In October
of 2018 I was lucky enough to assemble a small team including my Dad and some
of my closest mates Brendan and Anthony and together we made a successful bid
at climbing The Castle. The Castle is one of the iconic peaks in the Morton
National Park. It is an isolated plateau that stands at 836m and has incredible
views in all directions. The wilderness is virtually untouched by humans as far
as the eye can see. It was a trip I have had my eye on for several years and it
was very satisfying to finally turn that dream into a reality.
We caught up
for dinner and a beer a few weeks prior to discuss the route and importantly
the logistics. We made sure first and foremost that we were taking everything
that we needed but then also wanted to make sure that we weren't doubling up on
many things so as to try and keep pack weight down. The night before the
departure I got all of my gear out and lay it out to make sure that I hadn’t
missed anything. I had all the bare essentials but when you added in the camera
gear and a few luxuries the pack wasn’t quite as light as I would have liked.
Once everything was packed it was off to bed as the alarm was set for an early
start.
 |
| All of my gear prepped and ready |
At 05:30 I
was up and dressed. I loaded the last few items into the pack and enjoyed some
toast. At 06:00 Dad arrived and Brendan a few minutes later. We loaded up his
4WD with the packs and set off for The Shire to collect Anthony. We picked him
up and continued on our journey south. I had suggested we stop at The
Cliffhanger Café just before the descent down to Wollongong for a coffee and
bacon & egg roll which everyone was pretty pumped for. Sadly upon arrival
we discovered that the café was closed for the day and had to continue the
journey on an empty stomach. We passed Wollongong and then Nowra as well. We
decided to wait until we reached Milton to stop which ended up being further than
we thought so everyone was pretty ravenous by the time we arrived. As
originally planned, we all tucked into a bacon and egg roll with a coffee and
it really hit the spot!
Leaving
Milton it was only about another 15km or so before we turned off the bitumen and
hit the dirt roads. We were a little behind schedule and Brendan must have been
keen to make up some time as it was a pretty rare occasion when his foot reached
for the brakes. The corrugations gave his suspension a serious workout! I think
its pretty fair to say that everyone other than Brendan was mildly
uncomfortable with the speed in which we were hurtling along the track. After
about 30 minutes we came around a corner and right in front of us through the
trees you could see The Castle towering over the valley. It was an ominous site
and gave a true sense of the scale of the climb that we were about to tackle.
We parked up at the Long Gully Campground and did a final reshuffle of the
packs before setting out.
 |
| Group shot before setting out onto the trail |
As we were
leaving the carpark we came across a huge Goanna, it was a pretty cool way to
start the hike. After about the first 200 metres the trail comes to the Yadboro
River. It was shoes off as I certainly wasn’t keen to get the feet wet right
away. After the river crossing the next few hundred metres are through a lovely
rainforest which has a real ancient feel to it. Its not long before the trail
begins to climb up towards the Kalianna Ridge. It’s a steady climb on a
relatively worn track. My legs felt rubbish with the weight of the pack but I
tried not to let it worry me to much, I was just stoked to be out on an
overnight hike after more than three years! Its way too long but having your
first child certainly changes your priorities.
 |
| The big Goanna |
 |
| Entering the wilderness! |
 |
| Brendan on the Yadboro River crossing |
Once you
reach the Kalianna Ridge there is a small gradual downhill section for a few
hundred metres which was a bit of a relief for the legs but as it turns out
once you pass that bit every step of the track is uphill. You climb about 200 metres
over the next kilometre which takes you right up to the lower clifflines. It
was pretty hot and everyone was really feeling it. We didn’t know for sure if
we would find water up higher so I was rationing my water and definitely not
taking on as much as would have been ideal. The National Parks have done a fair
bit of work recently to upgrade the track here with stairs and even a section
with some chains to assist with the climb. Once you reach the lower clifflines
the track traverses along the base of the cliff but it’s pretty technical footing.
There are lots of roots and rocks all the while your always heading up woods,
it was tough going for sure!
 |
| Very technical trail! |
 |
| Very technical trail! |
 |
| Very technical trail! |
After a
while we started to hear running water which was a really good sign. We rounded
a boulder to see water falling down from the cliff above, it was a huge relief
and without thinking I went straight over and started drinking it by the
handful. It wasn’t until after woods that I thought about it and realised it
probably wasn’t too smart to drink it without purifying but luckily I didn’t
have any problems. We stopped under the waterfall for lunch, it was a nice
shady spot and allowed us to drink plenty of water. Upon leaving we all topped
up bottles and dropped in purification tablets.
