Profile for Vonsnrub - Aussie Bushwalking

This Year

Number of Walks Ticked

114.4km

Total Distance Ticked

All Time

177

Number of Walks Ticked

1,637.5km

Total Distance Ticked

Ticks

Name	Date	Difficulty	Distance/Duration
Mt Gudgenby (Namadgi National Park)	16 Apr, 2024	Very Hard	16.3km return 8 hrs
Slept in my car at the Yankee Hat carpark - not sure if I'm really meant to do that, probably not. Got an early start because I knew what I was going to be up against. Definitely bring a GPS for this one, you can move fairly quick on the ascent up to the saddle following the reasonably well marked trails - but you do need to refer to the GPS quite a bit to ensure you don't follow the wrong ones. Took me 2hrs from the carpark to the saddle, then 1hr45 or so from the saddle to the summit. And given how much shorter the distance is from the saddle to the summit you can get an idea just how much bush bashing is required. The cave and the scrambling sections where probably the highlight for me - I would rate the scrambling as being somewhat similar in difficulty to what you would find climbing the Castle, although there is much less scrambling on Gudgenby. Was strapped for time so didn't get a chance to check out the cool rock formation not far from the summit but have heard that is well worth the detour.
Bungonia Gorge Red Circuit (New South Wales)	25 Mar, 2024	Very Hard	4.9km return 4 hrs
Nice short but challenging walk. Had actually attempted this a little while back but hadn't researched the walk enough and tried to do it anti-clockwise. Not to say it's impossible or even exceedingly difficult doing it in this direction, but it is quite devoid of a track or even any sign of human contact in the boulder section which gave us the false impression we were going the wrong way. This time I was a bit more prepared and doing it clockwise is quite a pleasant scramble/hike. The walk back out of the gorge is a nice thigh burner too. Can knock the walk over quite quickly, we did it in around 2.5hrs and stopped for lunch at Mt Ayre.
Mt Carrialoo (Morton National Park)	19 Mar, 2024	Hard	8.9km return 5 hrs
From the comments on All Trails I was expecting some pretty bad bush bashing but it actually wasn't too bad. There is a dense section of vegetation before the final ascent to the summit but aside from that it is reasonably open terrain. The scrambling section was a pleasant surprise, added some variety to the day.
Cathedral Rock (Cathedral Rock National Park)	29 Feb, 2024	Hard	5.6km return 3 hrs
Can knock this walk over pretty fast - made it to the top in 45mins at a relatively relaxed speed. The scrambling section is short but fun - I would say it's like an easier version of the scrambling involved in getting to the top of the Pyramid in Giraween. Currently the walk is closed from the Barokee Campsite but open from the Native Dog camp-site.
Mount Jerusalem (Mt Jerusalem National Park)	27 Feb, 2024	Hard	29.3km return 10 hrs
Despite being quite overgrown for the 2nd half - it was still a very easy to follow trail. The only thing that slowed progress was the constant checking for snakes (and the frequent stops for leech removal). Views were great at the 2nd spot height, if I was a little more ambitious I would have had more of a look around but I was pretty keen to not be in the long grass any longer than necessary so I didn't stay long. This walk is probably better tackled in Winter in retrospect. Also Mt Nardi is technically a tiny bit higher than Mt Jerusalem so you will actually gain more elevation on the return which is always a bit depressing. Overall good day out, but would probably only recommend it to peak baggers.
Sentinel Peak (South Island NZ)	13 Feb, 2024	Very Hard	14.7km return 9 hrs
I definitely underestimated this hike, I started quite late in the morning and finished just before dark. It is a looong walk both in terms of vertical gain and also distance covered. There are certainly elements of it that reminded me of Mt Barney, although I would say Barney is more difficult in terms of physical exertion and exposure. This is a bit trickier navigation wise - and also a bit more remote, I didn't see anybody else doing this walk beyond the Sawyer Burn track. Even though it was steep in parts slowing my pace, the descent took about as long as the ascent because I had to backtrack a couple of times after accidentally descending down the incorrect ridge (or in one case descending the correct way but second guessing myself and climbing back up to make sure). The GPS track I downloaded from Wikiloc was helpful buuut there are a couple of places where it's incorrect which contributed to my confusion. On the way up I barely ever looked at the GPS because the trail was pretty clear. The views are sensational, and unlike Roys Peak or Ben Lomond you don't have to share it with anyone else. I shared the summit with a New Zealand Hawk who seemed quite surprised to have company. Enjoyable mountain, my favourite of the hikes I did in NZ.
Ben Lomond (South Island NZ)	12 Feb, 2024	Hard	13.4km return 8 hrs
