UKC

hi all, i'm of backpacking to oz soon, and wondered if anyone would reccommend any places to go. I'm starting in sydney, and will probably head up the coast to cairs (no definite plan as yet).
has anyone used the greyhound buses or oz experience? has anyone hitch hiked very far over there?

This is a really random question, but does anyone know of any bouldering in oz? the devils marbles in the northern territories looks superb, but i'm guessing that they are protected and climbing wouldn't be allowed....

Anyone know anything about the discount cards, such as VIP, YHA and nomads?

I've been on countless websites relevant to backpacking down under, but am really looking for some info from people who have been there and done it themselves, solo preferably.

thanks very much for your time,

happy cragging.

pete

In reply to pete davies:

hi,

first of all, you lucky bugger! i had an ace time in oz. if you have the cash buy a car to get around, much easier, you can doss in the back if it's an estate car, saving on hostel fees and if you meet someone you get on with you can ge them on board and go halfs. oz experience had a bad rep. when i was there - apparently, they goet commission from bars to get you completely drunk, you then crawl on the coach the next day and sleep till you get to the next place then do it all again. good for some but not if you want to get climbing.

i only really went to araps when i was there - good vibe, lots of fun and easy to meet folk. you might get away with just taking your harness, boots and bag, buying rope out there and sharing a rack from someone you meet. can camp at the foot of araps - i bought a tent, sleeping bag, kip mat and cheap stove from a camping shop in horsham. it's easy to hitch to town for food and there used to be a pick-your-own place near the camp site when i was there.

hope this helps. go well!

r

In reply to the lucky bugger!

Go west my friend Go west.
Blue Mountains just outside Sydney, Mt Warning nr Byron BAy, then its just bars and beaches on the east coast,
GO WEST!
Victoria, Grampians & Arapilis
SA just outside Adelaide
WA absolutly loads the further you go up the coast from Perth, there was a gorge there begins with W I think with a bit and its more chilled than the east.
Broome was voted in the top 5 beaches in the world and you can walk to the reef rather than pay loads for a boat on the east coast a bit further south of there. The water is also much cleaner!
Then you have the Kimberleys! Which has stacks of new routes to grab,
Red Centre,; has quite a bit too.

If you want to climb definitly buy a car and youll soon get people wanting lifts for petrol. When I was there 1000 dollars would get you a Ford Falcon Estate that would with luck get you all the way round! If you have the cash buy a 4wd, it will be worth it!
Have a great time, and dont get trapped in Sydney/east coast getting pissed with all the other packagepackers.

In reply to pete davies:

all good advice so far - really the east coast is there for it's own sake - Byron bay is ok, Dantree is excellent but the rest is just an ant trail there for the backpackers to spend their money getting pished. Blue mountains is spectacular, Arapiles and grampians by far the best climbing area's - didn't get over there but always heard glowing reports of the west coast and the Kimberleys in particular. Most of all tho whatever you do don't go on the Oz experience bus it's a really lame way to travel round oz.

BUY A CAR!!!! they are dirt cheap & it will make your trip a million times better. I drove right round that big suckker last year & it ruled. Really easy to pick up some strays to pay for gas / provide sexual gratification etc. Devils marbles are very smooth polished granitey stuff - you will need to be a keen bean to get off the ground here. Great spot though and I didn't see any no climbing signs.

Have a great trip

In reply to pete davies: Lucky bastard, wish i was there, as for some useful advice, car buying is byfar the better option, although getting a nice motor that wont break down is another question, the oz experience (otherwise know as the big green f*ck bus) is for those people how are in their mid to early 20's, (generally gap yr students and people that should know better)
There's loads of climbing round sydney and the blue mountains (around an hour from sydney) theres loads of climbing gym's if the weather is crap, if your heading up the east coast (the usual trail) i climbed extensively around brisbane, there's also a few climbing walls in the city, the easiest crag to get to is kangaroo point which is right inthe city centre, the entire crag is bolted sandstone up to 20metres high, tie off bollards at the top of the crag, and its floodlit at night, there are bbq points by the edge of the river (about a 10m meter walk!!!)
Quite literally a climbers haven, the route's go from anywhere around severe to E4 ish (oz grade 10 to 26) there are various bouldering opportunities`the traverse of the main wall (about 200meters) is quite challenging, but hooking up with local climbers if you hav'nt got a rope is easy enough. Other climbing in queensland is possible (frog buttress, the glasshouse mountains) all within acouple of hours of brisbane, from there things get a bit thin, i have no doubt the are climbing opportunities abound in the state, they just hav'nt been discovered yet!!! If you get as far a cairns, there is some bouldering at trinity beach (about 10km north of cairns) there is also the barron gorge (take the road to kuranda to see the barron gorge waterfall)

I hope at least this has been some help to you, as for which dicount cards to go for, they are equally the same, i did find the Yha hostels a little on the "sterile" side (lacking atmosphere) apart from the one in byron bay (jay's bay) if you are looking for a bit of fun just follow your nose and enjoy (one hostel that i dont think is in the LP guidebook, the serpent hostel in cairns is just brilliant,air con rooms and mega large swimming pool, free minibus that will drop you in town) Its a nomad hostel and quite cheap $15 a night.

Enjoy anyway

Chris

In reply to Dynochris:

the oz experience (otherwise know as the big green f*ck bus)

also known as the vag**a liner!

In reply to Anonymous:




Why's that then?

In reply to pete davies:

Don't even think of climbing on or around the Devil's Marbles or any part of Uluru. The rangers will 1st fine you, then kick you out of the park quick smart.

Good bouldering for the bus-abouter/hitcher can be found around Brisbane at Kangaroo Point, but Brisso is a hole so don't hang around there for too long. Check out Nobby's Beach on the Gold Coast, there's some wicked bouldering on steep volcanic pocketed stuff, all easily walkable to. Check out: http://www.qurank.com/

In and around Sydney-Nowra you have much to play on with a lot of easily accessible areas by bus. Lots of classic problems of all grades on mostly steep sandstone. Go here: http://www.australianbouldering.com/guides/sydney/sydney_guide.html There is a great guide for bouldering in Sydney.

Down south you'll find the Grampians has some of the best sandstone bouldering in the world. Accessibility is a major problem as you'll have to get a bus to Horsham or Halls Gap, lots of climbers around there so probably no problem hooking up to get into Stapylton once you're at Araps, again: http://www.chockstone.org has heaps of info.

Try Araps also, there is tons of awesome bouldering of all grades (lots of V3-V6 stuff) a stone's throw from the campsites and getting there from Nati or Horsham shouldn't be an issue, just thumb it, everyone and their dog will pick you up.

There are lots of outdoor glue ups and bluestone walls in the city of Melbourne which provide a good inner city pump, check out the Chockstone webpage for more details.

If you can make it to Wilson's Promontory (recommmended) which is east of melbourne, go to Squeaky Beach, the problems there are all stunning, mostly highball over beach sand...nice! Have a look here: http://www.mrppp.com.au/nhb/reports/171101.html

Drop me a line for more info...

Paul

In reply to pete davies:

TO ALL OF YOU...

thankyou very much - this is all really useful stuff, and i take it all on board. Thanks for taking the time out to respond, its your genorosity and effort that keeps this site going.

I think i'll be avoiding the oz experience tour bus!

thanks again, and may your efforts be rewarded next time you post a question!

cheers, pete

In reply to pete davies: Went round Oz in 96/97 - so keep in mind things have probably changed a bit - using public transport for long distances then hired rent-a-wrecks for local excursions. Other suggestions:- Mt Buffalo, Victoria; Tasmania; Great venues in Blue Mountains, NSW; Snowy Mtns, NSW (more a backpacking venue); Grampians, Vic; serious climbing on Sydney sea cliffs... Local climbing gyms/walls as sources of info about local venues. YHA card very useful for discounts. Greyhound were fine as were McCafferty, depends on the deal & destination.... lots of different tickets to choose from.
We camped rather than hostelled (very tight budget), which often led to us talking to Australians on their hols. Frequently invited to stay when we got to their part of Oz; generally, very friendly people.