Wattamolla Triangle - RNP.

[michael_p]

Well I managed to find my way to one of the pits in the mysterious Wattamolla Triangle. What an interesting location.

First photo is for reference so we are all on the same page. I would prefer not to discuss my route to the triangle as it is off-track and the area is still recovering from the fires.

Guess what my clothes looked like after I walked through this.

And this.

I came around a patch of young trees and spied what looked like a rock shelf. Not sure where I was exactly I decided to see if it gave me a view of the surrounding area. Only it wasn't a rock shelf but the pit wall. First sighting...HOORAY, I found it.

Photo taken from the back of the pit looking towards trench B. Trench A heads away on the left hand side.

Pit has filled with water and the Sedges are taking over.

This photo is of the pit wall. It is reasonably wide and stands proud of the natural surrounding soil by about 1/2m.

Jeff volunteered to stand at the start of trench A to give some perspective. You can also see Charlie standing on top of the pit wall on the left. The pit would be around 1.8m deep (or 6foot in the old money). It appears to have filled in a bit so it may have been a little deeper.
There appears to be a limit on the number of photos I can attach so I will do the rest in a separate post.

Attachments

Last edited by michael_p on Tue 30 Jun, 2020 5:10 pm, edited 3 times in total.

[michael_p]

OK, lets continue.

The start of Trench B.

Trench B was different. It started at the same depth as Trench A but got shallower very quickly. Strange, I really expected it to be the same as trench A. Within 20m of starting it was only about 300-400mm deep and appeared to continue at this depth for as far as we could see.

Satisfied with what I had seen we decided to head back out of the scrub. Thankfully we found a slightly less burnt bush infested route out.

Last edited by michael_p on Tue 30 Jun, 2020 8:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[michael_p]

Couple of extra bits.

Tony Markham photos from an attempt to head up the creek: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tony_mark ... 2692445958. And a video of the trip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZV7EGOUNY0

Older triangle video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdgPdA7fltQ

Really interesting photo from 1947 here: https://www.facebook.com/FirstNationalP ... =3&theater

[puredingo]

Interesting, Michael. Never heard of them before? Thanks.

[Allchin09]

Thanks for sharing the photos Michael, I got out there this weekend and happened to visit the same pit in the western corner. Easier going than when I first went there in 2012, but still a little scratchy and blackening with all the burnt and dead banksia

[michael_p]

Great to hear you got there. It really is a very interesting location.

I am keen at some time in the future to make a return visit and check out Trench A further. There is a good chance that some artefacts may still be there.

Cheers,
Michael.

[Lindsay]

Never heard of this. What was it for?

[DaveNoble]

Tank training area - WWII.

[michael_p]

Never heard of this. What was it for?

There is a good overview in the right hand side pane of the Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/FirstNationalPark/photos/a.2913972515292201/2913972831958836/?type=3&theater. Click on "See more" for extra info.

The original entry point from Wattamolla Rd is on the right hand side just past the toll booth when heading to the beach. All that is visible now is a row of rocks: https://goo.gl/maps/GGahNqChzKNFmx9w9

Michael.

[Lindsay]

Never heard of this. What was it for?

There is a good overview in the right hand side pane of the Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/FirstNationalPark/photos/a.2913972515292201/2913972831958836/?type=3&theater. Click on "See more" for extra info.

The original entry point from Wattamolla Rd is on the right hand side just past the toll booth when heading to the beach. All that is visible now is a row of rocks: https://goo.gl/maps/GGahNqChzKNFmx9w9

Michael.

Thanks David and Michael.