BURPRating:5th March 1998.

These drains are close to Acorn's and COAD

Big Underground Round Pipe is the largest RCP in UA City's drainage system, yet it is only a very short pipe, probably just under a hundred meters. It forms part of a water retarding drain system on the upper reaches of a creek. BURP is just about a must see drain. The only reason why it does not earn an excellent rating is because it is so short. It has some quite stunning features that are truly unique.

The entrance to BURP is near where the reeds on the creek disappear at the foot of the dam. The initial pipe is about 2.4 meters high but it opens up into a huge pipe, about 5 meters in diameter. Perhaps the most amazing feature of this tunnel is the huge water control drain above on the dam above. This is the concrete mushroom shape you can see from above. It's a most unusual structure and we could not help but wonder if it had ever seen any water flow into it. For that to happen the water would have to bank up over the height of a local freeway and probably even the transmission lines across the valley in a dam of water many kilometers long.

The drain is not more than 100 meters long, and just passes under the weir. You can enter from the other side but the water is deep. On the downstream side there is a massive, and complex system designed to retard heavy water flows.

From the overflow section, you can look straight through the drain and see where the mushroom lets in light from above. Note also that the short upstream section of the drain is much smaller than the main drain section.

There was a lot of graffiti in the tunnel and on surrounding concrete work. Some of it by drain explorers but a lot seemed to be local stuff. There was some graffiti about someone called MASH, could this be the same person who's name we saw written on the underpasses on Scotchman's Creek?

Expo to BURP from 1996

Having done heaps of drains with my Bro and friends I was keen to do an Expo with other members from another UA City drain exploring group. I lucked out on the DCM and TWMBR expos so was determined to do one soon. I checked the upcoming events and opted for the expedition to BURP and FART. I'd done BURP before.

I turned up at the station, waited for a while. A train pulled in from the city and from my vantage point I spotted a man with beard, backpack and long hair take a seat on the ramp at the station. He looked over the rail lines at me and I figured he's got to be a Clan Man for sure. I wandered across and asked; "Are you here to do BURP and 172 steps?" He replied yes so I sat down and we chatted as we waited for more people to turn up. So that's how I met Armageddon.

Soon Prowler and Big Ears turned up, followed shortly after by Ash, Gree, Pablo and company (sorry, I forget the names). We roamed down towards BURP with a short detour. The sun was shining brightly overhead as we passed through the gate into the reserve. We made our way down the hill to BURP, which we proceeded to wander into. I had no hesitation in getting my feet wet, preferring that to doing the splits trying to keep my feet dry.

Its' best to enter through the upstream pipe, the downstream end was almost waist deep as Cro discovered when he arrived late. BURP is a short tunnel, perhaps more worth the trip for its' interesting features than for length. It is part of a retarding basin system and has a huge overflow 'skylight' in its' roof that just has to be seen! The downstream end has a cool concrete spill-way which we adorned with some messages for future prosperity.

FART

The waterfalls in this drain can be difficult to negotiate.

FART is the sort of drain I'd never explore myself normally. It's just upstream of BURP. At the upstream mouth of BURP is a small metal drain, climb up the valley this drain flows under and about 120 meters up, near the freeway you'll come across FART, a small RCP. It contains two hefty ladder climbs and I'm not afraid to admit I'm a bit scared of heights, well maybe not scared of heights, just falling from heights.

It was a little RCP which involved a fair amount of stoop and was full of cob webs. The ten of us wandered in and I could not help but notice the eerie but cool effect of the cobwebs hanging either side of the path we had ploughed through them. We soon came to the first ladder which I climbed up with a fair amount of trepidation. I can't remember who offered me a hand at the top but I thank them for it immensely.

We crawled on through to the next ladder. We all crowded into the small chamber at the bottom of the falls while Armageddon climbed the ladder to check out the grille way above us and the drain further up. We opted for not climbing into the upper section of the drain, instead heading back to FART. Going down the ladder was a heck of a lot easier than going up and I was glad to be back down again.

We hung around at BURP chatting and debating weather to go to the station to check for Doug or not. In the end we did, doing the rounds of the streets just to get there. We were glad we did, as Doug was there waiting for us. Ash and Co headed home so just 5 of us headed to the next tunnel.

172 Steps

Last tunnel of the day, my 23rd drain was 172 steps. This is another RCP which requires a lot of stoop, but unlike FART its' well worth the effort. It's located on Ripplebrook Drive, opposite 104. Look for the short fence on the left with a culvert leading down the valley. The pipe is not a big one but it's an interesting tunnel.

Doug, Prowler, Armageddon, Big Ears and myself climbed all 172 steps with only a couple of rests before resting at the top. It was back breaking work but the view from the top was great. Shining our flashlights down the tunnel we could see it descending into the darkness. Big Ears did the patented slip and slide before venturing further down the tunnel with Prowler and Armageddon while Doug and I rested in the dark and chatted. We chatted mostly about what the best cities for underground exploring would be, about the net page and some other stuff.

On our way out Doug had us place our feet across the bottom of the drain to block the water flow. We listened as the falls grew quieter then loud again when we let the water go. It was great to see the wave of water go down the tunnel. As I walked out they did the same thing when I was about half way down. It was cool to see the ankle high wave of water approach and then overtake me.

The best features of the day was undoubtably the 'skylight' in BURP and the sounds of the 'on again - off again' in the falls when we blocked off the water flow to listen to the falls become quiet before letting the water go again. I made a few good contacts, particularly Big-Ears who very kindly gave me a drain map. We exchanged numbers and set about organising to spend a week exploring drains that neither of us had done before.

Do not enter drains! Exploring drains is NOT legal in UA City! Drains often have unexpected drop offs, unstable ladders and sharp protrusions. Impact with the ground or ceiling of drains can cause injury or death.

Do NOT enter drains. Read this warning!

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