Wollongong adventures

I took up the invitation to visit Wollongong with some friends for a spot of spear fishing and rock climbing. The weather was nice on the way down but by the time we had suited up the wind had picked up and the swell had increased.

Undeterred we hit the water and immediately saw that visibility was non-existent. It was still nice to get back into the water After a bit of a swim and only seeing a few small fish through the hazy water we called it a day and decided to climb some rock instead.

We drove to Mt Kiera and made the short hike down to the base of the walls. We picked out a line and got on the rock.

The guys I was climbing with hadn't been outdoor climbing before so it was fun seeing them work them route. We started late in the day so after two climbs and fading daylight we called it a day. A full day there in the future required....

More photos here

Cosmic County climbing

By Sunday morning the winds had eased, and with the sun out in full force it was time for some climbing! We drove out to Bells Line of Road and threaded our way between some rural houses until we reached a clearing we began our trek to the cliffs. We followed the track through scrub and along an old fire trail until we reach our objective. At some stage we passed over a train tunnel and could hear trains go by now and then.

We stopped at 'Memory Lane' wall where the routes were a mixture of carrot bolts and cracks / pockets for trad gear.

I warmed up on 'Barefoot in the Head' (21) which was a thin and committing climb. It was very fiddly trying to place gear in the tiny pockets and seams but I eventually topped out.

My next climb was 'The 80 Minute Hour' (18) which was an easy climb on the nearby arete. Quite pleasant and protection was easy to find.

The nearby 'Walking Wounded' (23) caught my interest, described in the 2015 Blue Mountains Guide as a climb for aspiring 'Hard Men'. Although consulting thecrag.com database later it stated 'Not what it once was' due to rebolting the original route.

It still gave me a hard time, but I managed to eventually string the moves together to reach the anchors. Back on the ground the adrenaline kept going and I had the shakes for a little while, but I belayed Brendan on the same climb while he gave it his best.

After that the group packed up and we walked out a different way, along the cliff tops which afforded a spectacular view of the surrounding area. More golden sun showering the magnificent rock, a very nice way to end the day and the weekend.

More photos here here

Hiking in the Blue Mountains

The weekend rolled around one more so I drove up to Katoomba to take friends of a friend hiking. It was a dreary, cold, overcast day in Katoomba, and the winds were relentless! Nevertheless we had set our minds on hiking so with plenty of layers on we got to it! At least it wasn't pouring with rain like the day before...

Driving further along the Great Western Highway we saw a tourist sign to Govetts Leap and we decided to follow it along to the end. The view across the valley was beautiful, and on a whim we decided to hike down to the bottom of Horseshoe Falls.

The day remained cool but once out of the wind it was a lot warmer. We waited at the bottom of the waterfall for some blue skies, then continued to hike down in the gully alongside Popes Glen Creek.

We followed the creek along the Grose Valley through Rodriguez Pass, and after reaching Junction Rock we followed Greaves Creek back towards the cliff and Evans Lookout.

From there we followed the cliff top track back to the car at Govetts Leap. The fifteen kilometer trek took us just under five hours, it was mid afternoon so we returned to Blackheath for lunch.

As the day was getting late we decided to drive to a couple more lookouts before night overtook us. Our first stop was Anvil Rock where we saw the amazing windswept caves. We then hiked a short distance to the Anvil Rock lookout, the day had cleared and we were just able to see Sydney to the east. Across the valley was Pierces Pass, the location of a fantastic climbing adventure.

A short drive later we made it to Perrys Lookdown, and looking out once again across the valley we could see small waterfalls being blow back up into the air by the ferocious wind!

Or last stop was Pulpits Rock, where we made our way along a metal walkway out to the semi-detached pillar. As the last of the light disappeared we headed back to Katoomba as the temperature dropped.

A great hike through some beautiful countryside, we made the most of the average weather!

More photos here