I just got back from a three-day trip to the Budawangs with Sydney Bushwalkers, and thought I would write down what each of the days looked like while it is still fresh. I am going to keep the exact location vague, both because that was the intention of the trip leaders and because part of what made the area special was how untouched it felt. No GPS points, no detailed directions, and hopefully no accidental breadcrumb trail.

Day 1

We needed to meet at around 8:30am, which meant leaving my house in Sydney at 5:00am. I ended up getting away at about 5:10, which was close enough to count as a success.

The drive out of the city was lovely. There was barely any traffic, the weather was perfect, and the sun came up just as I was leaving that denser part of Sydney. Somewhere down towards Wollongong I could see out over the ocean, with the morning light coming up over it. Not a bad way to begin.

I stopped at the Bakehouse Cafe on the way and, interestingly, saw a few of the other walkers there without realising they were part of the same group. After that I continued on, met everyone, parked the cars, and we set off.

The walk to camp was only about 2.5 or 3 kilometres, so I had packed quite differently from how I normally would. I brought my winter sleeping bag, a camping chair, plenty of food, and various other comforts that usually would not make the cut. Of course, in true SBW style, the 2.5 kilometres was quite rugged. Much of it was off track, including a descent into a ravine and then a climb back out towards camp.

We dropped our big packs at the campsite, switched to day packs, and spent the afternoon exploring up around the hills and plateaus. There was some light scrambling, but the area has this wonderful pattern where, once you climb up one of the cracks, you can move quickly along the flatter tops before coming back down another crack.

Later we walked around beneath the cliffs and found the large cave where we would sleep that night. We chose our spots, collected our bags, and then headed back up to get more water and firewood. The firewood operation involved collecting dead wood and tossing it down from above so it would be accessible near the cave. That probably sounds worse than it was. This was the middle of nowhere, with no one around and no sign that anyone had been there recently. No rubbish, no footprints, and not even many broken branches.

That evening we set up under the cave, made a beautiful fire, had happy hour, ate a lot of food, and went to bed. Given the short approach, I was very pleased to have brought the chair.

Day 2

The next morning we headed out on the main walk of the trip, a longer route out towards the edge of the cliffs. We were probably walking for about seven hours, from roughly 9:00am until 4:00pm.

The day had a similar rhythm to the first afternoon, but bigger. We climbed up, moved across the tops, and worked our way out to the cliff edges. The views were excellent, and the walking was varied enough that it never felt like simply covering distance.

At one point we dropped down through one of the cracks near the far end of the route. It was a bit dodgy, or at least enough to make everyone pay attention, but the group moved through it well. These are the kinds of moments that make a walk memorable afterwards, though I am not always sure I fully appreciate them while I am standing in the middle of them.

Eventually we made our way back to camp, repeated the now-familiar campfire routine, ate dinner, and settled in for another night under the rock.

Day 3

On the last morning we did one more short exploration before packing up properly. We went out, descended another crack, had a look around, and then made our way back.

After that we collected our gear and hiked back out to the cars. The distance was still short on paper, but again it was not exactly a smooth footpath, and by the time we reached the end I was glad to put the pack down.

I jumped in the car and drove back towards Sydney, stopping along the way to pick up Deedee. By the time I got home I was fairly tired. It had been a long final day, and really a full three days of rugged walking, scrambling, camping, firewood collecting, and early starts.

Overall, it was a great trip.