Dungeon Part B
Rating:12th January 2001

The Great Southern Tunnel Points of interest

1. The Entrance of the tunnel is in a canal, east of the local main road. A walk under the road bridge leads upstream to the entrance. Just in the entrance is the Main Northern tunnel on the left and the two RCPs of Main Southern tunnel on the right. The right hand tunnel tends to have less water in it, so take it. Besides which the right side tunnel is the more interesting of the two, with a couple of manholes, many small holes in the roof and a few curves which look like dead ends from a distance. About 5 minutes in is a connecting pipe to the the other tunnel. The first of the three chambers is reached after a 10 minute walk.

2. 1st Chamber. The first of the 3 chambers in this drain is a long section of rectangular tunnel similar to the main Northern Tunnel. This chamber is about 100 meters long, and has a couple of holes in the roof to provide light. There is little graffiti in this tunnel, indicating that it is seldom visited. Only five expos seem to have been through this tunnel.

3. 2nd Chamber. This chamber is similar to the first one, a bit longer and better. This chamber has a hole in the roof right at the end where at one time someone has stuck the student id of someone on the wall. I wonder why someone would bother hauling glue all the way up the drain just to stick someone's id to a wall.

4. Overflow Chamber. This is the third chamber in this tunnel. It is an unusual feature as it has water flowing on 2 different levels. The left side takes water from a 2.5 meter RCP while the right takes water from a 2.7 meter RCP. Down the middle of the chamber an overflow like weir separates the two water courses. This is just another of this drain's unique features.

From this point both the left and right tunnels continue south east. The left hand tunnel is the older one so it tends to run along the path of the old creek. The older drain tends to have a higher water flow than the right tunnel but it also has a lot more grip on the floor than the right tunnel. If you choose to walk down this tunnel be aware that the floor has holes in it right along it's entire length. These holes are in the center of the drain, are about ten centimeters deep and wide, look out for them.

The right side tunnel is a much newer tunnel, built in 1974. Because it was built well after the other drain the right hand tunnel follows roads above. It tends to have a lot of straight stretches of tunnel and some noticeable sharp corners where it turns corners under roads.

Both of these drains have quite a few Gatic type manholes, but they are all under streets and are unmovable.

5. Tunnel Markings. Both tunnels are not at all exciting, in fact they are downright boring. The only thing remotely interesting is the marking on the side of the drain. These numbers in red are simply pipe numbering. It seems the pipes weren't laid in order. Okay, it's hardly a feature, but something to break the monotony.

6. Side Pipes. In the left tunnel at this point a trio of pipes enters the tunnel high up on the left of the tunnel. They run north for about three hundred meters to a small chamber. There is an exit here but it's a bastard to get to.

7. Mini Falls. Located in the left (older) drain. As you approach these they sound a lot bigger than they really are. This is in fact just a minor step in the drain but I have included them simply so that you can realise that it's not that further to the junction.

In the newer tunnel somewhere around here there's a junction room with a side tunnel leading off to the right. It's only a low tunnel, a 1 metre RCP and not worth exploring.

8. Gutter-Box exit. Located in the newer drain, this is the only safe exit that I have been able to locate in this section of the drain. It is located just after a deep pool in the drain. Walk through the knee deep water and up the small slide then around the corner and you will see the exit on the right side of the new drain. While you have to hop up into the gutterbox you can get adequet grip on the side of it and climb up to peer out at the streets above.

The gutterbox has a nice light weight concrete type manhole cover which can be easily lifted. When you lift the cover and crawl out using the small pipes inside the gutterbox as stepping places you will find yourself on the southern side of a large football oval. I choose to continue on along the drain because there are a couple more interesting features to see along here.

It is known that in the 1980s there was a bank robbery in this area which involved the dumping of a sack full of coins down this drain. This is why money is still often found in the drain today.

9. Junction. The bottom of the RCPs start to get covered with debris, particularly in newer tunnel. There tends to be a lot of half bricks in the debris, so take care not to trip over. In the newer drain there is a small chamber with a split. The graffiti here is interesting, as it as seems to indicate that people have been in this section of the drain, but that they were not quite sure that they were in this particular drain. It would appear that they got in somehow, rather than walking up the drain.

About ten minutes from the gutter box you will come to the junction of the two drains. A weir across the junction would seem to direct the water flow down the newer drain, but there is a small hole in the base of the weir that directs water flow into the older drain. At times of peak water flow you could expect most of the water to flow down the newer drain.

10. Side Tunnel. This side tunnel is in the older tunnel, just downstream from the junction. It can be explored if you have the time and inclination.

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