Hello all!
Firstly I'd like to apologise for my lack of updates here, Tunnel Toads have been doing a lot of stuff and I've just neglected to update this journal, rest assured the Tunnel Toads are more active and bigger than ever right now.
Secondly I would like to say we will be moving away from neocities, this is nothing against neocities, it is a brilliant platform but it is no longer suitable for our needs. We will be moving to www.tunneltoads.com
The site is not up at the time I am writing this but will be very soon.
The new site will be better in pretty much every way, it even has a forum! (where my and possibly others journals will now be posted among other things) Maybe I'll see you there.
I'll be leaving this neocities page up as it is for preservation of history.
- Venture
Hey all!
I must admit I've been slightly lazy as of late and have neglected to update this page with news of Tunnel Toad Antics
But I'm here now so let's go through the most recent of events (it was 11 days ago) Phantom organised a little get together at the Gas Chamber bridgeroom for some drinks before we went for a tipsy walk through Glass drain and it turned out to be the biggest meetup we've had to date! 9 people all up including Myself, Phantom, Manic, P'Mania, Merca, Beefy, Fuckwit, Pilot and Hippy
We all met up at Flinders St station (apart from Hippy and Pilot, they met us at Gas Chamber) and took the short bus ride to our destination with a slab of beer and a bottle of tequila is tow, luckily for anyone who knows where gas chamber is there is a certain bus route that drops you literally a 30 second walk from the entrance so we didn't have to walk far before we were jumping over the fence and crawling up inside the guts of the structure.
We didn't really do much there apart from drink, listen to music and admire the decades old graffiti, one day I should go there and take a picture of all the interesting things scrolled on the walls!
Here's some pictures!!! We didn't get many but here's two
Myself, Phantom, Manic and Fuckwit sitting around
Manic and Beefy being themselves
I did get more pictures but it will become clear as to why they're not here later in the post. There is one other picture from inside Gas chamber but I will save that for the end of this entry.
After those of us that were partaking in the alcohol were sufficiently buzzed and we'd gotten bored of graffiti gazing we decided to head to Glass, only a 10 minute walk so it didn't take us long.
This is where I would typically insert a picture of the drain entrance, and I did take one. However, in an effort to get a good shot of said entrance, I decided to get onto the rocks in the river. In my slightly intoxicated state, I decided to try and jump back instead of coming back the way I came. Let's just say it didn't go well. I was fine, but not too long after, I decided to look at my phone, and it was not fine. So, all pictures I took on this day have been lost. Truly a tragedy.
Here's a picture of us walking down
So, after the breaking of my phone, we decided to head inside and went straight to the main feature of Glass, Diana's bar. An odd chamber, so-called because at one point in time, someone put up a bunch of posters of Princess Diana, and some people had also constructed a bar inside. Alas, both the Princess Diana shrine and the bar have been destroyed; however, there are still posters on the wall referencing the bar as 'don't serve these people,' with a bunch of pictures people have put up of themselves, which is a personal favorite (I would have gotten a picture, but, you know). There's also the porn wall in the far corner with pages from various old porno mags stuck to the wall with what I hope is glue.
Someone at some point decided it would be a good idea to drag carpets into the chamber. While I do understand and appreciate the goal, this was an AWFUL idea as they've been waterlogged and filled the chamber with a persistent smell of mold. Some of the other Toads and I were talking about going there one day, removing the carpets, and maybe trying to restore the bar, if we ever have the time.
Here's some pictures from the bar!
Beefy, Fuckwit, Myself and Manic on the infamous chamber bulge
Merca, Hippy, Phantom and the side of Pilots head doing much the same
Phantom waltsing about
Hippy hanging from the pipes on the chamber roof
After tolerating the smell of mold for as long we we could we decided to head down the rest of the drain, not much to say really apart from this is around the time P'Mania had to leave as they were on a time constraint.
So here's some pictures of us going down!
