Sloths and Dougos 1 September 2000

Sloths Rating:
For more information on this tunnel read the expedition report!

Entrance. This tunnel is between Great Stairway and Dougos, the entrance being deceptively small. From above a clump of blackberries marks the entrance location. The entrance is built into the creek side.

The tunnel starts with an mummy section. You may be mistaken into believing that the tunnel is water filled but only about 50 meters in (if that) a single step leads to a fairly dry tunnel still in an inverted horseshoe shape about a meter and a half wide at the base and about 3 meters high. When I first visited this drain it was a bit smelly but you generally get a good breeze through the tunnel.

5. Stairs. A bit further in you come across the first of two sets of steps each of 6 or 7 steps. These steps are one of the best features of this drain. Look out for the interesting graffiti at the top of each set of steps. Also note that you can occasionally find money in the holes in the bottom of the steps but look out for glass! Just above the second stairway is some graffiti from Alf Sadlier from way back in 1946.

6. Flagstaff Station. These lead on to an upright rectangular cross section tunnel about 1.5 meters wide and 2.5 to 3 meters high. This tunnel curves and snakes along for about 300 meters till you come to a chamber dubbed 'Flagstaff Station'. The 'corridor type tunnel in it's self is really cool. Looks just like some neat basement corridor. There's some nifti grafitti along here too.

Flagstaff Station is a must see and it's just one of four stations in this tunnel. This is a red brick arch with sort of concrete platforms either side, about 4 meters wide and 15 meters long. It really is one of the more unique features we've seen in the tunnels.

Further on the upright rectangular shape of the tunnel gives way to a RCP after 2 short stairs. A short way along the tunnel you will come to the second of four stations in this tunnel; UA City Central (formerly Museum Station). This is very similar to Flagstaff. Further walking will bring you to two more stations, Parliament and Flinders St. Sloth's is renowned for being the drain that can't make up it's mind about what it wants to be, changing shape often.

The tunnel contains some good graffiti in it, including:

• When the doors of imagination open, reality becomes dreams and dreams become reality.
• Sending him round the bend
• Rusco and Popcorn did 'it' here
• Um, err, Misfit did it here as well, honest. Oh what, you mean with someone else. No I haven't!
• This drain can't make up it's mind.

Upstream exit. The upstream exit to the drain is located in a quiet suburban street. It is an RCP here which shrinks before getting bigger. It changes into a double barrel with a side tunnel before reaching the first station.

For more info on this tunnel, see the Expedition Report.

Dougos Rating:

This is quite a good tunnel, easy to explore and get too. The only reason it gets and average rating is that it pales in comparison to Great Stairway and Sloths. It also does not have a great number of features. The downstream entrance is often filled with a few feet of water so gumboots or waders are recommended, unless it's summer and you don't mind getting wet.

I suggest you do this tunnel first, Sloths and Great Stairway, saving the best for last.

8. Upstream entrance. There is a lot of interesting graffiti here and a copy of Tunnel Rag had been posted on the right side wall about 20 meters in. But some sod ripped it down! - What is it with some people, don't they believe in free press!!!!

The tunnel is rectangular in shape, about 2.5 meters wide and 3 meters high at the entrance. It soon turns mummy like Great Stairway. Ideal for a beginner, at least until it reaches the flooded section. The manholes along here are high up, but full of red-back spiders. There's a lot of really foul graffiti in this drain, most of written before formal drain exploration started.

9. Side tunnel. This is an interesting tunnel as about half way down another tunnel joins it at abouthalf way down. This tunnel runs under Hill and Dale park towards a downstream creek system. It's about a 1.8 meter RCP. Further down the main tunnel is a small alcove which contained some of Big Ear's instruments last time I visited.

The tunnel continues down to the downstream exit at a park near where it becomes a 2.5 meter RBA. As mentioned, the water here is quite deep. Keep an eye out for eels!

Expo Reports You may want to read this expo report too

Drain 06 - from 1997

With Merinda Park tagging along Gunny and I headed back for the car. Shucking our gear we piled in and drove north to the Great Stairway. Gunny and I had visited the entrance to this before but had not ventured in since the new works. We scrambled down the stairs to the canal edge and using the reinforcing rods as grip we clambered into the bridge under Toorak Road. We had expected we might fall in but we didn't. At this stage my shoes started to crack down one side and I hobbled along with the other two best as I could.

Coming to the entrance we didn't hesitate to walk on in. We had seen the bizarre drainage box in Fordham gardens but had no idea how short it was to the new chamber. We read the relatively recent messages, including some from the 17th March '97, only a few months earlier. There was also a crude message from some guy (we gotta take a note pad next time!) who said he had built the tunnel.

After our sojourn we headed down the new tunnel. It was almost dry underfoot so we walked right down the middle, not worrying about getting water in our already wet shoes.

The new tunnel was almost bare of messages or graffiti, with the CSR logo on it and a note saying the pipe section had been made on '96. A nice new tunnel! It was about 3 meters wide and high. We could not help adding a tag to a curve of the tunnel where light from an overhead grille shone on it. The tunnel lead on to an older section which was about 2 meters wide at it's widest but about 3 -4 meters high. As we trudged along this tunnel we could hear the sounds of birdsong coming from up ahead. This tunnel in turn lead back to a round section. Eventually you get to a smaller pipe leading left into the old tunnel and a largish pipe leading right after a short clamber up a 1 meter fall. The larger pipe leads to a small grille room.

While we were painting our tag on the side of the tunnel near the grille room we heard voices from above: "Hey, filth, it's even got a ladder!" Came a voice followed by another then the unmistakable sound of someone jiggling a lock. The three of us froze as we collected our gear and retreated down the muddy tunnel. We waited for a few minutes but when no one appeared we hot footed it back up to finish our tag before heading back down to the small junction tunnel.

At this point my right shoe, which had developed a split earlier, fell apart entirely. I was most annoyed at this so I kicked off both shoes and walked on in socks. I left the shoes in the small side tunnel leading to the older tunnel. We had heard rumors of this connection so with my feet hurting we walked back towards the entrance, pausing to admire the new junction room and to scrawl a greet.

One thing you may notice when you visit the tunnels. We were under the mistaken belief that the date was the 10th August 1997, in fact we visited on the 9th. We had a practice of leaving wallets and other unnecessary stuff at home so had no real idea of the date. Gunny and Merinda Park hot footed it back to the car to light the camp stove to cook me something to eat while I trudged on in my socks, sad and a bit dejected. As I passed by the entrance to Dougo's I spotted a fellow walking his dog. It wasn't till I got to the car that I realise d that he was wearing gumboots. Another drain explorer taking a quick hike to the Stairway?

We piled back into the car and made a quick getaway while looking at the gathering dark clouds. We decided it was too risky to attempt an trip to Tenth or any other tunnel because rain might be on the agenda. It's worth noting that our trip up Great Stairways took only about a half hour but in that time the sky had gone from bright and sunny to dark and filled with heavy storm clouds. No mention of that in the weather report. Sometimes I think that they should have fines for over optimistic, reckless weather reporting.

Warning! Drain exploration is NOT legal in this City! Some drains contain deadly spiders such as the white pointer, funnel web, huntsman and red back. No, red back is not just a beer type. Some spiders will not appreciate you trying to drink them. The RSPCA may arrest people harming drain spiders.

Do NOT enter drains. Read this warning!

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