Better Offer Canyon - track notes

09/02/2008 - report - photos

07/03/2003 - photos

Better Offer Canyon is a pleasant trip, though not a great canyon. It features a number of interesting abseils and can usually be done without getting much more than waist deep, making it a good trip for cooler weather. The canyon sections are intermittent and not of high quality. It is also known as Magnifying Glass Canyon.

Drive about 2km past the Mt Wilson turn-off on the Bells Line of Road, and park just before the overtaking lane starts. Follow the fire trail that starts at the bush regeneration sign. It heads east briefly at first, and then roughly south along Dalpura ridge. A track used to continue all the way to Birrabang Brook, but since the fires of 2006, the bush has regenerated, and the track is faint in some places and non-existent in others. Cross over the 1025 point and keep to the east side of the ridge. The ridge soon descends and opens out, and you should shortly reach a large rock pagoda. If you look west, you should see another rock pagoda about 150m away in the creek, off to the right side of the ridge. Head for this. The creek goes over a small waterfall at this point, which you can abseil, or possibly scramble.

The first drop at the small waterfall is only about 2m from the bottom, but it is a dodgy scramble. Better is to abseil from slings about 5m further up the left bank. The next drop goes down a sloping crack, and then down into an ankle deep pool, about 14m all up. A slippery slide follows and a rope for a hand over hand is advisable. A short canyon section follows, starting with a slippery 6m abseil into a waist deep pool. It finishes with a final 6m drop into a pool that can be climbed down if dry, or abseiled if wet.

The final two abseils are one after the other. The first is quite long, and can be abseiled straight down the falls, or from a tree on a ledge to the left. Either way it is about 23m. The last is about 8m (or 2m for the minimum drop), but the anchor is about 8m back making the start quite tricky. Maybe a more convenient anchor can be found.

The creek then starts to drop down through boulders. Follow it downstream for about 200m and then veer left across the slope trending lower. Keep below the lower cliff line to avoid a very narrow ledge just below the top cliff line.

Continue traversing around under the bottom cliff line until you reach Birrabang Brook. Head upstream, and then up the first major gully on the left. From the top head up Dalpura Ridge to the pagoda where you turned off earlier and thence back to the car.