On Monday 11th August 1997 Gary Williams and I were dropped off in the Budawangs by a friend who we paid $50 for the duties of dropping us off and picking us up, this would save us any worries about leaving a car unattended in the carpark for the duration of our walk. Original plans included for new member Robbie to be joining us for this walk. In fact the whole walk was for his benefit to see how he would handle a full pack walk of 2 days or more duration, especially after he had quickly warmed to the joys of short one-day walks. Unfortunately, again, Robbie withdrew from the walk at the eleventh hour due to other commitments and, as Gary had already committed himself to going on the walk, we decided to go ahead regardless, despite the fact I had fallen victim to the dreaded flu just 48 hours beforehand. You know me, when I have a bushwalk planned, I hate to allow anything to get in the way of my plans.

We were driven in on the Newhaven Gap track at Sassafras, but due to the new National Park gate we were now approximately 8km from our usual drop-off point at Newhaven Gap. It was a clear sunny day, but bitterly cold thanks to a strong wind. This did little to improve my cold, luckily both Gary and I had brought along plenty of warm clothing. Saying farewell to our driver we set off down the trail at 6.45am. The new entrance came complete with a large sheltered information board, complete with maps of the Budawangs and details of the many walking tracks within.

300m down the track we bypassed the new campsite not far from the head waters of the Corang River. We noted that this site came complete with pit toilets, water tank and covered & seated barbecue area. I made a mental note of this for use next year during our planned 5-day walk. We seemed to be making good time, but the lack of excellent scenery along this stretch of dirt road just helped us keep a quick pace. 80 minutes after starting out we arrived at Newhaven Gap and took a short break for a snack and cigarette. The windy conditions made our stop extremely chilly, so we certainly didn't waste much time standing around.

We moved on again about 10 minutes later and followed the Newhaven Gap road for about 500m before taking a side track next to a burned out tree trunk. This was the start of the 'Coast & Mountain Walkers Track' which would eventually take us to our destination of Folly Point. The stiff breeze along this first section, coming up from the valley to the west and Clyde Gorge to the east almost froze us. It was only our fleece jackets and walking pace that kept us warm. After crossing a large rock platform the track wound its way through undulating heath country, gaining glimpses of Quiltys Mountain to the South west and the upper reaches of Clyde Gorge to the east along with coastal views of Jervis Bay and St Georges Basin. We took a rest stop out of the wind behind some large boulders and admired the view we had across Clyde Gorge to Mount Bushwalker. Gary claimed he could sit there all day just admiring the view, I agreed, this was what we go bushwalking for.

Reluctantly we continued on across the heathland, gritting our teeth against the cold blustery conditions and thankful we had brought along our beanies and gloves. It was sometime later we came to a forested area next to a small lookout where we had our morning tea break. We originally mistook this spot for Mitchell Lookout which is actually a little further south. The views were actually spoilt by the large number of trees blocking our view. Moving on we suddenly started to descend a steep hill and came out on a small flat grassy plain before we found ourselves suddenly ascending a steep hill. At this stage I was feeling most uncomfortable as my nose was starting to run like a dripping tap, compliments of my bad cold, my ears were blocked, affecting my hearing, my head was throbbing and I was starting to wonder about my sanity, attempting a bushwalk in these conditions.

At the top of this small hill we were greeted with another steep descent, immediately followed by an even steeper ascent onto a rocky ridge. The last section of this climb found us walking between 2 large narrow rocks and Gary feared he would become wedged tight with his pack, though his fears were unfounded, after all, I got through. Exhausted after our recent ascent we dropped our packs for another break and again admired the magnificent views to the east. This spot turned out to be Mitchell Lookout.

Continuing on across the top of this hill we followed the track through thickets of Banksia and tea tree. We now had great views of Island Mountain to the west and short glimpses of the Castle to the south. We came upon a very steep rocky descent and followed a well-defined track across the plateau, stopping near a small creek surrounded by large rock platforms for our lunch break. It was now 12.15 when we moved off again. After a few minutes we came across a large ravine we had to negotiate. Our initial comments of "Down There? Youíre Kidding!" were quickly brushed aside as we found a way down the rock face by zig zagging and using the help of a fallen tree to aid our descent. In the end it turned out to be very easy. We now ascended through a thickly forested ridge which soon levelled out as it bypassed two steep conical hills and we found ourselves negotiating tunnel-like thickets of Tea Tree and Hakea. In several places the ground was very wet and boggy and we had to negotiate fallen trees several times. However, at 1.05pm we stepped out onto the rocky plateau of Folly Point proper and had our breaths taken away by the magnificent views of the Castle and Shrouded Gods Mountain straight in front of us.

