Overnight Hike – Corang Arch and the Budawangs

Sign up for a truly epic overnight hike in the Budawangs!

If you feel keen to really get out of Sydney and do a proper overnight hike in a stunning and varied wilderness area, this is the trip you’ve been waiting for. The Budawangs are a mountainous area about 3 hours south of Sydney known for weird rock formations, wild rivers and crazy views over the south coast and ocean. Emily and I (Hugh) will be leading a group through a beautiful section which is within Morton National Park. You just need to be pretty fit and generally comfortable in the outdoors.

This will be a intermediate(ish) one night hike with a maximum group of about 8.

• Where/When:

The general plan is to drive to Wog Wog campground, about a 3 hr drive, on Saturday morning (29th March). From here we’ll hike into the park and explore the area around Corang Peak and Corang Arch (a massive natural rock arch). We’ll set up camp near Canowie Brook campsite, have some time to explore around the area, and do some epic stargazing. The next day we’ll navigate along the Corang River, and stop for a cheeky swim in the waterholes along the way, before returning to Wog Wog. Should be back in Sydney by 6pm Sunday (30th March). Total length about 25km. Expect pretty hilly terrain/a little touch of rock scrambling and bush bashing. This is a rough guide:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/australia/new-south-wales/corang-lagoon-loop-via-corang-peak

• What to Bring (Read Carefully – Note some of this can be borrowed from the Club):

– Clothes: Long hiking pants, hiking shirt (preferably with long sleeves/collar), solid hiking boots or trailrunners, well cushioned hiking socks (and thin liner socks if you like), wide brimmed hat, sunglasses. Raincoat, warm jacket (heavy fleece or down jacket), beanie, thermals. Gaiters for leg protection if you have them. Swimmers for the second day! And a spare set of hiking clothes, including socks, to change into.

– Hiking pack: A proper hiking pack with waist strap, at least 55L capacity.

– Tent: Hiking tent, consider sharing with others to share the weight.

– Sleep system: That includes a warm sleeping bag (down or synthetic), a hiking sleeping mat, a small inflatable pillow. Sleeping bag liners can help boost the warmth of your main bag.

– Water: At least 3L of water pre filled before you leave Sydney. We will be able to refill water when we arrive at the campsite.

– Food: Enough food for 1 breakfast, 2 lunches, 1 dinner and heaps of snacks! High energy, light weight, easy to cook. All the usual suspects like a simple pasta for dinner, oats for breakfast, wraps for lunch, and lots of choc and dried fruit as snacks. I can go over all this in more depth with participants – but while I think of it, to prove you’re paying attention, tell me in the comment box what you think would be the perfect hiking dinner.

– Cooking stuff: Something to heat your food with if you need it. Lightweight hiking stoves are best powered by butane/propane canisters. Matches/lighter, cleaning things (a chux wipe and a drop of Wilderness Wash), light pot, spoon/knife.

– Medical stuff: Any personal medications, with any attached action plans, an emergency blanket, roller bandage, whistle, then any first aid things you have while not going overboard on weight (leaders will have first aid kits too).

– Miscellaneous: A head torch with charged and spare batteries, very small lightweight towel, rubbish bag for really wet clothes and rubbish from cooking, sunscreen, your phone with spare power pack, some toilet paper in a zip lock bag, and a lot of optional things like water purification tablets if you have them, hiking poles, camera, compass, insect repellant…

Note that weight is key here, since you’ll need to start with carrying a fair bit of water, although everything above is basically essential for all participants.

Message me on Facebook with any questions about gear or anything else! You don’t need to have necessarily done an overnight hike before for this but some hiking experience is good. So make sure you’ve read everything then let me know in the comments what your hiking experience is and if you have a car/how many spots.

Thanks, Hugh and Emily🌳