I haven’t been on many outdoor climbing trips and never to a place as highly regarded as Moonarie, (situated on the rim of Wilpena Pound in South Australia's Flinders Ranges). So when the opportunity to spend a few days out there came, I eagerly jumped at it.
After a five-hour drive from Adelaide through a beautiful part of the country, we arrived at our destination, Moonarie! The anticipation for the climbing to come was unbearable. We picked our first climb from the Moonarie Climbing Guidebook on the drive-in, and upon arriving we quickly packed our Sentinel packs and started the steep 45-minute walk up to the crag.
We arrived, had something to eat and drink at the base of the cliffs, and the anticipation quickly turned into reality as I realised just how exposed, and how high the cliffs were. This was like nothing I had ever seen or climbed before.
Josh, who is somewhat of an experienced Trad Climber, would be leading the entire trip, “gear up, fear up” he said as we pulled on our harnesses and headed to the start of the route. Filled with confidence from Josh's wit we began our first route in the late afternoon and enjoyed the highest quality climbing over three long pitches. The last pitch was finished in the dark with head torches and plenty of stars, a first for me and an incredible way to climb.
The last-minute decision to grab the Bimberi pants paid off, I hadn’t used them before, but I was intrigued to push them to their limits. They were by far the best climbing pant I had ever used, stretching unnoticeably with every move I made, standing up to the heavy abrasion from the quartzite wall and harness. The zip pockets were a huge relief and it meant we didn’t need to take a small pack for any of our snacks or phones.
Under the full cover of stars, we began the walk down from the top (which is a bit like walking to Mordor only without the impending doom). The water tank halfway down the descent was an unexpected luxury.
Day two had a slow start but with the incredible view up to the cliffs from the campsite, it most definitely wasn’t wasted. After another trek up to the crag, we had a snack while reading the Moonarie Guidebook to decide on our route. Settling on a five-pitch climb, a little harder than yesterday but supposedly better quality climbing.
We got to the start of the first pitch, and as we put our harnesses on and ensured the trad gear was properly organised, a drone piloted by someone kilometres away flew in and began to unnerve us. Thankfully, two eagles came from the top of the cliffs, attracted by the sound and sight of the drone. A brave bird began to encircle the drone and even take some striking dives at it, the drone quickly retreated – restoring peace to the magical place once again.
The route was sensational and the Bimberi pants came into their own as we navigated up a very tight chute, then out onto some very exposed cliff face with a nice corner crack to support us for the next 30 meters or so. We linked the next two pitches together and reaching the top of the third pitch decided this was our endpoint for the day. As the guide book kindly mentions the quality of climbing from there on isn’t as good and we were at an anchor, placed there for an abseil. We enjoyed watching the eagles ride the afternoon currents as we set up the simul-rappel and relived the journey of the route on the way back down.
Knowing it was our last day we were up earlier than the previous day. After doing the gruelling walk up for the final time we were thankful that our Sentinel packs were so comfortable carrying heavy loads. We chose a four-pitch route taking us to the top, a route that Josh had some quarrels with in the past and wanted to conquer, somehow it was even better than the previous two days and we sent it with ease. Knowing it was the last time we would both at Moonarie for some time, but that we had to come back again, we enjoyed a slow walk down the precarious decent track back to camp.
Moonarie is an incredible, sacred and special place that has a certain peacefulness to it I have never experienced before, I would strongly recommend climbers, bushwalkers, trail runners and everyone in-between to check it out and spend a day or two there enjoying the serenity.
Check out more of the Mont Teams adventures
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