We met at Katoomba train station a bit after 9.30am already being a very hot day. The staff from Mountain Design (Sydney) predicted the afternoon thunderstorms at 3pm, luckily it hit Katoomba at 7.30pm. The trip was going to have a few challenges, the first one was the use of rope protectors as much as possible. The second…
Having evenly distributed ourselves across every carpark in Wentworth Falls that could be interpreted as “near the station” we re-organised into a couple of cars, dropped one at our exit point and drove out onto Tablelands Rd. The walk in was open and uneventful and we reached the creek proper via a ~20m abseil. At the…
We all met up at Woy Woy Station and then proceeded in Matthew’s car and my car for the 15 minute trip to the south end of Umina Beach. At the parking spot we were greeted by a male Bush Turkey. As it was becoming a nice day there were already plenty of people at the beach. Then it…
We met at Richmond McDonalds just after 6:30am. Clint arrived after me followed by Mani who recognised me from the usual canyon attire I was wearing of thermals that had holes everywhere on them from the amount of off track walking on canyon trips. Saskia and Tony came with Meridy. We carpooled…
This trip was fruitful, with two routes being confirmed as worthwhile, multi-pitch gorge routes with nice waterfalls and refreshing pools to swim in. No-one else signed up so I shortened it to two days. On Monday morning I checked out an old track near Hindmarsh Lookout at Belmore Falls. The track…
This was the 2nd attempt for Saul and I, as we tried this in Feb but baulked at crossing a very dodgy looking gap on an exposed and sloping ledge. My main memories of that first attempt were the panic at the thought of crossing that chasm, and the relentless scratchy ti tree and banksia scrub on the ridge out from the road. As it…
Forget Halloween – this trip was SUBW with culture! This year we were keen to abandon Halloween and instead celebrate the Mexican celebration of Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) near a bush cemetery and when the opportunity arose we jumped in. After a few last-minute drop-outs four of us headed to the Blue Mountains to enjoy a relaxing weekend of hiking and camping. It was…
Because the weather was forecast to be a slightly unseasonable 19 Degrees and fine, I decided it was a good chance to go for a walk in the Royal National Park’s interior before summer really set in and it becomes a bot too hot for walking on the tracks which are not near the coast. 12 others…
(Not sure if this wins any records for the most belated trip report (!), but I thought I’d write it up anyway). The plan was to head up the Corker Trail in Barrington Tops National Park, neither of us having been there before, and check out the area. Planning was somewhat belated to say the least – (a few days before), and without finding much information online, it was a matter of a couple of phone calls sharing what information we both could find, then seeing how we went on what was a relatively simple route as far as could be ascertained. We met…
There were more long lost friends from the moment I walked inside, old acquaintances from the more than three decades out of the club’s seven that I have known, too many faces to mention. There was a familiar face from one decade or another whenever I turned my head. It was fitting and necessary, therefore, that the first 30 minutes or more of the SUBW 70th Anniversary Dinner were set aside for mingling, to allow for reunions of those who had not met for years, and to allow time to say G’day to old mates from past campfires. At the…
After meeting up at Woy Woy Station we set off for the run to Singleton via the M1 and Hunter Expressway. After a stop at Singleton Maccas for a quick lunch we then proceeded along the road to Mt Royal NP which skirts Lake St Clair on the left. The dirt section road appears to have been improved since the last time I was there 10 years ago as the deep ruts have been removed. We drove…
After dropping a car at Badgerys Lookout near Tallong in the Southern Highlands, we walked down the well-made track from Long Point Lookout. This drops about 400m into the Shoalhaven Gorge, with spectacular views up and down the river, and brought us to the river around 11.00. The river…
I originally had the trip planned for Saturday 10th September but decided to change it to Sunday as the weather forecast looked more promising. We all met around 7:40am at Bell station, Andreas and Niels caught a lift from the city with Meridy in her pathfinder. Natalie car pooled with me in my jimny from Bell station which she drove to in a 2wd. Since myself…
We all met at Central station and were able to get seating together on the 7:22 train to the mountains. From the station we took a quick detour to get some more water from a nearby servo (note to future trip leaders to be specific about how much water people should bring). We then…
Following Paul successfully organizing a packraft buyers’ club and the arrival of our new toys, a few of us were keen to break in our new gear. While the promised rain arrived over Thursday and Friday, the trip was all but cancelled with the final go-ahead not decided until 5.30am on the morning of the trip. Thankfully the…
Despite the short notice, and weather forecast earlier in the week I managed to get 6 people on this walk. We all got together off the train at Wondabyne Station, with Maj-Britt meeting on the train by chance another walker doing the section from Wondabyne to Girrakool. We then set off up the steep grade to the top of the ridge where the track then widened and became a much more gradual climb. I had…
10 of us met up at Cowan Station, but as both Cathie and Demerson (individually) had been delayed by heavy traffic (Demerson having discovered the traffic Black Hole that is Pennant Hills Road), some went over to the boat shop across the tracks, and the rest of us sat in the welcome sun on this chilly day, out of the wind. Eventually Demerson…
We met 8:30am at Bell station, Tony caught the train; I drove up in my car, whilst Billy & Nolan caught a lift in Joel’s car. From there it was a short drive to Zig Zag in our two cars where we stopped for a break to fill up our water bottles and last stop for the amenities. As usual…
There were 2.5 no shows. Most of us (except Matthew who went straight to Mt Victoria) met up at Central Station for the over 2 hour trip to Mt Victoria. I made sure that none of Natalie’s Medlow Bath group joined us by mistake. The weather was overcast for most of the day although the sun shone weakly through some cloud breaks near Leura on the way up. The weather…
Pantoneys Crown is an isolated massif on the western edge of the Blue Mountains. It stands isolated in the entrance to the Capertee valley, a drum of orange sandstone cliffs standing four hundred metres about the valley floor. It’s impossible to see it without wanting to get on top. Five of…