Another Day at Frog

An all too familiar scene for those heading to Frog on the weekend

Climbers, as would many people involved in a specialised hobby/sport, have their own language. Whether it's talking about gear, describing a route or simply talking about where they went on the weekend, it is part of what forms a community around an activity. My brother and I have to be careful at family gatherings as we will talk at length about anything climbing related, essentially excluding the rest of the table from the conversation. My Wife, despite not climbing herself, has also been forced to learn the language and these days is also quite fluent.

When answering the question of "what did you do on the weekend?", one response sure to baffle all but the dedicated climber (or climbers spouse...or the occasional bushwalker) is: "We had a great day at Frog on Saturday". Firstly, is Frog a place? If so, where is it and what do you do there?

Good Times at Urbenville

Date: 8 - 9 June 2013

As local readers are well aware, the weather in the South-East Corner (and no-doubt beyond) hasn't been the best lately. Apart from short cold spells, Winter hasn't really hit yet and the rain has stayed well past its welcome for this time of year. This has made climbing and walking opportunities few and far between. We were determined to get out and do something over the recent long weekend though, and the destination was Urbenville just south of the border.

Two Weeks in Tasmania

Date: 23 February - 10 March 2013

I first visited Tasmania in 2008 with Maree. We spent a week touring in a campervan and we loved the place. I've been wanting to get back there ever since and this year I'll be lucky enough to get down there twice. The first trip was with Tom and we spent two weeks walking and climbing at Ben Lomond, Freycinet Peninsula and Mt. Field.

Note: As usual be sure to click on the photos to see the full resolution version. They come out a bit blurry when reduced in size.
Note 2: This is a fairly extended trip report so it might be best to grab a coffee first. ;)

Girraween in July

New Boots (16) with Wattles at Turtle Rock

Date: 23 - 29 July 2012

After a busy first half of the year I was really looking forward to a bit of time off from work. The frequency of my bushwalking posts has diminished this year mainly because the majority of my spare time has been taken up with rock climbing instead. It is just another way to enjoy the bush and the outdoors and often includes walking as well. So basically it's win win as far as I'm concerned.

So during the last week of July, Tom and I decided to get in a solid few days of climbing at one of our favourite places no matter what the activity: Girraween.

Cold, Windy but Beautiful at Girraween

Date: 10 - 11 Sep 2011

Day 1:

Main Range at Sunrise from the Highway

Maree and I decided to get away for the weekend to Girraween N.P. near Stanthorpe. We got away to an early start on the Saturday morning which meant we got to the camp site by about 8:30 in the morning. There was a moderate number of people camping in both the Bald Rock Creek and Castle Rock Campsites and we chose the latter as we hoped there would be more exposure to the sun.

By 10:00 we were set up and ready to go. The plan for the day was to head out to The Sphinx and Turtle Rock to investigate the climbing opportunities there. The track heads off from the Southern End of the campsite and is also the starting point for the Mt. Norman and Castle Rock walks. The walking was extremely pleasant with the clouds clearing to a beautiful day and the good quality track providing easy walking up a gradual incline for most of the way. The only downside was the wind which was gusting to around 30 to 40KM/H.