 |
| A relief to find some water raining down from the cliffs above |
 |
| A relief to find some water raining down from the cliffs above |
Shortly
after lunch we started to get some spectacular views of the clifflines of Mount
Owen and Mount Nibelung. The formations of the cliffs were unlike anything I
have seen before. After lunch my legs started coming around and I felt really
solid on the climb. After you finish the traverse along the cliffline the track
makes a beeline for Castle Saddle and its bloody steep, climbing 200 metres in
just over 300 metres as the crow flies! It’s also in this section that you get
your first glimpse of the summit plateau which towers above and looks pretty
intimidating. From this viewpoint it looks unclimbable without proper
rock-climbing gear (and far more rock-climbing skills than I currently
possess).
 |
| On the climb |
 |
| On the climb |
 |
| On the climb |
 |
| On the climb |
 |
| Dad approaching a really cool camp cave |
 |
| Camp cave |
 |
| Incredible views back down the valley! The walls of The Castle on the left and Mount Owen on the right |
From above
the plateau is shaped like a tadpole with the main “body” about 500 metres long
and a “tail” that is made up of a series of towers that extends away from the
body for about 400 metres. About 500 metres before you reach the Castle Saddle
there is a track junction with a track that heads up towards The Tunnel. The
tunnel is like the name suggests a thin slot that makes its way through the
tail of the tadpole which gives you more direct access to Meakins Pass, the
access route to the summit. We continued up to the saddle and it was a big
relief to get there as everyone was pretty knackered by this point. From the
saddle it is about 500 metres with a 120 metre descent down to the campground
at Cooyoyo Creek. Wow did it feel good to take the packs off and take a look
around. A short walk from the campsite there is a huge cliff with really nice
views across to Byangee Walls and Pigeon House Mountain. We got the tents setup
quickly and then Dad and Brendan said they would start the fire, I was really
keen to head back up to the saddle to try and get some photos of the sunset.
 |
| Finally at the Castle Saddle, our high point for the day |
Anton and I made
our way back to the saddle and then proceeded back to the junction. We made out
way up to “The Tunnel” and then I spotted an enormous boulder about 100 metres
away and decided that was the spot. We slowly traversed over to it and then
made out way around to the back side of it and I found a way to climb up to the
top. It was an awesome spot with a full 180 panorama across the valley and over
to the cliffs of Mount Owen & Mount Nibelung. It was nice to relax and
watch the sunset, the rays of light coming down through the clouds were
awesome!
 |
| Our sunset viewing boulder |
 |
| The fading sunlight streaming through the clouds behind Mount Owen |
 |
| Sunset panorama of the entire valley. The cliffs of The Castle on the left over to Mount Owen & Mount Nibelung in the centre of shot and finally the "Tail" of The Castle on the right |
 |
| The fading light streaming through the clouds behind Mount Owen |
Once the sun
dropped below the horizon we knew we only probably had about 45 minutes of
light left so made a beeline for the tunnel. To get to the entrance of the slot
you have to climb over a few boulders. Heading through the slot was a lot of
fun. On the back side there is a fixed rope which helps to descend the 7-8
metre cliff to the ground below. From here it was a relatively easy walk back
to the saddle. In almost all my camp trips over the last 10 or so years its
always been tradition to have a “mother” log for the fire. We kept our eyes
peeled and eventually discovered a pretty decent sized one that looked like it
might be possible to drag back to the campsite. Over the next 25 minutes we
slogged it out carrying the log back to camp much to the delight of Brendan.
They had already got the fire up and also been down to stash our cans of beer
in the creek to cool them down.
 |
| Climbing over the boulders to reach "The Tunnel" |
 |
| Going through the slot |
 |
| Going through the slot |
 |
| The Tunnel |
 |
| Descending the fixed ropes on the far side of The Tunnel |
 |
| Dragging the "Mother" back to the campsite |
I fired up
my Trangia for its first proper use and between that and Dad’s MSR stove we got
an epic spaghetti meal prepared. I must give a special shout out to my awesome
wife Jemma here, she cooked up a big batch of Bolognese the week before and I
froze a few bricks to bring on the hike. The meal was absolutely delicious and
washing it down with a cold beer made for possibly the best dinner I have had
to date on a hike! After dinner we popped down to creek for a wash and to grab
everyone’s second beer. The rest of the evening was thoroughly enjoyable
chatting around the campfire and enjoying the delights of chocolate, muscat and
whiskey.
 |
| A nice creek chilled beer |
 |
| Pasta on the boil |
 |
| Epic Meal Time |
 |
| Muscat by the fire |
 |
| Good conversation |
 |
| Dad stoking the fire |
Anton and I
awoke before dawn to head down to the cliffs and watch the sunrise. It was a
spectacular sight seeing the rays of light first in the clouds and then coming
up over the horizon and lighting up the cliffs an incredible shade of orange. Once
the show was over we returned to the tents and got the fire going. Breakfast
was fantastic with some honey porridge and coffee. All in all it was a pretty
lazy start to the morning around the fire and we didn’t set out until about
09:00. This was what the whole trip was for, the summit bid.
