On Friday May 5th 1995, Gary Williams and I started our 3 day bushwalk in the Budawangs. Our walk would take us from Newhaven Gap, past Camp Rock and onto Quiltys Mountain, then over to Hidden Valley where we would camp the night. The next morning we would continue to Styles Creek, cross the swampy Styles Plain and ascend to Mt Haughton's camping caves. From there our itinerary would be reassessed, either continue over to Mt Tarn and on to Bibbenluke Camp, or head back to Camp Rock and spend the next day exploring part of the Folly Point track before returning to Newhaven Gap.

The weather we experienced over these three days was extremely varied and, as we were to realise from walking this area over the following years, this was the norm for the Budawangs. At first the weather was so cold and windy that just 20 minutes into the walk we were diving into our rucksacks for the thermal tops and fleece jackets, followed by woollen beanies and mittens. The next minute we would be donning wet weather gear as a light shower would pass over, only to remove them minutes later as the sun came out and we started to cook in our warm clothing. We had it all over the three days - freezing wind, misty rain, hot sunny conditions, a pea-souper fog that would do London justice and then to finish off our trip, heavy driving rain that turned the tracks into quagmires.

Despite all this we had an excellent time and felt we handled the conditions perfectly. Even though it was only my second ever foray into the Budawangs, this was Garyís first experience of a wilderness area we have come to adore over the past 8 years.

We were dropped off at Newhaven Gap by friends, who promised to return in three days time to pick us up. Back in 1995 you could drive all the way in to Newhaven Gap and commence your walk there, rather than adding the extra 90 minute to 2 hour walk in along the dirt road from the locked gate that was erected in 1997.

On the way to Quiltys Mountain we stopped to check out a number of interesting places. These included the 'hard-to-find' track head to Folly Point, Camp Rock (where we climbed up on top to have our first break) and the strangely named Red Johnny's Cave. Once past the Vines, an area of light rainforest we ascended up onto Quiltys Mountain, and despite the light misty rain, we were treated to some magnificent views south to Pigeonhouse Mountain. We were also able to locate the famed Aboriginal Bora Ground, a series of ancient stone arrangements. Unfortunately many have been destroyed over the years by vandals and only a few of these remain. They are protected by law with severe penalties for anyone found guilty of disturbing these arrangements. Descending back down the steep slopes of Quiltys to the main track we both suffered mishaps. I slipped whilst negotiating a rock ledge, my rucksack protecting my back from serious injury. A sharp tree branch snagged Gary's rucksack, breaking one of the zippers which meant that from now on, regular checks on his pack would have to be made, especially during steep or difficult scrambles to make sure none of his equipment or clothing had fallen out.

The view from the summit of Quiltys Mountain showing the view down Holland's Gorge towards Pigeonhouse in the distance, the northern most tip of Mt Sturgiss to the right and Island Mountain to the left

We now descended through thick picturesque rainforest following the track that took us to an upper tributary of Kilpatrick Creek where we filled our water bags with that eveningís cooking requirements. We then ascended to the ridge that runs between Mts Sturgiss and Quilty and followed a path through open forest  until we arrived at a place known as 'The Halt' where we had a late lunch. It is here that the track intersection can be found to Hidden Valley. This faint but reasonably easily followed track takes the walker on a 30 minute stroll alongside rocky cliffs until a narrow pass is found at the entrance to Hidden Valley. Once there we located a suitable campsite with great views across the swamp to the main body of Sturgiss Mountain. The remainder of the afternoon was spent the area and searching for firewood for the campfire, not an easy task as Hidden Valley had a reputation of being over camped by the late 1980's. It must be pointed out that camping has been prohibited in Hidden Valley since 1997. After dinner it became so cold and miserable that we both retired to our sleeping bags, hoping for much better weather on day 2.

Part of the stone arrangements of the Aboriginal Bora Ground on top of Quiltys Mountain.

Despite the wind and cold we slept quite comfortably. Upon exiting our tents next morning we were greeted with the sight of a thick mist which at times blotted out our view across the swamp of Sturgiss Mountain. A quick breakfast was consumed and after packing up our gear we headed off for Styles Creek and the swampy plains.

