Sydney University Bushwalkers

since 1946

Slide night by the tents

Slide nights are a longstanding SUBW tradition where club members share pictures of their adventures. This usually takes place in a lecture theatre, which, like your average lectures, can be fairly boring. Games in lectures have become a big culture in my class- Minecraft, Genshin Impact, Clash Royale, Soul Knight, the Tetris group battles in our physics tutorials, and those iPad kids with flight simulators and silly games scattered across the lecture hall. Our lectures start with a sign-in QR code, which we take a picture and send to 5 different group chats and 20 different friends, then the whispers for a gaming session start. We don’t go to uni for knowledge, but for vibes and tea. While I’m proud of our lecture gaming culture in my class, you’d certainly want a captivating audience for a meaningful slide night. This is when the idea comes in, to give this year-long tradition a modern twist. Modern problems require modern solutions, and the best one is to move it to a campground with barely any mobile reception, and everyone having nothing to do but to be a captivating audience. I got all the slides loaded onto my iPad, which only weighs roughly 500g and is perfect for ultralight camping, before hopping on the morning train towards Katoomba.

The Overland Track

The Overland Track is a bit of a “choose your own adventure”. You can stay in huts or camp, catch the ferry at the end or walk the length of the lake, take the many sidetrips atop summits or to pristine alpine lakes. The self-proclaimed “Overland Track Cancelled Gang” left following walkers a bible verse that I think sums up our experience or indeed any Overland Track experience fairly well. “In his…

Bundeena to Eagle Rock (Whale Spotting)

This hike was an out and back section of the Royal Coastal Track in the Royal National Park, passing through the Wedding Cake Rock, Marley Beach, Little Marley Beach, Wattamolla Beach and ultimately, Eagle Rock. The hike took us about 7 hours to complete and the group walked a total of 31 kilometres that day. The day…

Mt Victoria-Mt York & historic roads; Saturday 16th August 2025.

Mt Victoria-Mt York & historic roads; Saturday 16th August 2025. The weekend of this walk was the first dry weekend for many weeks, enabling a chance at last to get out in the bush. I’m sure that the international students are wondering what is going on; it’s not “sunny New South wales”, it’s “saturated New South Wales”. And August…

Six Foot Track: Megalong Cemetery to Bowtells Swing Bridge

The Six Foot Track, as the name suggests, spans approximately 46 km from Katoomba to Banda Bush Camp in the Blue Mountains. Our group chose to walk a 12 km out-and-back section from Megalong Cemetery to Bowtells Swing Bridge above Cox’s River. Most of the group members met up at Central Station, arriving on time for the 8:55 am train. After a…

Lost World Overnight

Lost World lookout is a relatively unknown unfenced lookout in Springwood with a pretty good view of Glenbrook Creek and even the city skyline. If it were not for its distinctive cross commemorating Rev. Raymer (who died in 1953 not at the lookout but rather in Wollongong), it would be indistinguishable from any other nearby cliff edge. I had…

Afternoon walk: Kamay NP La Perouse, and maybe see Mercury, Fri 4th July

Afternoon walk: Kamay NP La Perouse, and maybe see Mercury, Fri 4th July 2025 There’s lots of photos for this walk, including 8 by Alice (labelled, thank you Alice), so enjoy. Most of us met up at the “Light Rail” stop next to Central Station for the trip to Kingsford Juniors then bus to La Perouse. Because the…

Brooklyn Area walk (part of Great North Walk) Sunday 8/6/25

Brooklyn Area walk (part of Great North Walk) Sunday 8/6/25. Because of the looming exam period, I made this a (mainly) afternoon walk so as not to use up too much of students’ study time; just enough of a break to relieve the stress. So we met up at Hawkesbury River Station at just 5 minutes before midday after a one hour train trip from Central (and 20 minutes for me coming from the north). On arriving…

The Castle trip [Round 2]

Round 2 of conquering The Castle finally gained success after a failed round 1, where we were unable to recruit a driver. The date was changed to the weekend right before the National Park’s early closure of the summit track. Being the final weekend in 6 months to access this track summoned large groups of bushwalkers, and even a few commercial tour groups. It’s unfortunate…

Wilsons Prom Southern Circuit

On the 17th March 2025, an email titled “Sydney Uni Bushwalkers Collab??” was sent to our rivals down south, Melbourne University Mountaineering Club (MUMC). The back and forth that ensued manifested in an awesome 3 day walk through Wilsons Promontory down in Victoria that saw 5 from SUBW and 5 from MUMC head through “the prom” down to the southernmost point of mainland Australia. We each…