adrian Cooper, Brian Graetz, MarionDavies, Leanne Frostick and Michael Keats. Photo: Yuri Bolotin


Cliffs above Dingo Creek. Photo: Brian Fox

ringed pool and fern galley surrounds.As I wrote on the first occasion ofseeing this extraordinary place,

“…we happened upon one of the mostperfect and beautiful natural features – ashallow, circular, crystal clear pool, some10m in diameter in a setting on anelevated river terrace that can only bedescribed as “Shakespearean romantic.”Initially the word Grotto came to mind,but it is more than that. Grottos aresmall and intimate. This is vast andgrand. The surrounding semicircular

walls are decked all round with ferns toheight in excess of 15m. Above that, aperfectly proportioned rock shell risesanother 20m or so. A gentle waterfallcascades into the pool at the rear. Awhite sandy beach invites and beckons…

It is a place I suspect few eyes have seen.We spent time here, our cameras failingmiserably to capture the wonder andessence of this remote Circean spot. Itneeds a name. I propose to call it thePool of Aphrodite, just the place insummer for a passionate interlude.”


Pool of Diana. Photo: Yuri Bolotin

It was no hardship to spend 30 minuteshere. However, as is always the case,there is a need to move on. We still hadsome serious walking to do to return tothe vehicles. When I came to this spotpreviously, I had entered via a gentleramp on the eastern side of the ravinehead. Today, we were going to trysomething a bit different, to scale thewestern side cliff line. To be fair, the

topographic map does not indicate cliffsbut rather a graduated slope extendingsome 500m towards the ravine head.The aerial photographs also do not tellthe full story.

The reality is that, although there are notechnically cliffs as such, the contoursare close together and hidden betweenthem are slopes that are more verticalthan horizontal. For a while, we made


Ian Armstrong framed by the Bungleboori Arch. Photo: Brian Fox

Cliff face east of the Pool of Diana. Photo: Yuri Bolotin


excellent progress, finding a longupward rising ramp that seemed asthough it would go all the way. All wentwell, until about GR 472 057. At thispoint, our ramp stopped and we wereconfronted with a small vertical climb ofabout 2m straight ahead, or a 20mdrop, or a slot down into a rather messyand wet outfall from a hanging swamp.

A human ladder was built to get Yuri upon top of the vertical climb. Once there,he went reconnoitring to see what layahead. On his assessment, we had threechoices. One, to drop down into a slot,traverse the base of the hanging swampand then climb up again further north inthe ravine. Two, to retrace our stepsuntil there was a way down and thenproceed up the ravine. Three, tonegotiate a rather wet rock slope, andthen climb up the hanging swamp.

On assessment after discussion, it wasdecided to go for option three. Outcame Marion’s trusty rope, which wasthen thrown up to Yuri who secured itto a tree and we all made it up to whatamounted to an island rock landingstage, ready for tackling the wet rockslope. Again, Yuri secured the rope to atree as a safety measure, allowing us allto negotiate to a more stable area.

Some real fun stuff followed as weclimbed the hanging swamp. It wasdensely matted, wet and slippery, andrequired excessive pressure to push apath through it. In places, the swampwas so dense you could not fall over,although some members of the partytried because of exhaustion. It was 1526before the group finally made it

TABLE OF TIMES, LOCATIONSAND GRID REFERENCES

Time Location Grid Ref

0846 Park vehicles 468 057

0910 On ridge above HowlingArch 466 052

0921 At Howling Arch 466 052

0941 Below Howling Arch +am tea 21 min 466 051

1015 Pool of Diana, 40 min 468 049

1128 Overhang and feral pigevidence 476 048

1205 Dry overhang + lunch,29 min 476 048

1305 Cross Dingo Creek 477 048

1312 Overhang in ravine 476 050

1320 Pool of Aphrodite, 30min 474 052

1440 First rope assisted ascent 472 057

1505 Second rope assistedascent 472 057

1526 Above the hangingswamp in forest 470 058

1533 At vehicles 468 057

through the swamp and back into moreeasily negotiable forest, GR 470 058. At1533, we arrived back at the vehicles,tired but euphoric.

Total distance 3.7km, total ascents280m.


Ian Armstrong framed by the Bungleboori Arch. Photo: Brian Fox

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