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Nowra, NSW, Australia:
Review - Yeahs or Neahs

The ground rules for climbing location "yeahs" and "neahs"
  • Each crag has its own personality with unique advantages and challenges, which are highlighted.
  • It is tempting to list “beautiful” as a “yeah,” but that is true for a lot of crags. I allude to beauty and scenery in the summary. You can also (sometimes) tell by the photo. If the place is a dump, then that will be listed in the “neahs” and rated as "Meh" or "Trash."
  • The "Rock Type and Climbing Style" talks about the type and quality of rock as it relates to climbing style (e.g. slab, face, crack).
  • Each location will receive an opinion rating - "It Rocks!", "Worth It," "Meh," or "Trash."

Summary
 
Boasting upwards of 1000 routes, Nowra is dubbed a sport-climbing haven in Australia. Located about 2.5 hours south of Sydney, Nowra is a small city blessed with a lush green landscape, a fresh-water river, awesome waves for surfing, and quite a bit of unique sandstone for climbing. Climbs are scattered throughout the area and primarily concentrated in or near town, making access and approaches quite quick and easy. If you are used to the crimpy sandstone of the Blue Mountains (NSW Australia) or Red Rock Canyon, Nevada (U.S.), you will be in for a surprise here. The climbs here are generally slopey and with very little feet (but there are some exceptions!). Unless you find those few climbs or have open handed climbing and compression techniques down, the climbing is difficult.

Be aware that although Nowra is a climbing hub, at the time of this writing there were no rock climbing stores in or near the town, so be sure to get your climbing supplies (including guidebook) in Sydney (there is a small climbing wall in a local gym, but they do not sell climbing gear).
 
Grading, Bolting, and Guidebook Tips
 
Grading at Nowra uses the Australian scale. The grades at the various crags tend to be on the stiff side, but there is some variability. If you are new to the area, start low and be prepared to feel potentially frustrated when you aid up that AU 17/ U.S./YDS 5.9. As mentioned, there is some variability in grading in different areas, where some 17s/5.9s are easier than others. A 5.7 at the Thompson's Point areas we visited (Descent Gully and Sunrise Wall) was considerably easier than a 5.7 at the Hospital Wall area.
 
Nowra does have plenty of lower grade climbs (AU 17/ U.S./YDS 5.9 and under) to keep any level of climber engaged, but due to the nature of the rock (slopey and overhung), many of the areas have higher concentrations of harder climbs.
 
First bolts tend to be high, so a stick clip is recommended. However the rest of the bolts are generally well placed to prevent ground-fall. In some areas, anchors can be easily accessed from the top, allowing top-roping as well.
 
Because this is sandstone, bolts are often glue-ins. Glue-ins are time consuming to place and not easily replaced, so take extra care by not top-roping through the anchors. Instead, top-rope through draws or your own anchor. When cleaning rappel or walk-off rather than lower off through the anchors.
 
A new climbing guidebook for Nowra has been released:
  • Nowra Climbing by Carter, LeBreton, LeBreton, Monteith, and Young, 2016 - http://www.onsight.com.au/product/nowra-climbing/
 
The online resource The Crag:
  • https://www.thecrag.com/climbing/australia/nowra
 
Rock Type, Climbing, and Style
 
The rock in Nowra occurs in cliff bands scattered throughout the town/region. Climbs are often short (less than 40 feet) and pack a lot of punch in a small distance. As described above the climbing tends to be slopey with poor feet, overhung, and pumpy, but you can find featured faces for some juggy fun (like at Thompson’s Point).
 
A general rule of thumb for sandstone is to not climb on it when it is wet, this preserves the rock and the bolts/anchors placed in the rock (sandstone tends to weaken significantly when wet). The sandstone in Nowra does tend to have a strong patina, possibly protecting it more from the rain, but it is still good to be aware of the potential issue of disintegrating wet rock.
 
Camping
 
The climbing at Nowra is scattered throughout the small city and not concentrated in a single area, like a national park, so camping is scattered as well. The following websites may be helpful in finding camping or accommodations nearby. We rented a room at a local Airbnb for a reasonable price.

  • VisitNSW.com: http://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/south-coast/jervis-bay-and-shoalhaven/nowra/accommodation-caravan-and-camping
  • Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/
 
Directions
 
Nowra is located about a 2.5 hours drive south of Sydney, NSW, Australia. There is a mix of toll and free roads, so directions will vary depending on whether you want to pay a toll. We avoided tolls out of Sydney and, as a result, the driving directions ended up being fairly complicated. But phone GPS did pretty darn well to get us there.
 
Because the climbing areas are scattered throughout the city, you will need to obtain directions to the area of choice from The Crag or the Nowra Climbing Guide. Two recommended areas for easier climbs are Thompson’s Point and Hospital Wall. Thompson’s Point is in a public park, with plenty of parking. It has beautiful views of the Shoalhaven River and is quite peaceful. I would highly recommend it. Hospital Wall is near the hospital and parking is more of a challenge here. It is a smaller crag with more of an urban feel.
 
Yeahs
  • Lots of high quality sport climbing on solid rock.
  • Nowra is a nice, safe, small town with amenities.
  • If you want to surf and climb, this is a great spot!
  • Approaches are short and easy.
 
Neahs
  • Although there are lower grade routes to keep the moderate climber busy, most of the climbs are in the higher grades.
  • Even lower grade climbs are difficult (especially if you are not used to the style of rock).
 
Opinion Rating (It Rocks, Its Worth It,
 
Worth It!

