Australia beta

I'm in the planning stages of a trip down under. I've reached out to a couple of MP users after glancing at their posts but I didn't find a lot of recent experiences. At least not after the big Grampians news.

I'll be traveling with a partner & we'll be looking for mostly bolted climbs (I'm aware of the carrot tops) in the 11-12/20-25 range, single or multi pitch is fine.

Will mid/late July to early August be too cold for blue mountains? What kind of temps can we expect?  Any other suggestions? Also open to maybe Tasmania? Looking mainly for logistics beta.

I assume flying into SYD is the best/most affordable? Do we need to rent a vehicle or will trains/busses be a viable option? Climber-centric places to stay?

& is it really true that everything there will try to kill us? Roughing it in a van not advisable? 

I'm Qld based so my beta for the blueys is a bit fuzzy, but a buddy had mentioned you can access some stuff from the trains it's just painfully long if you're coming from Sydney proper. A car would be better.

Temps in July/August shouldn't be a concern. You'll find the migrating herd of climbers is Brisbane around that time to climb at Frog during the only parts of the year where it's not too hot and humid to consider and then slowly they migrate south again. But that said mid winter in SEQld is still 70F/20C during the day and full sun, only dipping below 10C at night up in the hills. The blueys won't be freezing or anything, but they might still be around 10C during the day. 

Tasmania in winter is wet, so is Victoria and SW WA for that matter. 

As for the snakes and spiders + camping, plenty of clueless young backpackers in rented vans tramping around the country, they do fine. Snakes tend to just get out of the way, still good to know first aid and carry a compression bandage. 

Have done 3 climbing trips to Australia over the last decade.  The first one to Tasmania was our favorite but, as mentioned above, July is not ideal.  Also did a little mixed sampler of Glass House Mtns in QLD + the usual trifecta of Victoria crags.  Pretty good trip too but I think the second favorite was our trip last year to Moonarie in SA (bit like Arapiles but w/o other people) plus some ocean-side stuff in WA.  Peak Head is a really awesome piece of gorgeous granite that hardly gets mentioned.  You can check those out on our blog,

https://chossclimbers.com/testing/australia-2/

Isn't Moonarie primarily (all?) traditional climbing? Same with Peak Head? OP is looking for bolted routes. Also isn't it quite a slog to get from the parking to the crag at Moonarie, let alone that it is pretty far from 'anywhere' ( both an advantage and a disadvantage---depending!!!)?

I might have the option to go late May into early June. Would that be better?

Thank you for the QLD alternatives, although it does seem pretty far. I'd like to have a backup in case blue mountains are too cold/wet. I assume you get more moderate temps since it's farther from the S pole? 

rpc wrote:

...plus some ocean-side stuff in WA...

I remember reading about the ocean side climbs in WA but I couldn't find it anymore. What's the area called again? Your blog mentioned peak head?

Jeremy, that coastal stuff is in West Cape Howe National Park.  There’s a climbing guidebook (a couple in fact) to WA, that includes this place.  You might be able to track down a copy.  Not sure if it’s all trad or if there are some bolted routes. Also, thecrag.com is a good resource for Australian climbing in general.  Lastly,  Gibraltar Rock (which is inland) has some fully bolted, multipitch lines.

1. Wonderful spot if you are a consistent 7b climber. It's all roof climbing with very unique rock feature not commonly found anywhere else in the world:

https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/australia/mt-coolum

Perfect for the time of the year you are after in Queensland.

All sport.

2. Also to consider but not sure how cold the place is in that time of the year:

https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/australia/nowra

In NSW.

Mostly sport.

Remember in Australia you start at the top and climb down backwards

Alan suggested nowra as well, probably a sign for me to take a closer look.

If i have 2 weeks, should I try to squeeze QLD into the trip or stay in NSW?

Australia is very big. Driving while there isn't fast--and, from what I've been told they are very aggressive in traffic enforcement, including use of highway speed cameras, with 'ticketing' being done via the mail. I was told stories ( perhaps apocryphal) of climbers coming home from road trips to discover that they owed large fines and their licenses had been suspended!!!

Additionally, though, I haven't been,  even within Queensland the main climbing areas appear to be quite far from each other. Personally, I'd recommend staying in NSW---more than enough to keep you busy there--unless the weather you encounter is really bad.

Oh sweet! I've gotten speeding tickets in 3 different continents. Hope I don't get a 4th. I'll stay in NSW then. Seasonality tab in thecrag has June as most popular for Nowra.

Jeremy L wrote:

If i have 2 weeks, should I try to squeeze QLD into the trip or stay in NSW?

Stick to NSW since Coolum in QLD  is one of Australia's top sport crags but if your climbing level is intermediate in terms of grades you won't be able to climb. It's also a 1,000k drive from the Blue M. & Nowra crags...and fuel ain't cheap anymore in Oz, unless you drive an electric vehicle.

Alan Rubin wrote:

Australia is very big. Driving while there isn't fast--and, from what I've been told they are very aggressive in traffic enforcement, including use of highway speed cameras, with 'ticketing' being done via the mail. I was told stories ( perhaps apocryphal) of climbers coming home from road trips to discover that they owed large fines and their licenses had been suspended!!!

Additionally, though, I haven't been,  even within Queensland the main climbing areas appear to be quite far from each other. Personally, I'd recommend staying in NSW---more than enough to keep you busy there--unless the weather you encounter is really bad.

