Upon arrival in Oz in Oct 03 I decided to take a break from the river work and move to the Blue Mountains of New South Wales to climb. I lived in my tent in the back garden of the Blue Mnts backpackers and hooked up with a couple of tazzy dole dodgers Elias and Elium. Good lads, we spent a couple of weeks hanging and climbing. When cash became an issue I looked for a job and although unexpectedly, fell on my feet at Conroy’s Building Supplies. Scott, Anne and Caroline hooked me up with the sweetest housing gig I could ever imagine and I lived a simple mountain life of work, climbing, canyoneering and occasional blow outs to Sydney (hmmm, Sydney was a little more extreme)

The climbing is magnificent. Pitted rusty sandstone, full of features and generally solid, its protected by a strange mix of fixed gear and trad. A route that is described as trad in the guide may only need one or two additional pieces to supplement the numerous carrot top hangers. Most routes require a abseil or hike down and then you climb back out to the top. The valley floors are a rich subtropical eucalypt forest, awesome to explore and the canyoneering trips we undertook on climbing rest days were in themselves breathtaking. The routes are varied in style, protection, accessibility/remoteness, length and commitment, difficulty and I can genuinely say there should be something for everyone in the Blueys and it definitely worth an extended visit.

On leaving the Blueys I headed (via a boooooozy stop in Melbourne with the Reid, Stu H, Sarah, & Jo) to Mnt Arapiles. Mnt Arapiles is a sandstone outcrop located in the Wimera region of Victoria, some 4 hours north of Melbourne, 30 mins from Horsham and next to the town Natimukt. The area has seen better days. Drought has taken its toll and a once fertile vibrant agricultural region has been transformed into an economically struggling dust bowl.

The outcrop stretches for about 8km and has numerous deep cut gullies running into its heart. The summit plateau sits about 250m above its base. The outcrop boasts some 5000 routes. These routes are almost all exclusively trad, range from single to 8 pitch, cover a variety of climbing styles and have countless classics at every grade.

At the centre of the crag lies the pines. This sandy pine glade offers haven to the community of climbers who shelter within it. Tents can be found dotted amongst the trees, more established pine dwellers forming enclaves of tents, tarps, chairs, tables, stoves, washing, slac lines, coolers and hammocks. On arrival I joined my old buddy Elias and his camp. Elias had been in the trees for many months already and was heading back to tazzie a few days from when I arrived. On his departure myself, Adam, Pete and George took over what was soon to be coined the ‘Royal Hotel’. Life is simple in the Pines, get up in the cool morning air: Coffee, eggs, ceral, more coffee, stretch, pack gear, discuss possible routes, maybe have some lunch, decide on routes and finally leave the Pines. The climbing is magnificent, almost without fail I climbed at least one truly great route every day. My climbing progressed massively. I learnt how to place gear properly, my composure under pressure improved and my technique got slightly better. My reading of the rock remained weak, by this I mean my ability to understand what physical movements were required by me to get through a certain feature of rock. My time in the Pines was some of the best of my life. Stu, Tash, Gabe, Pete, Adam, George, Wazza & Jac be cool.

A short rock trip in Townsville with Tash and a week back in the fantastic Blueys with Stu and Nath was all I got on the rock in the 6 month lead up to my arrival in Thailand.