The President’s Bludge Trip first began as a club tradition in 1974 when a party of 6 led by then-president Steve Williamson ventured down to the Kowmung River to enjoy a bludge along its pristine grassy flats. 51 years later, and the October long weekend still sees a party of SUBWians make the annual pilgrimage for a most relaxing escape filled with jaffles, formal attire, wild west show verses, and campfire games that put lobotomies to shame. For the…
Slide nights are a longstanding SUBW tradition where club members share pictures of their adventures. This usually takes place in a lecture theatre, which, like your average lectures, can be fairly boring. Games in lectures have become a big culture in my class- Minecraft, Genshin Impact, Clash Royale, Soul Knight, the Tetris group battles in our physics tutorials, and those iPad kids with flight simulators and silly games scattered across the lecture hall. Our lectures start with a sign-in QR code, which we take a picture and send to 5 different group chats and 20 different friends, then the whispers for a gaming session start. We don’t go to uni for knowledge, but for vibes and tea. While I’m proud of our lecture gaming culture in my class, you’d certainly want a captivating audience for a meaningful slide night. This is when the idea comes in, to give this year-long tradition a modern twist. Modern problems require modern solutions, and the best one is to move it to a campground with barely any mobile reception, and everyone having nothing to do but to be a captivating audience. I got all the slides loaded onto my iPad, which only weighs roughly 500g and is perfect for ultralight camping, before hopping on the morning train towards Katoomba.
The Overland Track is a bit of a “choose your own adventure”. You can stay in huts or camp, catch the ferry at the end or walk the length of the lake, take the many sidetrips atop summits or to pristine alpine lakes. The self-proclaimed “Overland Track Cancelled Gang” left following walkers a bible verse that I think sums up our experience or indeed any Overland Track experience fairly well. “In his…
Lost World lookout is a relatively unknown unfenced lookout in Springwood with a pretty good view of Glenbrook Creek and even the city skyline. If it were not for its distinctive cross commemorating Rev. Raymer (who died in 1953 not at the lookout but rather in Wollongong), it would be indistinguishable from any other nearby cliff edge. I had…
![The Castle trip [Round 2]](https://www.subw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_7759-1080x675.jpg)
Round 2 of conquering The Castle finally gained success after a failed round 1, where we were unable to recruit a driver. The date was changed to the weekend right before the National Park’s early closure of the summit track. Being the final weekend in 6 months to access this track summoned large groups of bushwalkers, and even a few commercial tour groups. It’s unfortunate…
On the 17th March 2025, an email titled “Sydney Uni Bushwalkers Collab??” was sent to our rivals down south, Melbourne University Mountaineering Club (MUMC). The back and forth that ensued manifested in an awesome 3 day walk through Wilsons Promontory down in Victoria that saw 5 from SUBW and 5 from MUMC head through “the prom” down to the southernmost point of mainland Australia. We each…
For the first time in nearly 12 months, SUBW returned to Kosciuszko NP to spend our midsem break away from the assignments we should be doing and the lectures we should be catching up on. The initial plan was that we would camp at Mt Twynam on night 1, take a side trip to Mt Sentinel on day 2 and camp at Mt Tate that night, before returning to the cars and camp at Island Bend for night 3. Just about…
A 4-day, 3-night road trip around Gariwerd (Grampians) National Park in western Victoria, 3 hours west of Melbourne. Gariwerd is the Aboriginal name of the national park, comprising gar meaning nose, and werd meaning shoulder. The group arrived in Melbourne the day before, spending a day exploring the city or doing some remote work, followed by a pre-trip dinner and dessert run. At roughly…
Freshers Trip is a SUBW tradition enshrined in the constitution. As with the PBT, running the Freshers Trip forms part of the official duties of the committee. The idea is to give new members of the club an introduction into overnight bushwalking so that they can venture into many of the more difficult multiday walks that require previous experience. This particular…
For many many months, bushwalkers have mourned the temporary closure of Ruined Castle. The days of crying ourselves to sleep after viewing the NPWS alerts page are no more. Ruined Castle is back open, and what better way to celebrate than climbing it at sunset? So, from Katoomba station at 11:11am, our party of 11 set off bound for the newly reopened track. We began…
My friend from Schofields really misses Kosciuszko and wants a trip there. While he couldn’t make it at the end I’ve found the perfect long weekend with time to get there and back comfortably. It’s when a clinical placement ends and another one starts- back to back with 3 days to stretch. Inside my…
The Newnes plateau stands around one thousand meters above sea level, separating the catchments of two wilderness rivers, the Wolgan and Wollangambe. Part state forest and part national park the plateau drops to the east into the Wollangambe Wilderness, with many fine canyons along Bungleboori and Dingo Creeks. To the…
Attendees Abseiling and camping Ashley Burke Olivia Carolan Jag Ganti Han (Vicki) Long Carrie Ke Isla Shen Lin Wang Yuxin (Clara) Liu Danniella Larobina Randi Horstrup Vincent Lai Tim Hanigan Cowen Zhang Jiankang Dong Camping Only Aidan Pollock Eszter Coombs Victor Caxala Qiuyue (Moon) Hu Bill He Yiming Zhao Walked in from Katoomba Sean Armson Vyom Arya Sunil Jassal Turned up Independently Jo Boyd Joe Brischetto Roger Lembit David Noble Robert Hynes Jiri Svec Catherine Svec Cameron and Jayden Svec (children) Mitchell Isaacs Chantal Bronkhorst Trip Report The Christmas Dinner Walk is an annual SUBW tradition dating back to the 1970s. I have…
Nothing gets you through the exam season like the promise of a night by the Coxs River. So, on the very next day after all of our exams were over and 3 months of freedom loomed, we set off from Katoomba station for the Six Foot Track. Off we went, eager to spend the night away from any form of university commitment. Through the…
With just one boring exam at the end of semester it’s the perfect time for interstate trips. A bit of research, finding best prices for flights and rentals, and off we went. Car rental prices have been pricey, pushing for the need for more participants to lower costs (the cost was ~$600 at the end, including flights and all expenses). A trip…
Several people are free over the weekend and thought it’d be a good idea to do a camping trip. A rough plan of going somewhere around the Capertee area on the Castlereagh Hwy was devised, and an Expression of Interest was published yet with no solid plan. It was when my friend came to my place for laundry that I asked him to plan the trip for me in exchange for free laundry. Putting together…
In what was essentially 3 separate trips over 3 weeks, we walked through (most of) the Blue Mountains! Leg 1 Setting off from Mt Victoria station at 10:47 22/06/24, the first leg of the traversal was afoot! With our party of 6 (myself, Liam K, James Z, Jin, Tera, Patrick) we headed for “The Great Blue Mountains Trail” which would take us through to Katoomba. The trail…
Jimmy had a few days off from uni and thought it would be a cool idea to do a weekday camping trip. In early May the bushwalking season for Jagungul is edging towards its end, about to step into snowy winter, but forecasts weeks ahead look alright and we’ve decided to give it a go. Also on…
This collaboration with the Sydney University Astronomy Society (SUAS) was the first camping trip that I had led. Jackson, Ashwin, and Ben were the trip leaders from the SUAS side (even though Ben is an SUBW member). Shout out to Chloe who helped massively with the organisation of this trip, and greatly contributed to its eventual success. Originally, this…
Preface This trip started in true SUBW style, with a last minute trip post and some even more last-ditch efforts to get gear from the locker. Thanks Sunil and Aidan for your help, and thanks Ian for lending some additional gear too. Day 1 On the first day after Christmas…we did Serendipity. Rebecca, Andrew…