Nowra trip

Since I last wrote, Tom and I have driven down to Nowra, about twice as far from Sydney as Wollongong is, for a climbing trip. The drive was pretty and the sun was shining- the makings for a good trip!

We arrived at the Shoalhaven zoo, which rents out its spare parking lot as a campground to people like us. It was kind of interesting setting up a tent with peacocks strutting about.

After we set up the tent, we headed off across the Shoalhaven to the sportsclimbing mecca of Australia- Nowra! We wandered up to an area called Thompson's Sunrise and climbed a few of the easier grades there, wondering the whole time why nobody was sharing this delightful place with us- we had it all to ourselves! It was pretty nice climbing, and I had fun. I honestly can't remember the climbs we did, but Tom might if I asked him. I was just glad to be out in the sunshine enjoying a bit of fresh air.

After Thompson's Sunrise we headed around the point to an area called Thompson's Point. This was not so nice as Thompson's Sunrise because the sun had been beating on the cliffs all day, resulting in some pretty quick climbing on my part to keep my hands a little less molten. The sweat was running off of me like I had just stepped out of the river sparkling so tantalizingly close down the slope. There was a point when the sun stopped being filtered by the trees and BAM! Suddenly it was like climbing in an oven. Tom and I figured out pretty quickly why nobody was there- this was definitely a place to climb in winter!

We finished up cooking ourselves and decided to go get some dinner at the local pub, which apparently becomes a nightclub after hours called "Slippery When Wet". Nice. The fish and chips was edible and Tom's chicken parmesan found an excellent home. We washed it down with some M&M's, and settled back into our campsite to watch the sun set on 2012. The mozzies were fierce and the fireworks were hidden behind a ridge down the river, but the startled peacocks crowing through the night was festive enough for us.

We woke up the next day and drove south towards Point Perpendicular, about 30 minutes down the road from our campsite. Point Perpendicular is a protected area, and is actually part of the ACT! I was so close to having visited another Australian state, but no! We were denied because it was so hot that there was a fire danger, and with only one way in and one way out the area was closed. Wah-wah. Instead of moping, we went to the beach and body surfed instead, then had an ice cream, some lunch, and then drove back to Sydney.

We called up our friend on the way and met for a nice afternoon session at Bluebell, where I took my first big lead fall! It sounds awful, but it was really good to get it out of the way and to learn to trust the rope. After that we bought a milkshake and had a swim, and then came home and unpacked all of our camping gear. Ah, a good trip.

Since then I've been working non-stop. My next days off are Friday and Saturday, and on Saturday night there's another night of climbing goodness planned at Bangor! Yaaaay! I'd better lap up all the fun I can before I start school again. Then I will look back on entries like this and think, one day, one day...