Phantom looking majestic as always
Merca, Fuckwit, Manic and Myself in one of the smaller diameter sections of the tunnel
Hippy and The legs of Pilot at the waterfall which divides the old concrete/brick section of the tunnel from the newer plastic (disgusting) section
Fuckwit, Beefy at the top of the waterfall while Phantom and myself are below
We continued to the second waterfall before deciding to turn back and walk a little ways to a manhole exit in a dog park
Fuckwit and Beefy exiting through the manhole
And that concludes the biggest Tunnel Toads Meetup to date, wish I could have supplied more pictures but my dumbass had to jump.
But here's the picture from Gas Chamber I said I was saving for the end of the post!
Beefy, Merca, P'Mania, Pilot, Myself (Behind Pilot) Hippy, Phantom (behind Hippy) Fuckwit and Manic (behind Fuckwit)
I will update the gallery with all these new pictures and some stuff from some smaller adventures in the next couple of days.
Having another smaller meetup this weekend and I have a new phone so hopefully I'll get some good shots for the next post ;) - Venture
How I haven't done 69er before now is beyond me, I have been meaning to for a very long time and stopped to check out both entrances multiple times when passing by, it just never happened. UNTIL NOW!
Originally planned to take place on the 29th of this month I had some stuff unexpectedly come up on that day so moved it forward to the 22nd, Unfortunately this meant Phantom could no longer tag along but this is a damn good drain so I'm sure we'll be doing it again most likely sometime in 2024. On the bright side this date change did allow Squirtle to come along for the day!
We opted to enter through the outlet opposed to the manhole, you can do what you want but personally I'd much rather get wet than climb down THAT ladder. (for those who don't know the manhole entrance is stupidly high up in relation to the drain floor and the stepirons are rusted to hell, some are literally spindles that look like they'd break the moment you put weight on them and death is a quite plausible outcome if you happened to fall) Of course the outlet isn't exactly pleasant, It's a 4ft rectangle that is incredibly wet and muddy and filled with eels, although I don't mind eels at all.
HERE'S A PICTURE OF THE OUTLET!
Among the eels we also saw a beautiful orange fish, I couldn't get a picture of it but it was a nice addition to the overall experience!
Fortunately it isn't small for long and opens up quite quickly into what is considered by many (for good reason) one of the best drains in Melbourne. Many shape changes and material changes, size changes and some beautiful features. In a recent effort to focus on photography of our members inside drains opposed to the drains themselves I neglected to get pictures of many of these things, I think moving forward I should perhaps try to get pictures of members with the features in frame for the best of both worlds.
Here's Biz navigating a that resides over a small pit in one of the red brick sections.
Here's Squirtle and Biz in one of main rooms where most people seem to record their presence on the walls, No c/c guestbook though.
Here's Squirtle getting up a small waterfall while Biz does...something in the background
Here's me propping myself up between the two walls of a bluestone arch section
I won't post any more pictures here but as always if you want to see more you can always check out the Gallery
After we made it to the end and admired the massive overhead pipes and waterfall (sorry no pictures) we turned around to head back to the outlet (because once again - fuck that ladder) all was going well until Squirtle decided to walk head first in the corner of a brick, he was okay but now has a nasty gash on his forehead (reminder to look where you're going in drains) after Squirtle composed himself we continued to the outlet and went to get KFC before parting ways.
I lied here's one more picture of Squirtle and Biz walking towards the outlet, you can see Squirtle way up ahead.
All in all a great day apart from the headwound, fantastic drain that I'll definitely be returning to some day!
In other news the Toads are growing in numbers, we now have 13 members! 3 of which are NSW based, cant wait to start hearing of their exploits!
This will most likely be the last post of 2023 so I hope everyone has good holidays and the new year treats us all well, can't wait to get up to some no good in 2024!
- Venture
Yesterday afternoon I found myself with some spare time and decided to go on a impromptu adventure considering the weather was good for it, what better place than my first ever drain?