 |
| Sunrise over Talaterang Mountain |
 |
| Sunrise over Talaterang and Pigeon House Mountains |
 |
| Sunrise over Talaterang and Pigeon House mountains |
 |
| The early morning sun creates a silhouette of Talaterang Mountain |
We traversed
around the back side of the tadpoles tail and stashed our packs at the bottom
of Meakins Pass. There are fixed ropes all along the route up Meakins Pass
which assist with the climb, it would be pretty difficult without them. The first
few sections aren’t too bad and kind of ease you into it with gradually
increased exposure as you go. The track notes referred to a dodgy old frayed
rope which was to be avoided by back tracking and traversing across a ledge to
the adjacent gully. Eventually we came across a dodgy old frayed rope but not
knowing if it was “the” dodgy old frayed rope we decided to give it a go.
Brendan lead the way and climbed up the rope. It was pretty intimidating as it
was very exposed and easily the most technical part of the climb so far. We
were all relying on the rope and It would have been a long fall if it decided
to give way. The adrenalin was definitely pumping!
 |
| Lower sections of Meakins Pass |
 |
| Dad and Anton taking a look at the climb ahead |
 |
| Climbing up towards the infamous frayed rope |
 |
| Climbing up towards the infamous frayed rope |
 |
| Climbing up towards the infamous frayed rope |
 |
| Relived to have the frayed rope behind us as we reach what could be called the ridge of the tadpole tail |
After the
frayed rope section it was relatively straight forward to reach the crest of
the tail. The views really start to open up here. After some boulder hopping
you reach the next fixed rope which is probably the longest one of the climb at
about 15 metres. Once you finish this 15 metre rope you reach the final section
of two fixed ropes. The first one is a straight forward climb but its wildly
exposed with a drop over to your right that’s hundreds of metres down to the
valley floor below. It was exhilarating! The final rope takes you up into a thin
slot and once crested it’s a short boulder hop and your on the summit plateau.
 |
| Brendan climbing through one of the slots |
 |
| Panorama from the ridge of the Tadpole Tail |
 |
| Making our way along the ridge of the Tadpole Tail |
 |
| Making our way along the ridge of the Tadpole Tail |
 |
| Climbing the fixed ropes |
 |
| Climbing the fixed ropes |
 |
| Climbing the fixed ropes |
 |
| Wildly exposed final section of fixed ropes. Just behind it drops hundreds of metres to the valley floor below! |
 |
| Wildly exposed final section of fixed ropes. just behind it drops hundreds of metres to the valley floor below! |
 |
| Brendan on the final difficult slot before the summit plateau |
We were all
stoked to have reached the summit and began soaking up the views in every
direction. The plateau was covered in hundreds of tiny rock pools following the
recent rain. Each pool was full of tiny tadpoles which was pretty cool. We
slowly made our way through the thick scrub towards the southern tip of the
plateau where the logbook is. After some looking we eventually found the
logbook and settled down to enjoy the spectacular views. You can see all the
way to the ocean but the highlight has to be looking down upon Byangee Mountain
and over to Pigeon House Mountain. We signed the logbook, got some photos and then
with time getting away from us we decided to make a move.
It was fairly
hot and we made slow and steady progress down the technical trail. Despite
being almost entirely downhill its still a tough hike given the difficult
footing. It was a bit of a relief to get the traverse section done as it meant
we only had the one final steep descent down the new stairs until we reached
the Kalianna Ridge. The ridgewalking was nice as the track opens up here and
its a lot less techy so we were able to get a nice rhythm going. A couple of
kilometres from the finish we came across a mountain biker pushing his bike up
the trail, he was having a blast but I have no idea why he had decided to
tackle this particular trail on an MTB. The final section through the
rainforest was nice and shaded and the cool water of the Yadboro River was refreshing.
I walked the last few hundred metres back to the car barefoot and then set the
pack down for the final time.
 |
| Descending down to Castle Saddle |
 |
| Descending down to Castle Saddle |
 |
| On the descent |
 |
| Plenty of wildflowers to be seen |
 |
| Another cool camp cave |
 |
| Climbing some rocks on the descent |
 |
| On the descent |
 |
| On the descent |
 |
| Traversing along the base of the cliffs |
 |
| At the top of the Kalianna Ridge |
 |
| Ferns in the rainforest section near the Yadboro River |
It was an
awesome adventure and a great first taste of the Budawangs. I am stoked that I
was able to share the experience with Dad and some of my closest mates. I think
that there are many more incredible sights to be seen in the Budawangs as you
explore deeper into the wilderness and I definitely look forward to returning
one day.
 |
| Team photo after getting back to the car |
Strava GPS Data:
Full Photo Gallery:
