Mount Remarkable Summit

Nina and I have been to Mount Remarkable National Park many times, but until a few weeks ago, we had never made it to the summit, which is pretty strange, because usually "a summit" is the first thing we visit.

We started the "Summit Hike" from the "Monument" (a monument to WWII diggers) at the foot of the mountain near Melrose, in the early afternoon. The walk was quite easy - definitely not steep - and at a leisurely pace it took us around two and half hours to get to the summit. There isn't a terrific view from the summit, because of the surrounding trees. The old survey trig is still there, as well as an enormous cairn.

Summit cairn

Interesting stuff on the way up included: large scree slopes which are quite impressive in their scale, expansive views across Willochra Plain and Melrose, and the wreckage of a light airplane that crashed in 1980 trying to land in fog. We wondered why the wreckage was never removed.

View of Melrose and Willochra Plain

Scree slope

We camped at the "Summit Camp", which is 5 minutes walk from the actual summit. The camp site is nothing special, just a big clearing along a fire trail which includes a small water tank for campers. We liked it. Being Winter, it was bitterly cold (for us mild climate people). Sunrise was a nice site.

Summit camp at sunrise

Some more photos here.

Newland Head Conservation Park

Last weekend we camped for a couple of nights at Newland Head Conservation Park, which is on the southern coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, just west of Victor Harbour. We had never been there before.

We stayed at Waitpinga Campground (at Waitpinga Beach) and found that it lived up to its namesake (the Aboriginal meaning of Waitpinga is "Windy Place"). It's a nice camp ground with toilets, water, nearby walking trails and a boardwalk to the beach (about 20 minutes return). The designated camping areas are enclosed by wooden barriers, so you generally can't get your vehicle directly adjacent to your camp site, which is what we would usually do. We had to carry our gear to the camp site, instead of leaving it in the boot, but it wasn't a problem.

Waitpinga Beach

We did the "Coastal Cliffs Loop Hike" one morning. The walk took us past the impressively flat cliffs of Newland Head, and provided some nice coastal views. We covered the distance of 7.5 km in under three hours.

Newland Head Cliffs (Coastal Cliffs Loop Hike)

We didn't do any swimming at Waitpinga or Parsons beach as according to Parks SA: Due to strong rips and hidden gutters, the park's beaches are not suitable for swimming. After seeing the beaches in person, we agreed with that. It was pretty windy anyway, and therefore a bit cold.

We were going to try a bit of fishing, but thought better of it given our miserly little rod and the windy conditions. There were quite a few people fishing with large beach rods. Apparently the area is good for Australian Salmon, Mullet and Mulloway.

Waitpinga Beach

We probably won't go back all that often, as unless you are a keen fisher or surfer, the exposed coast doesn't offer up a lot of things to do. But don't get me wrong, it was a great place to see and a welcome chance to get outdoors and away from the glowing screens!

Some more photos here.

(I have since created a Wikipedia article on Newland Head Conservation Park.)

Mt Bartle Frere

When I found out we were invited to a wedding back home in Cairns, and in July (the tropical dry season), I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to walk to the summit of Mt Bartle Frere, in Wooroonooran National Park. This had been on my to do list for many years!

At 1622m, Mt Bartle Frere is Queensland's highest mountain. It gets up to 12 metres of rain a year, but we were lucky enough to have fine weather. I wouldn't recommend doing this track if it was wet; it was hard enough when it was dry.

After spraying "Rid" over our socks and shoes (a Leech prevention measure which seems to work), we left Josephine Falls car park around 9:30am. The first part of the track was quite easy and after an hour we arrived at Majuba Creek, a beautiful spot surrounded by some huge granite boulders. This would be a great place to come for lunch and a swim in the warmer months, avoiding the crowds at Josephine falls.

The next leg sees the rainforest thicken as the track winds along a sharp ridge. We arrived at Big Rock camp around midday. Its a nice little camp site on Majuba creek. There was a couple of guys sprawled out and looking a bit worn out. They had just descended and they said the walk was tough and their night was very cold.

After Big Rock camp, the track becomes very steep. It was three to four hours of hard slog before the the forest opened up and we finally got some views of the mountain side and coastline. Another 30 minutes and we were at our camp site for the night: the Eastern Summit camp which is 300 metres vertically below the summit. There was an evacuation hut and a helicopter/camping pad constructed of lattice-like aluminium. A sign advised either sleeping in the hut or pitching a tent on the helipad. We choose the helipad as it afforded the best views. After a 30 minute trip down to a stream to fetch some water, we settled in with some warm drinks and watched the sunset. Anything that was left outside the tent was quickly covered in condensation; I guess we were in the clouds.

The next morning we watched the sunrise while breaking the fast. We fetched some more water, packed up, and put our packs in the emergency hut; we were happy to ditch the weight while we made the final ascent.

The track to the summit passes through a field of large granite boulders. The route is marked by orange arrows and the boulders provide plenty of grip (in the dry at  least), but Nina found some of the sections a little bit challenging. There are good views throughout this section. Closing in on the summit, thick rainforest returns. We know we have reached the summit after seeing a sign declaring this as the highest peak in Queensland. There was a rock outcrop providing great easterly views. This is where I popped the question and thankfully got a reply in the affirmative.

We then headed back down the way we came. The descent was very hard on our legs, our knees in particular. On reaching Majuba Creek we removed our shoes and relaxed with our feet in the water. It took three hours to get from the summit to Big Rock camp. We spent an hour at Big Rock camp, then it was another two hours back to the car, so the descent took around six hours in total.

More photos here.

Related links:

• John Chapman: Mt Bartle Frere
• SummitPost.org: Mount Bartle Frere

Weekend at the Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park

Nina, myself and four friends spent last weekend (Fri 19 - Sun 21 June 2009) at Dutchmans Stern Conservation Park, just west of Quorn, South Australia (see Google Maps). We stayed at the Dutchman Hut, which is maintained for Heysen Trail walkers.

We finished work early Friday afternoon and headed up to the park, stopping only for dinner at Port Pirie. We arrived at the hut around 2230, and we carried our gear the 200m from the car park to the hut, and settled in for a game of cards.

The next day we did the Dutchmans Stern Hike which travels through a Gorge, and visits the Dutchmans Stern Bluff (where we had lunch). The evening was spent relaxing and playing board games and cards.

On the third day we traveled to the Devil's Peak, a small mountain south of Quorn, with a horn like peak. We really enjoyed this short 2 hour walk, partly because it was such a nice day, but also because of the nice views. The pushed up geology of the mountain reminded us of St Mary Peak, Wilpena Pound.

After the walk we had lunch at the Quandong Cafe in Quorn. Highly recommended! Especially their specialty, Quandong Pie.

We were back home around 1830 after a 4 hour return trip.

More photos of the trip here.

Mt Remarkable National Park Bushwalking over Easter

Lucky for us, the Mt. Remarkable National Park rangers decided to allow walk-in camping in the park a bit earlier than usual this year; because of the Easter long weekend being so close to the end of the fire danger season (normally walk-in camping is not allowed during the fire danger season which extends to 15 April this year). So we got a 2-night bush walk in and avoided the crowds at all the car camp site! Actually we only saw a couple people the whole weekend (while we were walking in the park).

We left from Mambray Creek campground on the Friday, then headed north up the steep Hidden Gorge Hike track and along the Battery ridge; nice views across Spencer Gulf. We camped the first night at Frick's Dam campsite; not a bad campsite, it overlooks a valley.

The next day we headed up towards Alligator Gorge then back down to Hidden Camp, we camped for the night. This is a beautiful campsite within a quartzite gorge.

The final day (Sunday) was a brief 2 hour sprint back to the car early in the morning. We were home by midday.

We didn't take many photos, but we have a couple on our Picasa site,