Nice easy to follow trail - more physically difficult than Roys Peak but not by much. The views throughout are sensational, difficult to take a bad photo up there. Lots of people out and about, even on a week day.
Roy's Peak (South Island NZ)	11 Feb, 2024	Hard	14.9km return 6 hrs
Nice easy to follow trail with a fairly consistent rate of climb throughout. A lot of people stop at the iconic viewpoint but the summit in my opinion is even better. Definitely well worth doing if you are ever in the area. Super popular the day I went to do it, and that was 3pm on a Sunday so can imagine that if I went earlier in the day it would have been even crazier!
Mt Royal (Barrington Tops National Park)	19 Jan, 2024	Hard	2.7km return 2.5 hrs
Nice walk with some excellent views! Despite being so short it was quite a nice little thigh burner covering 1000ft in such a short distance. The track was just clear enough that I didn't have to refer to my GPS - but was glad to have it just in case. Great little National Park, surprised no one has heard about it, has some great facilities and was devoid of people.
Pieries Peak (Barrington Tops National Park)	19 Jan, 2024	Easy	3.7km return 1 hr
A lot easier and faster than Mt Royal. Get some pretty iconic views looking back over the grassy hill towards Mt Royal. Was quite a pleasant morning spent climbing up both of them.
Genowlan Mountain and the Valley of the Dinosaurs (Blue Mountains National Park)	30 Oct, 2023	Hard	11.6km return 4 hrs
This walk was physically quite an easy half day adventure. I originally thought it would be a bit more demanding but overall it was fairly easy. The hardest part was navigating to all the main attractions - valley outlook, the valley itself and the cave. Was surprised there weren't more markers along the way but at least through the valley there is quite a nice little trail to follow. The cave was the highlight for me - such a small little slit in the rock that leads to this huge opening.
Baegundae Peak (Bukhansan National Park) (South Korea)	7 Sep, 2023	Hard	8km return 5 hrs
Had a day to kill before my night flight back to Sydney and this filled it in quite nicely. Can easily get to the visitor centre via public transport. From there it is a well signed route all the way to the summit. The track starts off pretty mild, then becomes a bit of a steep scrambly stair case up to the start of the granite section. Despite all the signs and articles warning about how difficult the granite section is I would say it's no harder than anything you would find in Giraween National Park, and it has rope handrails most of the way up so it is pretty managable for just about anyone. The views were excellent, I was lucky to score a nice clear day. There are other peaks nearby that look more challenging and require ropes and harnesses which I would probably look into doing if I hear back to Korea again. Highly recommend this walk if you are in Seoul!
Hallasan Mountain (South Korea)	4 Sep, 2023	Hard	17.4km return 7 hrs
Wow South Korea really spends a lot of time and money maintaining their tracks, was very impressed just how much effort went into it. If I had to compare it to a mountain I've done in Australia in terms of length and gradient I would say Mt Bogong. It is relatively straight forward but it is still challenging enough to make it quite rewarding. Lots of people going up and down. I was one of the last ones up because I had flown in from Seoul that morning and didn't start the walk until after 9am. Still made it to the ranger station with plenty of time to spare before the 12:30pm lock out. On the way down saw a few hikers who missed the cut off and were being sent back down. There is a place a little past the ranger station where you can fill up your water bottle with fresh mountain water. Really great way to spend a day, was definitely my highlight staying on Jeju - but I guess it always was going to be being that it was main reason I was there. Interesting fun fact - the air route from Seoul to Jeju is the most busiest air route in the world.
Bukit Timah (Singapore)	27 Aug, 2023	Easy	2.6km return 45 mins
Due to a plane delay coming back from Turkey I had to spend the day in Singapore so figured why not tick off another country high point. Nice easy stroll, no views from the top, or anywhere on the walk, but what it lacks in views it makes up for in monkeys - there are heaps of them!! One of them nicked off with my Woolworths bag but dropped it when he realised all that was in it was my water bottle and hat.
Mt Ararat (Turkey)	23 Aug, 2023	Very Hard	32km return 4 days
