Wretched Rabbit to Eureka Junction

Wretched Rabbit Entrance Series

A short crawl soon leads to a series of climbs, rigged with handlines (February 2016). The initial steep 3.5m climb is rigged from a scaffold bar. Below is an easy 2m step down onto a ledge. [An inlet and a bedding plane crawl enter on the right here.] A further 4.5m climb, steep for the bottom half, lands on another ledge. The final 5m climb is less steep, with good footholds.

At the bottom of the climbs is Big Rift. 30m ahead is a side passage to the right [which soon leads to a rope climb]. Just ahead is a 3m-deep hole, lined with boulders, with an inlet entering from the right. Ahead is the traditional route. Descending the hole leads into Spiral Staircase Passage.

Wretched Rabbit Traditional Route, from Spiral Staircase Junction to Depot Junction

From the junction with Spiral Staircase Passage, the Wretched Rabbit traditional route continues as an abandoned vadose passage. After about two minutes, the way is to step across a hole in the floor, and then descend to a wider passage. [The passage to the left is blind after 1m.]

Ahead, a meandering vadose passage meets the stream. After three minutes, a series of easy climbs down is reached. The stream falls down a 1m-deep pot in the floor; the way on is to step across the pot into an oxbow. Immediately, a junction is reached.

• Continuing down to the left, a step across another pot leads to a 2m climb down to the stream, and the continuation towards Eureka Junction.

• Ascending the inlet to the right leads towards Depot Passages.

Wretched Rabbit Traditional Route, from Depot Junction to Eureka Junction

An easy 4m climb leads to a meandering streamway, narrow in places; this passes a large stalactite, and includes a short crawl. After about three minutes, a junction is reached; [to the left chokes after 3m.] A dry passage continues to the right, in a roof oxbow, passing a hole connecting to the stream about 1m below. After about two minutes, the passage passes another hole down to the stream. Ahead, the easiest route is to step up to a traverse level. When the passage widens, the route is to step across another hole down to the stream, into continuing roof oxbow. Round the corner, is a descent back to stream level.

Ahead is a crawl in the stream, or a dry oxbow and crawl to the right. The crawl passes stal flow and pillars, and calcited cobbles suspended from the ceiling. After another short crawl, the passage becomes more vadose. The walls here are covered with a thin layer of mud, caused by water backing up from Eureka Junction. After about three minutes, a step up reaches a roof oxbow. A few metres ahead is the junction with County Pot. To the right soon reaches Eureka Junction; to the left leads to Poetic Justice and Trident Passage.