Date: 31/7-4/8/2026
Trip leader: Paul Griffiths
Party: Adrian, Elias, Fabio, Zhan, Marty
Photos: by everyone, by video trip report
Budawangs Adventure
Paul (Trip Leader), Adrian, Zhan, Elias, Fabio, Marty
This trip was conceived like so many before over a few beers at a pub in Katoomba. Paul had unfinished business with the fabled Darri Pass in the Budawangs and both of us were keen to go back to Donjon Mountain, the scene of one of our best ever trips. A plan was hatched and a walk advertised.
So it was that 6 keen walkers assembled for pizza and more beers in Wollongong the night before our trip. Maps were pulled out and final gear adjustments were made. We comprised 3 energetic young guns and 3 enthusiastic old hands.
Friday dawned bright and cool, ideal conditions for what lay ahead. After an uneventful drive into the National Park on newly graded roads we set off about noon up Kaliana Ridge towards the imposing Castle. NPWS has been upgrading the Castle Track and it was closed for some time last year. We noticed some minor improvements as we climbed steadily to the cliff line. From herethe track becomes rougher and more challenging and Parks have removed many obstacles making things easier. Beyond the ‘Loveshack’ cave, there have been major improvements including solid sandstone steps and excellent drainage. Two of the group raced ahead with a plan to climb The Castle before dark whilst the rest of the group plodded on ever upwards towards Monolith Valley. We were in the valley by late afternoon and took in the sights of the Green Room and the impressive Natural Arch before heading up and out of the valley into the gathering darkness. We arrived at Sunset Cave just after dark. Firewood was gathered and a fire started in quick time. Adrian deployed his trusty tarp to catch water from the overhead drip and before long we were filling bottles at a good rate. The two climbers arrived having scaled The Castle and walked all the way out to its eastern end and then doing a large section of the return walk in the dark. A very impressive effort.
After a comfortable night we awoke to overcast weather and misty rain. Undaunted, we set off back along the track towards Donjon Mountain. It was immediately obvious that conditions have changed dramatically in the past few years with wet summers and no fires. What had been a straightforward one hour walk to the northern base of the mountain turned into a near four hour trial by saplings and vines. It was nearly impossible to navigate around the base of the mountain in hellish undergrowth. Everyone took turns at the front, bashing through thick scrub. Zhan was measuring our progress and at one point we had moved 96m map distance in 30 minutes! We reached the climb point around 1 pm and immediately began the ascent. A lead climb from Elias established a hand line and we got everyone up to the next small climb. By the time everyone was at the base of the final chimney climb it was 2 pm and we were past our turn around time. With a lot of thick scrub to return through, we needed to leave two hours to get back to the main track before dark. Under these circumstances we sent two climbers up to the summit to fill in the log book whilst the rest of the group prepared to head back down the cliff line. A quick lunch was had and an abseil rope set up to speed our descent. Our two summiteers found and signed the logbook, reporting that the last entry had been nearly two years ago. We retraced our ‘steps’ through the scrub and found ourselves back on the established main track just as the sun set. It had been a tough but rewarding day.
Another comfortable night in Sunset Cave was followed by a steep walk down to Angel Creek in perfect weather. We followed a steep, dry, north-facing ridge down several hundred meters. The dry nature of the ridge meant there was much less vegetation and a much more pleasant experience for all. Angel Creek was an oasis of green. It looked very similar to the creeks which form canyons in the Blue Mountains. There were huge boulders, pebble chases, moss, deep pools, Coachwood Trees and thick vines. It was slow walking and very beautiful. Eventually we made the unavoidable decision to leave the creek and head up its steep western side. A climb of perhaps 200m found us high above the creek and heading for a lookout point. The country is incredibly steep and it took a big effort to make progress. We dropped packs and took lunch down to the lookout rock. From here we had an incredible view of Crooked falls, Donjon Mountain, the central massif of the Budawangs and Hollands Gorge way below. By lunchtime it was clear that we weren’t making good enough time to get down into Hollands Gorge by sunset. Among our considerations was the prospect of having to deal with more impenetrable scrub as we dropped into the gorge, with fading light sure to become an issue before long. With that in mind we pivoted to Plan B which involved climbing up towards the impressive Mount Tarn. The climb out involved picking up an old bushwalking route from the Budawangs Sketch Map. This proved challenging given many years of overgrowth.
As we navigated towards a pass shown on the map, we discovered an abandoned camp under a rock ledge. Someone had left their pack and belongings in this isolated spot years ago. Subsequent enquiries with NPWS have not solved this intriguing mystery. Once above the cliff line pass we encountered more thick scrub and Zhan took the lead, bulldozing his way though very difficult conditions as we pushed up towards Mount Tarn. By late afternoon we were close to the mountain with just one more scrubby climb. The sketchmap showed a camp cave somewhere below the cliffline and with some excellent navigation and a spot of good luck we stepped out of the scrub directly into one of the best camp caves we had seen. Within minutes Paul had found a good source of water. There was plenty of flat space to spread out, a nice fireplace with a log bench and best of all, the previous occupants had left us a supply of firewood. Night fell as we settled in and got the fire going.
Dawn on the 4th day was a spectacular blaze of red sunlight. This light first fell on the undulating roof of the cave producing an amazing pattern of red and shade. It was suggested that this unnamed cave should be christened Sunrise Cave. We were away early with a plan to find a pass shown on the sketch map to ascend Mount Tarn. This was quickly achieved and we pushed through thick, damp undergrowth towards the high spot on this otherwise flat topped mountain. After some debate (Paul poring over old-school maps while younger minds looked at their phones and announced “it’s just over there”) we dropped off the side of the high spot and straight onto the recently maintained NPWS track coming in from the north west. The track had been slashed and cleared and was in good shape. It seems that NPWS are maintaining many of the tracks shown on current versions of the official NSW topo maps. By contrast the older routes shown on unofficial maps like the sketch map have been left for nature to reclaim. Once on the main track we made swift progress back towards the central massif of the range and were back in Sunset Cave for an early lunch. A couple of bored climbers set up an abseil on a tree and practised their ropework. After lunch we headed back through Monolith Valley with some climbing on the excellent rock pinnacles for those with enough energy. We collected water at Nibelung Pass and regrouped at the Castle Saddle. It was now mid afternoon and a decision had to be made. Amongst the party were some who were keen to head home and some quite weary walkers and so the consensus was to head down the mountain having had a terrific 4 days of wilderness walking. The improvements to the track helped us descend back to the cars in a little over 2 hours meaning we arrived just as the sun set. We stopped for a chinese meal and a beer at Milton pub and were back in Wollongong by 10pm.
This was an excellent trip. We were lucky with the weather and with finding amazing camp caves and water. A big thanks to Paul for his leadership and planning and to everyone who contributed their skill and strength to get us safely through some challenging scrub.
As usual we still have unfinished business in the Budawangs. An exploration down Darri Pass is needed and perhaps another look at Byangee walls abseiling too.
