Kambah Pool is a Dump

Since moving to Canberra 10 years ago I’ve had some lovely times at Kambah Pool and at other spots on the river down south, with family and friends. I haven’t been since last summer but my experiences at Kambah Pool have been largely positive.

Stay near the main beach and it’s fine, but venture south to the declared nude area and yes you might come across people in shock horror, the nude. They might proposition you, but then you might cop the same type of suggestion at several public toilets near Lake Burley Griffin or beyond.

It’s good free fun and the more good people that go there, the better it can be.

Well then, seriously maybe the government should consider completely closing the site to (car) public access and concentrating on keeping the walking paths from Pine Island to Cotter upgraded so that serious nature lovers and hikers can still enjoy it.

It would be easier for them if they only had two sites to keep an eye on.

What do I see when I visit the river. I see the cockies eating moss off the rocks in the early sun or sitting in two’s amongst the trees on the ridge, nesting. I see fish jumping and occasional a platypus. I see 30cm fresh water crayfish and little “prawns”. I stare down flat headed red belly black snakes and follow them as they hunt. I see big brown snakes swim river and search for a way on to the bank. I watch echidnas digging around logs. Ive seen mice fall from the sky as a python gorges its self on their tree nest. Ive met huge male roo’s that push out their chest and give me the evil eye. Ive watched the wedge tailed eagles fly in from the cotter and up the valley in the morning and return down the valley at lunch. I see last nights digging of the wombats and how high the water is in their burrows.

I also see the mess left by teenagers and druggies. Its not much. I see piles of rubbish left by “middle” Canberra in car parks and on the side of the road. Most of you will not see it as it gets cleaned up pretty quickly. Huge piles of consumer waste dropped off in shiny utes and cars with trailers. Every drain or pull over covered with the remains of shattered TVs, house hold rubbish and garden waste. Ive seen exercise machines, roofs, complete lounge room’s, bedroom’s, garden settings, computer waste, builders rubble and car parts. This isn’t the work of teens and druggies. Its the work of adults.

The rangers would rather spend their time doing remedial environmental work than picking up after people or endlessly rebuilding picnic benches. Above was mentioned the new toilet block at Kambah. It survived its first sustained rock attack with out too much damage.

In the 1920’s the Cotter and Kambah pool’s had their own life saving clubs. Today we don’t use the river much. With air conditioned houses, busy work schedules, back yard pools, the coast holiday house’s and playstation who could be bothered. Its good that people don’t take their bratts to the river, now we just have to convince them not dump their rubbish there.

LSWCHP said :

The last time I went there was as a teenager in the late 70s. A friend, who subsequently came out of his closet, took a group of us there for “a swim”. We ended up in a a huddle, floating down the middle of the river with eyes like golf balls as a group of naked, oiled up men with erections walked along the river bank beside us, staring at us.

If you’re a straight teenager, half a dozen balding, lubed and tumescent men with hard-ons and wolf eyes is not a pretty sight. in It was beyond disturbing, and even though it was over 30 years ago I can still remember it vividly.

We eventually agreed to make a bolt for it as a group, going quickly and not meeting anybody’s gaze, and we made it out OK.

I’ve occasionally thought about going back there for some legal skinny dipping, as it’s a lovely spot, but it looks like I’ll have to pass.

now you know a bit more about how women feel when men leer at us, honking horns and calling out to us, making suggestive comments, hitting on us inappropriately, commenting on our looks or bodies… (and no, i dont dress in a way that invites attention at all… no cleavage or legs or tight fitting clothes). its not flattering… its disturbing.

the guy doesnt have to be naked, oiled up with an erection to evoke the same disgust and fear you experienced.

im not a lesbian but sometimes i wish i was.

“Waahh it’s too far away….well how about taking your rubbish with and putting it in your rubbish bin at home, or is that too difficult”

Not difficult for me but it seems too difficult for all the multitudes of people leaving junk behind!

gentoopenguin said :

Rollersk8r said :

eyeLikeCarrots said :

Yep. Have been there exactly once – about 15 years ago – and don’t think I’ll ever be able to erase the image of some bloke openly masturbating in broad daylight… *shudder*

I wonder if that’s the same bloke I saw once on the top of Mount Painter jerking off in the general direction of Parliament House. I hightailed out of there pretty quick…

Call me crazy, but I reckon that jerking off in the direction of Parliament House seems like a fairly reasonable thing to do, most days.