It's a beautiful mountain but it is indeed a painful mountain. Make the most of the first day, it is by far the most relaxing, cause as the days go on the walk becomes less and less relaxing and more and more arduous. I would say day 1 is like climbing a slightly steeper Kosciuszko. The walk to camp 2 is like climbing Mt Maroon a couple of times. And the walk up to the summit is like the gradient of the SE approach to Barney if it were covered in loose rocks and boulders and had no scrambling sections. It's crazy on the summit day, you look up the mountain and in the darkness you see headlamps zigzagging vertically for what seems like forever showing just how relentlessly steep the walk is going to be. The descent from the summit to camp 2 is also a bit challenging given the loose rocks and steep gradient, quite easy to lose your balance. The glacier crossing is actually quite nice in comparison, once you make it to the glacier the worst of it is most certainly over. Didn't see any arks up there, or many animals at all to be honest. There are reports of Eurasian brown bears in the area but I for better or for worse didn't see any. I went with Ararat Adventures and found them to be a good company who organised everything for me including airport pick ups and drop off, hotels and a nice little tour the day after we returned. Recommend bringing your own gear, you can hire it there but it just saves the issue some of the people ran into not finding gear in their size the day before the hike.
Mt Olympus (Greece)	18 Aug, 2023	Very Hard	19.5km return 2 days
Has been on my list a long time so was excited to finally tick it off! Nice walk with great views the entire way - well presumably anyway, the low cloud near the summit was a little bit disappointing. The first day hike is really nice, not too steep but it is continuous uphill. The refuge was quite comfortable, and also quite crowded so recommend booking ahead. There are other routes and refuges if you want to shake things up a bit but the way outlined on this page is the most popular route. The second day up to the saddle is a lot steeper but you are rewarded with a lot more views than the first day. The scrambling section from the saddle to the true summit isn't too bad. I would rate it fairly similarly to Tibrogargan, certainly not any harder. Overall great hike in spite of the absense of Greek gods at the summit.
Thorsborne Trail, Hinchinbrook Island (Far North Queensland)	14 Apr, 2023	Hard	32km one-way 4 days
Was a hot few days on the Thorsborne trail but it was most definitely worth it! First day walking to Little Ramsay Bay via Nina Peak. Second day I attempted to get up to Mt Bowen and let me tell you that mountain is no joke. Whilst navigationally it is pretty straight forward (a lot less tedious than Mt Cook on Magnetic Island), it is unrelenting. Constant rock hopping and scaling waterfalls makes the relatively short distance quite time consuming. I intended to do it in a single day but by the time I got up to the campsite (which took roughly 6-7hrs) the weather flipped and it became a complete white-out. I realised I wasn't going to get a view and the rain was going to make the descent fairly diabolical, so decided to call it and go back down. And I was right, the descent took even longer than the ascent because the rocks were all like ice. By the time I got back to the campsite I was covered in bruises and scratches and all my fingertips were bleeding from all the scrambling. I would try it again but would recommend packing a light tent and spending the night at the camp-site to break it up a bit. Third night we spent at Zoe Bay and forth night at Mulligan falls. So many great views, great waterfalls, great beaches, can't recommend it enough! Wouldn't like to be there after a full week of rain though, the track would get insanely muddy. Also for the whole 5 days we were there we filled our bottles up straight out of the rivers, freshest water you will ever drink!
Pigeonhouse Mountain (Morton National Park)	16 Mar, 2023	Medium	5.6km return 3 hrs
Was easier than I expected it to be, only took me around an hour up and an hour down. If I had to compare it to one I've done before I would probably say Mt Warning. The drive in is fine for 2wd cars - however if you have a low car I probably wouldn't be driving like a racing car driver as there are quite a few pot holes. The track is very well marked, would be hard to lose it (unlike the track up the Castle). The ladder/stair section is pretty cool - always hoped they would do something similar on Mt Lindesay in SEQ.
Mt Gingera (Namadgi National Park)	2 Mar, 2023	Hard	20km return 8 hrs
Really liked this walk, was a lot easier to get to than Bimberi was. Loved the steep ascent at the beginning - similar to Mt Barney or Walsh's Pyramid gradient - no scrambling sections though. The track is very easy to follow, could have easily have done it without a GPS. Took us around 3hrs up and 3hrs down but we didn't really stop for a proper break until we made it to the top. Saw a couple of wallabies and one red belly black snake.
Jabal Umm ad Dami (Jordan)	7 Feb, 2023	Hard	2.8km return 4 hrs
The views on this mountain are unbelievable, some of the best I've ever seen. The company in the link description was fantastic, organised everything for us. Our guide also took us to a bunch of other landmarks on the way, cooked us lunch, brought us to great vantage points for the sunset. We then spent the night in a little guest campsite which was warm and comfortable. The scrambling is pretty straight forward with no exposure. Highly recommend if you are in the area, great place to get an eagle eye view over the desert of Jordan and Saudi Arabia.