We now had to negotiate this rocky terrace and find our planned campsite near the point. We found that although it was easy to lose our way, the route was marked by a large number of rock cairns as we scrambled, hopped, jumped and slipped our way across the plateau. After descending a steep rocky hill to a small forested area, we found the campsites situated next to a clear running creek. We thankfully dropped our packs and had a short rest. It was 1.30pm and we had arrived pretty close to our planned time.

After pitching the tent and collecting our supplies of fresh water from the creek we went to explore the area of Folly Point proper. It wasn't long before we located the visitors log book just above the descent to Watsons Pass. We wasted little time in recording our names in this book for posterity. Near the location of the book we found the famous Folly Point rock cisterns. During the warmer months these cisterns provide a great spot for a dip to cool off after the long hard trek to Folly point. The rocks above Watsons Pass gave great views of the Clyde Gorge, the Castle and Shrouded Gods Mountain, we also noticed the area was littered with caves which we explored with great relish. We also scrambled our way up and down over the many gullies leading to Watsons Pass and soon found the metal spikes and chain that helped the descent down the rock face to the pass proper. I now wished we were able to go further as the descent looked a lot easier than was written in the many guide books, but unfortunately we only had 2 days. We returned to our campsite and busied ourselves with the collecting of firewood.

There were many more caves in the immediate vicinity of the campsite, unfortunately, we decided that the scrub bashing required to get to some of these caves was not worth the effort, after all, we did have a most satisfactory campsite. Perhaps on a future trip to this area we'll have a chance to inspect these caves further. While there was plenty of daylight left we decided to have an early dinner. We snacked on sardines in Chilli which really had us rushing for the water bottles, followed by a cup-a-soup. Main meal was Freeze-dry Chilli-Con-Carne which was just palatable. With darkness falling we lit the campfire, but the strong winds continually fanned the flames and sudden gusts of wind sent hot ashes flying in all directions. It was quickly agreed that for safety reasons we should extinguish the fire. We soon found though that with no fire to keep us warm, the icy winds quickly chilled us, and at 6.20pm had little choice but to retire to the tent for the night.

That night turned out to be the worst I had experienced in many bushwalks. The gusty winds buffeted the tent incessantly, threatening to blow it over. I had trouble sleeping due to the fact I had no suitable pillow and my cold was also making it hard for me to sleep well. At one stage during the night I did wake to hear the sound of rain hitting the tent and hoped it was as waterproof as the manufacturers claimed. Somehow Gary and I managed to get some sleep and I awoke at 7am next morning. The windy conditions still prevailed, but the sky was clear, the rain had gone and the tent had stood up to the elements perfectly. Well worth the money I paid for it. On an even better note I found my cold had disappeared during the night. Things were looking up. Gary and I spent the next hour eating breakfast and packing up the campsite and loading our rucksacks for the walk back to Newhaven Gap. At 8.35am with the water bottles again filled, we made our way up the rocky hill and the track out. The initial section of the scramble gave us some great views of Island Mountain, Sturgiss Mountain, Mount Tarn and Mount Bibbenluke to the west.

We were making good time across the plateau, and before we entered the thick scrub we dropped our packs to explore the western side of the plateau. During this short foray we were treated to a great view of Byangee Mountain to the immediate south. We also found what appeared to be another interesting descent to Holland Gorge. We returned to our packs and headed into the scrub and forest. It wasn't long before we were standing at the foot of the ravine, the climb up looked quite awesome but once again it proved to be easier than it looked. Gary had one minor scare when a rock gave way and he slipped several feet before regaining a handhold. Once at the top we took a break and congratulated ourselves on our achievement.

 We continued our walk back, the wind refused to let up, but in the sheltered areas away from the wind we found it was quite warm and we soon found ourselves removing our warm gear and thankful we had also had the foresight to wear light summery clothes underneath. We passed by Mitchell Lookout and surprised ourselves with our fitness in easily accounting for the difficult ascents and descents of this area. We couldn't believe how easy we were doing it, perhaps our now much lighter rucksacks had something to do with that fact. We made our way back across the heathland to the dirt road at Newhaven Gap where we stopped for lunch.

We moved on for the last boring stage of the walk up the dirt road to the new gate where our pick-up would be waiting. The wind had died down considerably and the going was quite hot. It seemed to be a longer stretch than when we walked in, but we were most relieved when the new campsite came into view. We stopped for a rest and drink before walking the final 300m to where our driver was waiting for us.

This turned out to be a great walk, probably the best Full-Pack walk Gary and I have done so far. The views were certainly worth the exertions. The weather was the only blight on the trip, but even that and the restless night in the tent failed to dampen our enthusiasm and raving about the 2 days we spent in the Folly Point area. This walk has once again reinforced our desire to re-attempt a 5-day trek in the Budawangs in 1998.