Skidbladnir said :

Are you talking about the upstream plainclothes river area, the rock pool area near the the downstream carpark, or beaches full of nudists and old queers?

If that question was directed at me, I was in the main carpark.

breda said :

Haven’t been there in years, but it seems that it is a beat and a party spot.

Would have loved to see the older, heavily tanned guy in the cord mankini. Haven’t seen one of those since my last visit to a certain section of Bondi Beach years ago.

Who says this is a sterile, boring place with no nightlife?

Probably the same guy, he was certainly proud of his creation or maybe just satisfied with the size of his ding-a-ling..who knows? I didn’t stop to chat.

Are you talking about the upstream plainclothes river area, the rock pool area near the the downstream carpark, or beaches full of nudists and old queers?

Haven’t been there in years, but it seems that it is a beat and a party spot.

Would have loved to see the older, heavily tanned guy in the cord mankini. Haven’t seen one of those since my last visit to a certain section of Bondi Beach years ago.

Who says this is a sterile, boring place with no nightlife?

Rollersk8r said :

eyeLikeCarrots said :

Yep. Have been there exactly once – about 15 years ago – and don’t think I’ll ever be able to erase the image of some bloke openly masturbating in broad daylight… *shudder*

I wonder if that’s the same bloke I saw once on the top of Mount Painter jerking off in the general direction of Parliament House. I hightailed out of there pretty quick…

fgzk said :

You are seriously full of it Canberra Creative. I doubt you get out much. Teens and druggies, you are joking right………….

Id ask people to stop dumping their rubbish, especially garden waste with infectious weeds and TVs. People dumping rubbish a big problem.

Canberra creative” . “Unfortunately I’m not going to blame the government on this one. The local teens and druggies have basically taken over many of the nature reserves around the south of Canberra. Now of course the government could be doing more to stop them, but honestly it’s just too wide spread and common now.”

I think the Creative Canberran has a very valid point. Plenty of nice spots in Canberra ruined by some very anti-social people.

eyeLikeCarrots said :

From what I have heard about the place, you wouldn’t want to take your family there ever….

And its a brave person who goes there at night.

Indeed. I was quite started on a recent hike along the river corridor when I stopped for a rest at the Kambah pool and was propositioned for sex by about 3 men in 10 minutes.

And what’s with this “no-bin policy” that’s on the sign? Sounds like just a poor excuse not to have to pay someone to empty a bin now and then. I like on the signage how it says the closest drop-off point for rubbish is “Scollay St Tuggeranong or Mugga Lane”?!! Could they have picked a place any further away?

Ok, aside from all the reasons not to take kids, or for that matter even visit Kambah Pool do you seriously have that big an issue with the no-bin policy. Waahh it’s too far away….well how about taking your rubbish with and putting it in your rubbish bin at home, or is that too difficult.

Rollersk8r said :

eyeLikeCarrots said :

From what I have heard about the place, you wouldn’t want to take your family there ever….

And its a brave person who goes there at night.

Yep. Have been there exactly once – about 15 years ago – and don’t think I’ll ever be able to erase the image of some bloke openly masturbating in broad daylight… *shudder*

Or the elderly gentleman/perv with the deep tan who was walking through the carpark wearing a washing line cord fashioned into a crude mankini..That’s one I won’t forget…

The last time I went there was as a teenager in the late 70s. A friend, who subsequently came out of his closet, took a group of us there for “a swim”. We ended up in a a huddle, floating down the middle of the river with eyes like golf balls as a group of naked, oiled up men with erections walked along the river bank beside us, staring at us.

If you’re a straight teenager, half a dozen balding, lubed and tumescent men with hard-ons and wolf eyes is not a pretty sight. in It was beyond disturbing, and even though it was over 30 years ago I can still remember it vividly.

We eventually agreed to make a bolt for it as a group, going quickly and not meeting anybody’s gaze, and we made it out OK.

I’ve occasionally thought about going back there for some legal skinny dipping, as it’s a lovely spot, but it looks like I’ll have to pass.

fgzk said :

You are seriously full of it Canberra Creative. I doubt you get out much. Teens and druggies, you are joking right………….