One might say this drain is the figurative birthplace of Venture, and by extension, the Tunnel Toads. My initial visit here is somewhat blurred in memory, but likely involved truant meanderings and walking down the canal out of boredom as a young teenaged boy might be inclined to do.
As drains go, it's modest in its impressiveness. Dubbed "Mousehole" by a Cave Clan member however many decades ago, it's small, in fact there is no section tall enough for me to fully stand, and I'm not particularly tall. Nonetheless, it boasts intriguing features, making it a worth while experience in my opinion. So come with me through the Mousehole!
The journey commences with an unremarkable concrete arch, stretching into obscurity. I don't have much to say on this section to be honest, so here's a picture.
However it doesn't take long to reach the first feature being what many people refer to as a balloon (I like to refer to them as Alien heads myself but that was a name I came up with by myself back when I was exploring this drain as a young teen with no knowledge of the established nomenclature) This one, constructed of red brick, signals a delightful shift in the drain's structure.
The Balloon then meanders, transitioning from brick to concrete, curving and changing elevation.
Before turning back into a concrete arch like when entering, I won't bore you with a picture as it looks at the same as the entrance passage, It then quickly changes into a beautiful round pipe with bluestone bottom half and a redbrick top half (not something seen too commonly in drains and always a treat!)
Curiosity might lead you to explore the small offshoots, but they all culminate in dead-ends. This section's antiquity, likely from the 1800s, adds a layer of beauty, surpassing that of a mundane concrete pipe. Speaking of which it quickly turns back into a concrete arch! Mousehole really keeps you guessing, but it doesn't take long before we reach the alternate entrance/exit to this drain, the field manhole.
This leads straight into a field and is obscured by foliage, I'm not sure when the grill fell in or what caused it but I do know that it has happened since 1994 as there is Cave Clan footage from that year that shows it being intact. In any case it is essentially a ladder now, moving on we reach my favourite section of this drain, The Slide! unfortunately photography will never capture how steep something is without you actually being there but believe when I say this is quite steep, it can be quite difficult to get up when wet but luckily it wasn't too bad this time around.
Once at the top of the slide it turns into a rectangle! (woah shit's really getting crazy now)
Variation like this is always great to see! alas we're almost at the end. within the rectangle section there is some slight variation in altitude and a slight curve, unfortunately I did not think to get a photo of this. Soon we reach the end of the rectangle section and are met with a round pipe that you need duckwalk or crawl through.
I tend to do this because it's a lot quicker than going all the way back to the field exit and you only have to crawl for a moment to reach the exit which is a concrete manhole that opens out into a park.
The pipe extends beyond this exit, but my explorations suggest there's little else to discover down there. I could be wrong though.
That concludes the revisit of my inaugural drain. I hope you enjoyed reading along!. All I know for certain after this is I need a better Camera
Until next time - Venture
Slight update to the site, there is now a Documents page which can be found here Documents
Not much there as of yet apart from Approach Doc (which if you haven't heard of you should totally go check out, it is by far the most comprehensive guide to finding/exploring drains ever written) I spent more time than I'd like to admit formatting it for ease of reading as all copies I could find of it were not exactly easy to read, hope I did a somewhat decent job.
In other news I think Phantom and I might be going for another adventure later this month if the weather permits it so watch out for that coming down the pipeline! - Venture
It is inevitable that within this hobby you will find yourself in situations you'd rather not be in, ie being covered in in a thick oily substance that's almost impossible to get off.
This is the situation that Phantom, Biz and I found ourselves in yesterday afternoon as we attempted to enter Cpier, all was going well, We met up at 2pm when the tide was low and proceeded to the entrance
(pictured here)
And entered the dark. Now this was my first time at Cpier since last time I was in Geelong for such activities the person I went with hurt their ankle before we could get to it,
So I am unsure if the pit that divides the concrete entrance from the bluestone tunnel is usually completely filled with water or if it is the result of the constant rain we've had over the past week or so, but considering when other people have mentioned this drain to me all they've told me is to go at low tide and nothing about a literal pool, I'm assuming the latter.
