Melbourne, Dandenong Ranges, Yarra Valley, Mt Arapiles Climbing,
Birding, Drinking and Cheese eating Trip Report
Enthusiasts: Apologies for the cross-pollination of topics here, but
it was a multi-disciplinary trip and I only want to write one report.
So apologies to birders and climbers alike for the boring bits from
the other 'sport' that I've included. If I was on a drinking list I'd
probably post this there as well.
My wife and I bailed out of the Blueys very early Friday morning, flew
to Melbourne and were sitting in a café drinking coffee by 10am. I've
never really been to Melbourne proper before, and feel the need to
include some observations:
- The coffee is generally of a much higher standard than Sydney.
- Trams are excellent. They're faster, quieter and cleaner than
busses. Using electric vehicles in the city is genius. It means you
eliminate soot and emissions from the city, and can run them on a
renewable energy source. Then running them on tracks reduces the
rolling resistance, makes them quiet and removes tyre particulates
from stormwater. The only complaint I heard about them from
Melbournites was that "they're a pain in the arse to drive behind".
Welllll, there's a simple solution to that.
- The licensing laws are far superior to the draconian Sydney laws,
and have led to increased competition between bars, which means better
bars! Where else could you have a crisp tap beer with breakfast?
- The trams have also opened the city up, so it's a genuine open
market. You can get around so easily that the whole city becomes a
play area.
In short, Melbourne is a superior city in virtually every respect. The
weather wasn't great while we were there though…
No climbing in Melb, but did see some Tree Sparrows. Nothing else to
report really.
Picked up the car and headed up into the Dandenong ranges. Just poked
around looking for meals and somewhere to sleep. Had a sensational
lunch in Mt Dandenong where they've got 7 different fancy beers on tap
and homemade tomato sauce for the chips. There's only 2 pubs in town;
it was the slightly log cabin looking one we were in. Crashed in the
NP behind Silvan Reservoir; not 100% legal, but a good place for a
kip.
Next, onto the Yarra Valley proper, where we hooked up with an old
mate. He made us stay in a cottage on the De Bortoli vineyard where he
was working and demanded that we come to the restaurant regularly so
he could feed and wine us. We obliged, and staggered out of the region
48 hours later, with 2 dozen bottles of wine and 7 different types of
cheese. Aged gorgonzola and Ironstone aged cheddar were the
highlights, Yarrayerring the best vineyard by a long shot.
Quickly on then to Mt Arapiles. Out along the Western Highway the
birding picked up, with a Wandering Whistling duck seen in a dam
somewhere between Ballarat and Ararat, lots of BS Kites (no
Letterwings) and a very scruffy Brown Falcon. Arrived at Araps in the
early afternoon with stunning weather but a serious dose of vehicle
lethargy/stupidity. Shook it off with a quick run up Nude Balloon
Dance (30m, 7) over on Mitre Rock. It was fun enough, but the second
pitch was pretty rambly and pointless. Watched a pair of Nankeen
Kestrels on top of Lamplighter carrying on, calling and displaying to
each other. I think they've got a nest up there.
Then the weather closed in. It looked okay at first, just a couple of
light-hearted Cumulo Mediocris, then they got bigger, then it rained.
On and off for 5 days. It was awful weather and damaged my spirits
badly. I've only been to Araps once before, about 2 years ago when I
was a total bumbly. I led a 4 then and was panic stricken; we only
climbed 4 days out of 10 then as well, due to heavy winter rain. Since
then I've improved a little and really wanted to see how far I've
come, and get stuck into some of the longer classics; Skink, Eurydice,
The Bard, Tannin, Watchtower… Instead, we spent the day sitting in
camp, depressed, waiting for breaks in the weather when we could run
out to a close crag, climb 30m then get rained on again while coiling
the rope and then head back to camp. Repeat process for 4 days, adding
the odd tantrum and drinking binges to relieve the boredom.
Progress was made however. My wife had previously enjoyed climbing
with me, but suffered from vertigo. She seconded me up a bunch of easy
cracks around the place and genuinely enjoyed the experience. I got my
head together and got to place lots of gear and build lots of anchors.
A quick summary of the routes are listed below:
Camelot (13m, 10) – I think everyone's climbed this haven't they? A
cheeky little corner on Plaque Wall with good gear and some nice
moves.
Sincerity (14m 5) – Up on Charity Buttress. The idea here was to go
from left to right doing all the cracks up there. Sadly, just as Bec
started climbing 4 groups moved in and took up all other available
lines, so we bailed. It is an unremarkable route.
Bushranger Crag
Holdup Line (20m 8) – Quite good, and worth a star or 2. Some genuine
climbing moves with good gear through some strangely shaped terrain.
Revolver Crack (20m 6) – Pretty stiff for a 6! The finish is quite
steep for the grade, but the holds are huge and the gear's great.
Hangman (25m 14) – I really enjoyed this. The hard part is the boulder
problem over the bulge in the middle, good and committing. Then it
gets steeper, and the holds get bigger. I placed another good wire and
just motored through to the top. Good fun.
Back to the Plaque Wall for Maximus, which I toproped in the rain. I
was wondering if I was being a princess not climbing while it was wet,
so tested the theory. Turns out I was right; it was awful and pretty
scary. The friction just becomes unpredictable. Hands slide off even
the biggest holds, and feet shoot off if you stop concentrating.
Lined up and did D-Minor (35m 14, as if you didn't know…) and loved
it. Good committing climbing with good gear and an exciting finish.
Total classic and deservedly the most popular route in Australia.
Mostly because it's so close to camp though I suspect. It started
hailing just as I got to the top of the second pitch. Steve,
seconding, wasn't happy.
The weather broke in the late afternoon, and we weren't quite as sober
as the proverbial judges, so decided a long scary 9 might be the go.
Wobbled up Clymnaestra Buttress, which was actually excellent fun.
Some wild exposure pulling up out of the cave, and some steep climbing
to the finish. Bit of a rope drag monster, but that's par for that
type of course I suppose.
Muldoon (42m 13) was the last route for the week, and excellent icing
on the cake. I enjoyed it immensely, steep moves on good rock, with
good gear and sensational exposure. Had some fun and games pulling
onto the wall; made a Schoolboy error and crouched onto the little
ledge, then realised I couldn't move from that position… An excellent
climb, and maybe my favourite route ever?
Observed a pair of Peregrines on top of the Atridae buttress; again
they seemed to have a nest, dancing and displaying for each other
whenever one returned with food.
Had a quick look around the 2wd parts of Little Desert hoping for some
dry country residents but again we were thwarted by the weather.
Howling wind and bitter cold didn't bode well but we still saw plenty
of White-Fronted Chats along the fences, and many Yellow-Rumped
Thornbills. Little else though.
On the trip back to Melbourne saw a lone Magpie Goose, south of
Ballarat. A long way south I would think? Spent the night in St Kilda
and watched Port capitulate embarrassingly. Not that I had any
interest in the game, being a Sydneyite. Saw Kelp Gulls (I think) from
the front steps of the Espy and then the trip was essentially over. It
doesn't sound very successful I suppose, but you know what they say,
your worst day climbing is better than your best day at work. The
weather was inhospitable, which made camping really hard work, but it
was still totally worthwhile. There were many moments of brightness
amongst the dark hours, and I guess it's those you remember isn't it?
EB
--
Evan Beaver
Lapstone, Blue Mountains, NSW
lat=-33.77, lon=150.64
==============================www.birding-aus.org
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