A few of us had recently had birthdays and we normally head out into the bush to celebrate. This year, with a few babies in the group, we set up a fixed camp in the headwaters of a dry canyon in Wollemi National Park. Both days of the weekend were spent visiting dry canyons.
This was a short trip to some nice places close to Blackheath to get a few photographs. Train to Blackheath and then bike the 8km to the Anvil Rock Lookout. This lookout is a great vantage point offers excellent views looking up the Grose Valley. I arrived there a little after 3pm and stayed till almost sunset.
It was nice wandering around with a camera and tripod. Continue reading
The “PBT” is the SUBW President’s Bludge Trip to the Kowmung River on the October long weekend. The first PBT was in 1974 and they have been held every October long weekend since.
This year, club president, Chantal, organised the walk to Hatchers Hollow, a large grassy flat near the river and its junction with Red Cliff Creek. Continue reading
I spent a very pleasant day on the Illawarra Coast with Digi Dave yesterday. We got up very early, in time for sunrise at Stanwell Tops.
Next, we headed to Coledale and spent quite a few hours wandering around with cameras, lenses and tripods on the rock platform north of the beach.
The weather forecast was good. Wendy and Rik were keen for a walk. Wendy hadn’t been to Splendour Rock before so it seemed like a good place to go.
Splendour Rock is the Bushwalkers War Memorial. It juts out from the south end of Mt Dingo in the Wild Dog Mountains. Its a great place for a high camp. A great place to enjoy sunset and sunrise. A great place for magnificent views over a large chunk of the Southern Blue Mountains. Continue reading
A beautiful day! I joined Sarah for a nice ride out from Windsor along the Hawkesbury River to Wisemans Ferry and then up the big hill to Maroota and then back to Windsor. The total loop was about 92 km.
The bulk of the ride was on very quiet roads. Perfect for cycling. The weather was excellent. No wind, not too hot or cold. Great views along the way. Only two hills. Cycling magic! Continue reading
Su Li had organised a weekend to welcome back Stacey. She had recently returned from a long overseas trip. A walk was planned on the Asgard Plateau at Mt Victoria and after that we would meet others and camp at Mt Wilson.
Digi Dave and myself went up the mountains on the Friday night to camp at Perrys Lookdown. The plan was to get up early and photograph the dawn. Continue reading
Stu has finished the iPhone version of the Sydney Climbing Guide that he has been working on.
Years ago, Peter Monks from the Sydney Rockclimbing Club started an online guide to the crags of Sydney called “Sun, Surf and Sandstone”. It was quite common when at Sydney region crags to see climbers walking around with large printouts from the web pages of that guide. The latest version of the project has been undertaken by Stu, also from the SRC. It is still available as an online guide or in print on demand books.
The iPhone app has a huge amount of information in it. Plenty of photos of the routes, topos, maps, crag information etc. As well you can tick off the climbs you have done and add your own notes.
Update (November 2014) Now available for Android – See this link.
Blue Mountains based photographer, bushwalker and climber, Ian Brown, has produced another very nice calendar for next year. The RRP is $35 and it is available from various outlets in the Blue Mountains or from Ian directly. He also has discounts if you buy more than one.
Ian can be contacted by email – ianbrown (at) lisp.com.au or via his website at Windy Cliff Press
Continue reading
This was a walk I organised for SUBW. Here is part of the trip report –
Blue Gum Forest was saved 80 years ago on the 2nd September 1932. This majestic forest lies at the intersection of the Grose River and Govetts Creek near Blackheath. Back in 1932, a large portion of the forest (it was then private land) was going to be felled and replaced by walnut trees. Visiting bushwalkers were alarmed, and rallied together and ended up raising money to purchase the block in question and saving it for conservation. Many regard this as the start of the conservation movement in NSW.
Over the years, the Forest has remained a truly magnificent place. In danger of being loved to death by bushwalkers, a ban on camping in the forest was put in place in the 1970’s. An alternative campsite, Acacia Flat was set up nearby. Continue reading