Id ask people to stop dumping their rubbish, especially garden waste with infectious weeds and TVs. People dumping rubbish a big problem.

Yeah I’ll take first hand accounts and a multitude of Facebook and Youtube pics and videos over you any day. Oh, and the AFP: http://the-riotact.com/naas-rd-crackdown/8628

Pine Island was well known among teens on the south side as a great place to down a bottle of Jim Bean and smoke something late at night until they added gates. Also a great place to pour some oil and do burn outs.

Now obviously TVs and weeds are just lazy people dumping, it happens all over town.
But the vandalism, broken glass, spilled oil, drug paraphernalia… very clear who’s behind it.
The toilets in the Gordon Adventure Playground were literally detonated once, completely blown up. The Fadden Pines play areas has had syringe and broken class littered around not to mention trip wires on cycle ways.

It’s the same people who trashed Weston Park for years so that most of the equipment that hadn’t already been burnt was removed and the place locked down at night. And even then people still get in to trash the miniature railway and nursery on occasion.

Get your head out of the sand.

You are seriously full of it Canberra Creative. I doubt you get out much. Teens and druggies, you are joking right………….

Id ask people to stop dumping their rubbish, especially garden waste with infectious weeds and TVs. People dumping rubbish a big problem.

Canberra creative” . “Unfortunately I’m not going to blame the government on this one. The local teens and druggies have basically taken over many of the nature reserves around the south of Canberra. Now of course the government could be doing more to stop them, but honestly it’s just too wide spread and common now.”

Unfortunately I’m not going to blame the government on this one. The local teens and druggies have basically taken over many of the nature reserves around the south of Canberra. Now of course the government could be doing more to stop them, but honestly it’s just too wide spread and common now.

Kambah Pool is regarded widely as the worst. I often hear of crime there including a while back two people been pushed into the put of their car and possessions stolen.

What the OP says about Kambah Pool though is true for most of the Murrumbidgee Corridor including Pine Island, Point Hut, Thawra and various crossings along the river up Nass way including Angle Crossing. Corin and Honeysuckle are particularly bad too, you’ll find P platers drinking and street racing most weekends which the Police on occasion target.

They head out there packed up with food and booze, often with hotted up cars and generally act like scum, leaving trash behind and too often oil on the roads.

Angle Crossing takes it to another level as does Piccadilly Circus in the Brindabellas where not only are the grog bottles all over the place, but the signage and public facilities are riddled with bullet indents and holes. Not long ago one side of the Angle Crossing toilet looked like a colander. And that’s when they signs and facilities haven’t been burnt, blown up or otherwise trashed.

So even though money no doubt plays a role, it’s more that whatever they put at these places will just get destroyed. Hence they recently put CCTV in at Point Hut.

Rollersk8r said :

eyeLikeCarrots said :

From what I have heard about the place, you wouldn’t want to take your family there ever….

And its a brave person who goes there at night.

Yep. Have been there exactly once – about 15 years ago – and don’t think I’ll ever be able to erase the image of some bloke openly masturbating in broad daylight… *shudder*

Ah yes, Kambah Pool where I came of age as a schoolboy back in the 1970s. Now only a shadow of its glory in years gone by. Favourite areas now overgrown, no barbecues anymore, the sign saying Naked Bodies Might Be Encountered Past This Point long since gone (that was souvenired within days of going up in 1976).

The last time I went there was three years ago and I swear I saw at least two guys I had encounters with in the 1970s.

If they just spent a bit more to fix it up then more families would come. As it is, the rundown state of it just attracts the undesirables who then make it even more undesirable and the cycle continues. It’s such a beautifully natural place right on our doorstep and as part of the Murrumbidgee/Murray corridor you would think they would take greater care of it.

Maybe instead of planning 6-storey apartment blocks and triple level commercial areas for Kambah, they should be throwing some money at the existing infrastructure like Kambah Pool.

eyeLikeCarrots said :

From what I have heard about the place, you wouldn’t want to take your family there ever….

And its a brave person who goes there at night.

Yep. Have been there exactly once – about 15 years ago – and don’t think I’ll ever be able to erase the image of some bloke openly masturbating in broad daylight… *shudder*

It need to be shut at night just like Pine Island is.

From what I have heard about the place, you wouldn’t want to take your family there ever….

And its a brave person who goes there at night.