Djurite

Mount Arapiles or Djurite (aboriginal name) is often referred to as the best crag in the world for rock climbing. Its a 14 hour drive from Sydney to the middle of nowhere Victoria. The metamorphic sandstone rises from the vast expanse of wheat fields and has creates a popular spot ofr climbers all around AUS. Sarah and I went down for 5 days of climbing over the easter holiday. We got to test out our new stationwagon and slept in the back.

Our first morning camp off the side of the highway.

I was excited

They have a fruit fly exclusion zone just past the border to VIC. They dont allow you to bring in fruits and veg. I guess they dont have fruit flys down there. So we ate a weeks worth of fruit just before the border.

Sarah was excited too!

First morning out

Going after it

at the belay

I was happy

the two of us at "the oasis" ledge... halfway up

Lunch time

Wombat??

Making photos

Looking at the organ pipes

Early morning again.

Just before the climb on "Dribble"

Rackin up

sarahs feet looked nasty

But her face was cute

top out kiss

the tiger wall from the road

sarah was laying down in the back while i drive to town

the squeeze problem. Its a tough problem. about 3 meter long through a tiny little hole... at night. reminded me of caving

The dog on hte tucker box.... bigger than the grand canyon. famous australian landmark.... Its a long story

the only choice for food on the way back was Mackers or Hungry Jacks (burger king). this family meal was the cheapest option for how much food i needed. It was disgusting.

Bad choice.

Coastal Living.

Sarah and I plan to spend the rest of out lives in Colorado, so since we are by the ocean for hte next 2 years we are definitely trying to get our fair share of the ocean and the lifestyle it brings with it. Here are pictures from our last three adventures:

Curl Curl is about an hour north of us. Beautiful, nice waves and some amazing tidal pools.

 Sarah went for a swim

   This is a famous road down the south coast in the Illawarra region. We were heading down to a coastal town called Thirroul. tons of empty beaches along the way.

We ate lunch on a park bench because the wind was a bit cold that day.

They have these jellies called Blue Bottles. nasty little sting.

Almost like Hawaiian landscapes

 

They had TONS of snails there. this area was untouched by humans or waves so you could see the thousands of little snail trails all over the rocks.

 I feed this anemone some lunch... it sucked the snail right out of its shell. Pretty amazing thing to watch.

I was making pics all day.

Its funny to see all these exotic birds everywhere. These "cockies" are pretty much the pigeon of this region. Loud as hell!!!

Then our first "long" trip in the car.... Hawksnest Beach for a windsurfing race I was photographing. It was an amazing area about 3 hours north of here. Check out my blog for more: http://richcrowder.blogspot.com/2010/03/storm-riders.html

 Sarah studied on the beach all day.

Frank.... I love you.

Thanks to a package from Mark and Kim me and my long lost love Frank were reunited..... There were tears of joy with this sandwich.

The Bluies

The Blue Mountains are only a little over an hour from our flat in Sydney. The Bluies are home to a wide variety of outdoor activities including world class climbing and canyoneering. Thanks to our new set of friends we get to experience the mountains on a deeper level than the average tourist walking out on a concrete slab to see the three sisters. We have been gettin down with the rock. Here are some pictures from our latest canyoning trip.

  After the 40m abseil into the slot canyon

This is sarah's butt from down in the slot

 

Aboriginal hand paintings