There is a storied history of nude bushwalking in the SUBW, which is part of a broader tradition in which cultural figures such as Percy Grainger and conservationists like Myles Dunphy were among the best known participants. In recent decades there has been renewed interest in the practice, especially where it involves skinny dipping in wild places. SUBW’s nude…
Taronga (Athol Wharf) to Chinamans Beach 15th March (The Ides of March) 2025. This walk replaced one originally planned to go to Patonga near Woy Woy, but changed because of expected hot weather. It turned out to be a wise choice as the temperature on the mostly unshaded track at Patonga reached 33 degrees C in the day. It was…
For many many months, bushwalkers have mourned the temporary closure of Ruined Castle. The days of crying ourselves to sleep after viewing the NPWS alerts page are no more. Ruined Castle is back open, and what better way to celebrate than climbing it at sunset? So, from Katoomba station at 11:11am, our party of 11 set off bound for the newly reopened track. We began…
Helensburgh-Burning Palms-Figure 8-Otford Walk 2/3/2025 This walk had some interesting turnarounds: weather being the opposite of what was forecast, a previously easy track now getting overgrown, leeches spooking some people, and myself forgetting to bring something important. Read on….
My friend from Schofields really misses Kosciuszko and wants a trip there. While he couldn’t make it at the end I’ve found the perfect long weekend with time to get there and back comfortably. It’s when a clinical placement ends and another one starts- back to back with 3 days to stretch. Inside my…
One of the best-loved bush adventures near Sydney is a lilo drift down the Wollangambe River. On hot summer weekends the gorge is full of groups paddling pool toys down the river between the sandstone cliffs, jumping from rock ledges, or giggling as they drag unicorns and flamingos between boulders into the next long pool. But all…
Wondabyne Station is a halt on Mullet Creek on the north side of Hawkesbury River. The tiny platform is only long enough for one carriage so you have to sit in the back carriage and tell the guard you need the extra stop at Wondabyne. There is no other way to get there and apart from bushwalkers the halt seems to exist only for people with water-only access houses on the Hawkesbury. The tiny…
The Newnes plateau stands around one thousand meters above sea level, separating the catchments of two wilderness rivers, the Wolgan and Wollangambe. Part state forest and part national park the plateau drops to the east into the Wollangambe Wilderness, with many fine canyons along Bungleboori and Dingo Creeks. To the…
Attendees Abseiling and camping Ashley Burke Olivia Carolan Jag Ganti Han (Vicki) Long Carrie Ke Isla Shen Lin Wang Yuxin (Clara) Liu Danniella Larobina Randi Horstrup Vincent Lai Tim Hanigan Cowen Zhang Jiankang Dong Camping Only Aidan Pollock Eszter Coombs Victor Caxala Qiuyue (Moon) Hu Bill He Yiming Zhao Walked in from Katoomba Sean Armson Vyom Arya Sunil Jassal Turned up Independently Jo Boyd Joe Brischetto Roger Lembit David Noble Robert Hynes Jiri Svec Catherine Svec Cameron and Jayden Svec (children) Mitchell Isaacs Chantal Bronkhorst Trip Report The Christmas Dinner Walk is an annual SUBW tradition dating back to the 1970s. I have…
My hiking trips come at only inopportune times. We were looking at doing some canyoning on Saturday but the threat of lots of rain and thunder had me thinking about a bit of exploratory walking instead. The only real parameters I had for the trip were that it should involve a bit of rough walking somewhere new and that it should incur a bit of suffering. In the…