Fret not we thought! we have rafts that I brought along for Geelong darky, so we come back to the surface and retrieve one of the 2 rafts from my car and go back down, it takes us half an hour to blow up that god damn raft (note to self, buy a decent pump) Once we got it inflated we put it in the pool and made our way across one by one, pushing the raft back to the other side with the paddles for the next person to make their way across, however there was something in the water. I can only assume it was old deep fryer oil someone had dumped down a grate, smelt like the back of a McDonalds. You can see it in this picture (the yellow crap floating on the surface)
This stuff is the devil, greasiest most oily substance I have ever come across and damn near impossible to get off, in fact after we left the drain we spent maybe ten minutes scrubbing our hands with soap to try to get it off (it didn't really work, my hands still kind of smell like it now) and walked to big W to get new clothing. We also had to abandon the raft (we put it in a large skip bin that was on the pier) as it was absolutely coated in the gunk.
But I digress, after we made our way across the "pool" to the bluestone tunnel we explored per usual, going down little offshoots as we like to do and splishing about in the thigh high water. there were little fish and the occasional Eel swimming about and some nice features throughout. We were in there until the time the tide started to rise and we thought it might be a good idea to head back to avoid having to swim from the entrance. aside from the sludge it was a great experience. Good drain 8/10.
After leaving Cpier and the before mentioned mission to decontaminate ourselves we made our way to Misfits Tomb which in my opinion is not a special drain by any means, but still good enough to be worth doing. I don't really have too much to say about the Misfits experience but have a picture of the entrance!
The original plan was to go from Misfits to Geelong darky and use both rafts and a rope to get everyone across (next time I go there I might take some pictures and explain why this would work and why it's pretty much impossible with only 1 raft) but due to the loss of our first raft we just made our way directly to the Geelong aqueduct.
The Geelong aqueduct is an extremely unique location, although most of the fun is actually getting up there, once you're up and you walk for 30 seconds you've pretty much seen all it has to offer as there's pretty much no variation, still worth doing at least once in my opinion.
As I said before getting up is the real fun part as you have to navigate your way up the structure via little platforms on the sides as you can see here
Considering it's condition I'm not sure how much longer this location will be around, having said that the last time I was there was over 2 years ago and it doesn't seem to have deteriorated too much in that time.
Here's a shot from up on the walkway
And this concludes the first Tunnel Toads expedition (find more pictures from this expedition here Gallery ) and also the daily entries to this journal, I probably won't update this journal until the next expedition or if I decide to go on a solo adventure somewhere. Until then, explore everything and stay safe - Venture
So the first Tunnel Toads Expedition was a Success!
I am honestly so exhausted as I've spent half the day in drains and 5 hours driving so I'll do a full Journal entry in the morning
In the meantime have this picture, I'll upload the rest tomorrow so I can finally get rid of those placeholder images in the gallery
- Venture
I have implemented a version of this site for Phone users which can be found on the Home page via the "Phone" link, I hope this makes peoples experience here a better one. First Tunnel Toads Expedition is tomorrow, weather forecast is looking positive and it's rarely wrong this close so all should be well. Hopefully I have some good pictures to post tomorrow night - Venture
Work on this site is pretty much done (I may have added a secret or two as well) and ready to start being used to archive Photographs taken by The Toads.
However in an attempt to maintain a fresh start I don't think we'll be posting any pictures taken before the official formation of the Tunnel Toads,
Phantom and I are going on a substantial adventure on Sunday for the first official Tunnel Toads expedition (providing the weather forecast remains suitable)
So hopefully I'll have a bunch of worthy pics to put here by Monday morning.
- Venture