Errol in Australia

Here are a few awesome pics of Errol's recent trip to Australia...

Sydney - view from the Botanic GardensIs this a cool ferry ride or what?Aahh - The most famous Opera HouseHarbour Bridge at night...
Opera House Ambience.
View of (a small part of) Blue Mountains National ParkAWSOME cliffs - Blue Mountains National ParkChillin time. Blue Mountains National Park
Three Sisters - Blue Mountains National ParkBlackheath Cliffs - Blue Mountains National Park
Volcanic Rock - Warrumbungle National ParkGreat multi-pitch routes here - Warrumbungle National ParkSh!*t Why did I leave my climbing shoes at home :(
The 'Breadknife' rock formation - Warrumbungle National ParkClimbers paradise - Warrumbungle National ParkWatching some guys climb this HUGE rock - Warrumbungle National Park
Kuala bear - Ag shame man, isn't it CUTE (Warrumbungle National Park)Here's a beast I can relate to... (Warrumbungle National Park)Finally made it to the highest point in the Warrumbungle National Park

I recently attended a conference in Sydney, and then had a couple of weeks to try and see a bit of Australia, so decided to head inland.

From Sydney, I took a train to the Blue Mountains, and hopped off at the town of Leura only to find that the camp-ground where I'd hoped to stay was no longer there - I had to go to the next town (Katoomba) instead. Katoomba was great, just a bit touristy. Luckily the caravan park was a couple of K’s out of town and was pleasant. Plenty of great walks around the town and into the National Park, so I entertained myself by seeing how much walking I could do each day. The mountains are blue supposedly because of the eucalyptus oil given off by the millions of eucalypt trees in the area. Anyway, I saw plenty of great waterfalls, great forests, many strange birds (including a Lyre Bird) and of course some fantastic cliffs for rock-climbing.

After the Blue Mountains, I took the train further inland to Lithgow, where I had to change onto a coach which took me to Coonaburrabran. This is about 500km inland from Sydney. The journey to this small town showed how badly the farming has affected the land. Much of it really looked in a sad state – dry and fairly lifeless. That is except for areas which hadn’t been cleared of course, where the Eucalypts still grow tall and thick.

I eventually got to Warrumbungle National Park (21,000 hectare park) late in the day (it’s about 35km from the town) and pitched my tent in the camp-ground. Lots and lots of kangaroos everywhere! 13 million years ago the area featured a number of highly active volcanoes continually spewing molten rock from beneath the crust. The lava hardened above the sandstone floor that had been deposited when this side of the coast was submerged below the ocean. Over time wind and rain eroded the softer clays leaving the basalt formations exposed as we see them today.

The area is popular with rock-climbers and I had the opportunity to sit and watch some guys attempting to scale a very high rock face, which looked like about a 1-day climb to the top. The views from high ground are also spectacular, as the plains to the north and west are all very flat. Nice people in the camp, and I chatted to the local rangers a lot as well who were interested to know more about South Africa. I spent 5 nights in the park and scaled all of the main peaks (there are hiking paths up most of them) which was great, and I saw plenty of wildlife too. Kuala bear, wallaby, emu, a number of eagles, lizards and the odd mountain goat!

Errol

 

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