Once back at the main track we had a very short and gradual descent to a point just above Styles Creek where we were treated to some excellent views. To our right was the southern buttress of Quiltys Mountain, to our left we looked across the expanse of the swampy plains to a mist shrouded Mt Haughton and Hoddles Castle Hill. A few minutes later the mist dispersed and the two peaks were bathed in sunshine, minutes later the mist was back, followed by light rain. That's the Budawangs. After crossing Styles Creek we downed rucksacks at the camping area and replenished our water supply. Within minutes we became aware of the sounds of other voices coming from the ridge we had just descended and it wasn't long before we met up with a group of 9 bushwalkers, most of whom were German tourists. As this group was heading in our general direction we were invited to 'tag' along. Both parties took this opportunity to take each otherís photographs, share out various snack foods and discuss possible routes through or around the swamp to get to Mt Haughton. As I had already walked this area before I led the group through the swamp, following an animal pad to the base of the ascent to Haughton. The track from here was the steepest climb of the entire trip and several times we were forced to take breathers. Eventually though we reached the base of the Haughton cliff line and the camping caves better known by bushwalkers as the 'Haughton Hilton'.

Paul Ellis & Gary Williams on the Styles Swampy Plains with Quiltys Mountain
in the background. This became known as the 'Melonhead' photo

It was here that we farewelled our new found German friends as they headed across Mt Tarn to Bibbenluke Camp. For Gary and Myself, we had reached our decision point. We had a quick lunch then descended back to the swampy plains. Our plans were to return to Camp Rock where we would set up camp for the night and spend the following morning exploring the Folly Point track before heading back to Newhaven Gap for our afternoon pick-up. By the time we reached the swampy plains the light rain had ceased and we found ourselves walking under a clear sky. We made great time, arriving at The Halt just one hour after leaving Mt Haughton. We pushed ourselves even harder through the eucalypt and rainforest sections of the walk back to the Vines. We were rewarded during the latter stage of this section with two sightings of Lyrebirds.

By 3.00pm we had arrived at Camp Rock and set up our campsite in an open area at the rear of the rock where we were treated to a deep red sunset which provided much optimism for good weather next morning for our exploration of the Folly Point track. After dinner we had a raging campfire burning and kept ourselves entertained by trying to outsmart each other with a rock music quiz. Our only interruptions came from the nearby grunts of wild pigs.

Next morning we awoke to torrential rain (Whatever happened to "Red sky at night, shepherd's delight?") We wasted little time in gaining shelter at the Camp Rock Camping Caves where we waited for the rain to cease before returning to our campsite and packing up our equipment before the next rainstorm. The underside of my tent was covered in leeches and I brushed them off as best I could. Back at the rock shelter we dried our gear and packed it all away in our rucksacks. Over the next hour the rain returned and disappeared several times, then a thick fog dropped on us giving the whole area a most eerie demeanour. Everything was dead silent, no wind, no bird song and you could not see more than 10 feet in front of you. This had certainly put paid to our plans for today so we decided to sit around and wait until one hour before pick-up time before heading off back to the Newhaven Gap car park. The rain soon started again and just prior to lunch we were joined by a very large party of school kids whose rucksacks looked over packed but under equipped. We watched, enthralled as several students unpacked their bags in front of us. One young girl revealing many large tin cans of food plus at least two six packs of tetra-pack style fruit juices. Another pulled out a cast iron frying pan that must have weighed more than everything else in his pack. It brought back memories of some of our early attempts at overnight camping many years ago.

During our lunch two very attractive female bushwalkers joined our merry group sheltering  under the rock. One of these girls had recently had a mishap in the mud as she was covered in filth from the waist down. She proceeded to change her clothing right in front of us. It became almost the highlight of the whole weekend.

With our lunch finished we decided to make an early start for Newhaven Gap. Many of the teenagers were becoming quite unruly, obviously they were keen to get walking themselves. As we had plenty of time to kill, we decided that once we reached Newhaven Gap we would continue walking towards the main road to save our driver having to come all the way in to the car park. We started to regret this decision as the driving rain lashed us for the next three hours, the once solid track now becoming quite slippery and a quagmire. We met up with our transport and were glad to get home to a warm shower.
 
 

Unfortunately, all photographs on this trip were taken on slide film. Only a few photographs exist in print form which appear with this write-up.