All correct info about the driving and it's all part of the States' revenue raising. Worse in NSW than QLD with heftier fines, so drive like walking on eggshells. Climbing in SE QLD all crags are relatively close to one another. Frog Buttress is crack trad climbing heaven but you are after bolted routes anyway and there are none there. In the Gold Coast area bordering NSW the best crag is Pages Pinnacle (all sport).

Anyone keen on Frog here's a free climbing guide:

https://qurank.luenwarneke.com/Guide_FrogButtress.pdf

Will info on thecrag.com be sufficient or do i need a guidebook? Current plan is to hire an RV & follow the weather. Hopefully hit both the blueys & Nowra. We should have everything we need but any gear shops in the area?

I know that there are several good gear stores in Sydney, and pretty sure there are some in the main Blue Mt. towns such as Katoomba. Not sure about Nowra, though.

Jeremy L wrote:

Will info on thecrag.com be sufficient or do i need a guidebook? Current plan is to hire an RV & follow the weather. Hopefully hit both the blueys & Nowra. We should have everything we need but any gear shops in the area?

TheCrag is great but a pita to use at the actual crag as reception is not always the best and it's crap for topos. Guidebooks are better, just make sure you get the most recent edition of wherever you go, esp the Blueys. The best recent beta is on the Facebook group for wherever you're going.

There are no good gear shops in Nowra or nearby (maybe Wollongong, which is on the way from Sydney) so best to go to Mountain Equipment in Kent St Sydney CBD, or Climbing Anchors in Alexandria, Sydney. There are a couple of decent gear shops in Katoomba.

Late May early June can be quite cold but also OK for the Blueys. July-Aug is too cold for many but OK in the sun at certain crags (north facing is in the sun here, remember?). If you're used to North America winter temps then the Blueys in July might not be so bad, but it can still be unpleasantly chilly at some crags.

Late May - October is fine for Nowra, and it's a good place, but it's not huge and not very impressive visually. Lots of bolts n beta n social though. Nowra is also close to great beaches, if you like that for a break, whereas the Blueys is not. Near Nowra is Point Perpendicular which is spectacular seacliff climbing, easy access, some trad some bolts, but only open on weekends and not good if there's a strong southerly wind. There are other crags near Nowra like Tianjara which are good for a break and different scenery.

Both Nowra and Katoomba (in the BlueMts) have decent supermarkets, bakeries, takeaway, breweries etc.

It's about 4-5hrs drive from Katoomba in the BlueMts to Nowra, if you don't stop too much. You can do it in a morning no problem, all on good roads.

Jeremy L wrote:

I'm in the planning stages of a trip down under. I've reached out to a couple of MP users after glancing at their posts but I didn't find a lot of recent experiences. At least not after the big Grampians news.

I'll be traveling with a partner & we'll be looking for mostly bolted climbs (I'm aware of the carrot tops) in the 11-12/20-25 range, single or multi pitch is fine.

Will mid/late July to early August be too cold for blue mountains? What kind of temps can we expect?  Any other suggestions? Also open to maybe Tasmania? Looking mainly for logistics beta.

I assume flying into SYD is the best/most affordable? Do we need to rent a vehicle or will trains/busses be a viable option? Climber-centric places to stay?

& is it really true that everything there will try to kill us? Roughing it in a van not advisable? 

Trains and buses are not really viable for any climbing areas here, with possible exception of some Blue Mountains areas, but not really. Hire a car. 

Sleeping in a van is fine, so long as you either use designated camping areas or discreetly wild camp and don't make a mess.

Nowra does not have much in the 11-12 range, whereas the BlueMts does, but it's mostly old trad, often chossy. There's a lack of good easy sport multis, but there are a few. 

Mt Arapiles is one of the best climbing areas on the planet for grade 11-12 routes, though some of them will have been closed off by mid-2025.

Daytime temps in the Blue Mts are variable, maybe 10C - 22C, nighttime down to freezing, but the wind is sometimes more of a problem.

Nowra temps are more like 15C-26C and less windy. Can rain though.

Tasmania is amazing but not the best for rockclimbing in July-August. May might be OK depending on the crag.

Damien, I'm presuming that when you write about routes in the '11-12' grades you are referring to Australian grades not YDS?

Thanks for the response Damien, which book would you recommend? I saw "best of the blue" & "blue mountains climbing" by Simon Carter. I've also downloaded the pdf from thecrag.com when traveling before.

I had a palm on my forehead moment when I read your comment about N facing crags. Never even thought of that.

We appreciate scenery as much as the next guy but I'd take good quality rock over views any day. Thecrag.com says "the best sport climbing in the state" when describing Nowra. Getting excited now.

Thanks for suggesting point perpendicular. We'll have to schedule a weekend for that.

I guess I need to stay off social media when they keep showing spiders in cars in Australia. Freaks me out.

Is there a resource online to look for camping areas? & exactly what does "wild camp" mean? We can usually park at a Walmart or cracker barrel here in the south for free overnight car camping. Is that what you mean?

Like Alan says, we were primarily looking for aussie 20-25 or us 11-12 grades.

Alan Rubin wrote:

Damien, I'm presuming that when you write about routes in the '11-12' grades you are referring to Australian grades not YDS?

He forgot to add the 5.

The Oz grades (Ewbank AU & NZ) are 21 to 27; that is 5.11a to 5.12d (YDS).