Adventure Time: The Crayfish Pool on Kanuka Brook

Near Glenbrook

Distance: 3ish km... my Garmin tracked it as 5.4 as I left it on whilst swimming

Duration: We took 2.5 hours but that included over an hour mucking around in the water, and breaks on the way back.

This waterhole is a hidden gem! A relatively short but steep track winds down from a nondescript dirt side track off Red Hands fire trail in Glenbrook National Park. The Kanuka Brook Gully track is clearly marked on maps but blink and you'll miss it when driving along the fire trail! There is a very small clearing opposite the trailhead where you can park, and from there it is about 1km down to the edge of the pool.

The track is enjoyable on the way down with a few steep scrambles that were tricky for short legs. But it's all downhill. :)

Although Holly chose to wear her long socks, 'in case of leeches', there weren't any. :)

First we skirted the edge of the pool around to the left, alongside a sheer wall that shaded the water, to get a good view of the falls. We could see the small sandy entry to the pool over on the opposite side, so we made our way across some rocks and under branches and headed over to dip our feet in.

There were lots of beautiful glistening sundews on the mossy sand.

The kids ended up getting more that their feet wet although we'd come prepared with small towels and a change of clothes for them. The water was lovely but the kids weren't sure about swimming all the way over to the waterfall on their own. We went in up to our thighs.

Ty and Holly spent ages making a small moat in the 'beach', which we tried to restore to its original shape before we left.

You can see the little sandy spot below; perfect for a picnic.

In the middle of January we figured it was going to be a damn hot climb back out, so after an hour or so we dragged the kids out of the water, although they could have stayed for much longer. Holly's prune feet suggested they'd been in long enough!

Holly and Ty both needed a leg up in one or two spots, and we took plenty of mini breaks on the climb back to the car. It was hot and the cicadas were deafening!

This place is a magical find - we'll definitely be back. :)

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