2005 Budawangs - Burumbeet Caves

The Wild World of the Budawangs

Its actually been 10 years since I went on this hike, and I'm just getting around to writing the report...I know, very poor form, I'll try and write what I can remember.

The track data that I recorded back then is not so good either, didnt understand GPS devices too well so everything was recorded in the wrong datum. I know I could convert it now, but I've got better things to do - the tracks are close enough anyway :)

Views to die for

We had decided to camp the night at Wog Wog so we could get started bright and early in the morning. Not sure how early it was, photos seem to indicate we spent some time re-packing our packs before we got underway!

The first part of the walk into Burumbeet can be a little tedious, I remember clambering through the river just out of camp before the trek through the forest began. Initially losing some height from the starting point, you quickly start climing again and once you get to the top of the conglomerate rock formations, the views start to take your breath away.

As is common in the Budawangs, we needed to stop and check the map on regular basis, not that you can go wrong here as its all trail walking but you can make good use of the rock structures around you to help improve your map reading skills.

Lunchtime was a good opportunity to get the packs off and rest the feat a while. There are lots of spots along the track to stop for a break, and most of them have great views. But unfortunately we had a long way to go, so we didnt get to spend too much time resting here.

Into the valley

Before we started descending into the valley, we still had quite a lot of ridge walking to do. Before long we arrived at the side track for Corang Peak. As we were all still young and fit 10 years ago, we decided to ignore the side track and head straight up over the top of Corang Peak. It was a good decision because the weather today was amazing and the views from the top were breath taking [GR 56H 236500 6091450]

After descending Corang Peak we quickly approached the next landmark, that of Coran Arch - yet another natural wonder that required a brief stop. And then the descent into the valley proper began. The going is quite steep and with every step you are reminded that tomorrow you need to regain the elevation lost!

Once in the valley, we followed the sporadic board walk until we reached a junction where the trail splits, go left to Burumbeet valley and right to somewhere else - not sure if anyone ever goes right... From here it wasnt long before we reached the turn off to the camping caves which we found were empty and a great spot to end the days walking.

Home time

We rose to another beautiful day in the valley. Took a while for us to all wake up completely and pack up camp. First thing in the morning we dropped down to the creek to fill up water bottles - it was here that Mark ran into troubles with his water filter. Fortunately we had plenty of steri-tabs which kept the bugs at bay for most of us. And from here it was just head back the way we came. Yes I do remember the hard walk back up the steeps steps of despair leading up to the Corang ridge line, but it was all worth it for such a wonderful weekend away.