Nowra photos and beta

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  • Home
  • Writing
    • All Writings (List)
    • Adaptive Climbing >
      • El Capitan: Enock Glidden
      • My Journey to Adaptive Rock Climbing
      • Planning for Mt. Rainier: Adaptive Climbing
      • Resources - Adaptive Climbing
    • Alpine >
      • California Still Has Untouched Climbing Wilderness
      • Mt. Ogden Spanking
      • Mt. Whitney Whipping
      • My Common Alpine Epic
    • Equipment (writings) >
      • 8 Reasons I Carry a Full Rack on Every Trad Climb
      • Carabiner Strength Ratings
      • Climbing Shoes Fit
      • Guide Book Follies
      • Rope Buying 101
      • The One Item to Stockpile
      • Which Way Should I Carry My Trad Rack?
      • Why GriGris Suck
    • Facebook Feature >
      • FF: Trees & Climbing
    • Grades, Styles, & Types >
      • Bouldering-Falling
      • Bouldering Grade Advancements
      • Grading Climbs at the Gym
      • It's a F-ing Chimney
      • Onsight vs Flash vs Etc...
      • Top 10: Increase the Climbing Grade When...
      • Trad Climbing is for Chicken Sh*#s
      • WTF 5.7?
      • 18 Climber Types: Which Are You?
    • Kids >
      • Family Stages
    • Legends >
      • G - Todd Gordon
      • H - Hugh Herr
      • J - Saxon Johns
    • Other/Misc >
      • Climbing, Community, and the U.S. Presidential Election
      • Climbing Drinking Games
      • Climbing Gyms: The Gateway Drug
      • Climbing Hands
      • Climbing Resolutions
      • Demented Dirtbag
      • Don't Take Granite for Granite
      • Dorothy, We Aren't on Havana Anymore
      • No Health Insurance Changed How I Climb
      • Snakes and Ladders
      • Starting Over
      • The Bane of Northwest Climbing
      • Things of Stone and Wood
    • Poetry/Prose >
      • Anti-Social Climbers
      • Ice is Nice
    • Mental-Physical >
      • 12-Weeks to Onsighting a 5.8
      • How Auto-Immune Disease Affected My Climbing
      • Mastering Joy on Easy Street
      • Mind, Body, and Soul
      • Of Cartoons and Quickdraws
      • Push and Pull
      • Sorcerer and the Kidney Stone
      • The Devil's Game
      • The Taste of Climbing
    • Social/Social Media >
      • Climbing into the Fold
      • Diversity in Climbing is Not a Bandwagon
      • My Husband Climbs Stronger than Me
      • Fuck "Gumbies" and "Noobs"
      • Social Network Rescue
    • Safety and Skills >
      • Bolting and Ground-Fall Potential
      • Euro-Death Knot is NOT
      • Multi-Pitch Tips: Two ATCs
      • Sketchy Anchor Bolts
      • Sliding-X Anchor
      • Three Ways to Use a Stick Clip
      • Top 10: Climbing Best Practices
    • Themed Editions >
      • Joshua Tree Articles >
        • Bouldering: JTree Made Me Do It
        • Improv at JTree: Bad Bolts
        • JTree: Bolting Pressure Cooker
        • Joshua Tree: Heinous Approaches
      • Developers and Guidebook Authors >
        • Kevin Powell
        • Rock Star Groupie
        • Tony Calderone
      • Exploring Our World >
        • AUSTRALIA - Photographer - Diego Perez
        • AUSTRALIA - Profile - Julie Anderson
        • Book Review - Climbing Rock
        • CHINA - From Yangshuo, to Getu, to Liming
        • FRANCE - Verdon in Winter
        • GREECE - Meteora
        • ITALY - Dolomites
        • MEXICO - La Huasteca
        • SPAIN - Artist - Karmelo Onate
        • UTAH - This One Makes You Taller
      • Overcoming Boundaries >
        • Photographer - Brook Anderson
        • Profile - Louise Shepherd
        • Profile - Megan Banker
        • Profile - Shawn Axelrod
        • Rock Type 1
        • The Tape Job
      • Women's Edition >
        • Editorial - Women's Edition
        • Climbing is My Art
        • Mt. Logan Solo
        • Photographer - Michelle Ranee Johnson
        • Profile - Caitlin Schokker
    • Travel Stories >
      • Bliss: Climbing in the Blueys
      • Buenos Aires, Argentina Crag
      • The Legend of the ‘Unclimbable Cliff’
      • Vedauwoo, WY
      • Zone of Craptitude
  • Marketplace
    • Store
    • Climbing Addicts Colored Chalk
    • Climb-On Maps
    • Permagumby (formerly Crusher Climbing)
    • Dynamite Starfish
    • Hero Clip
    • Neilico
    • NW Alpine
    • Rockytalkies
  • Reviews
    • Books >
      • Advanced Rock Climbing Book Review
      • Adventures at the Edge of the World
      • Hangdog Days Book Review
    • Equipment/Gear >
      • Belay Device Review >
        • Edelrid Mega Jul
      • Harnesses >
        • ArcTeryx-FL-365
        • Misty Mountain Cadillac
      • Packs and Bags >
        • Sukoa Chalk Bag Review
        • Trango Crag Pack
      • Personal Anchor Systems >
        • Camp-Daisy-Twist
        • Petzl-Dual-Adjust
  • Photographers
    • J - Michelle Ranee Johnson
    • N - Tiffany Nardico
    • P - Diego Perez
  • Locations
    • 2019 U.S. Rock Climbing Festivals
    • 'Round the World >
      • 20 World Destinations for Adventurous Climbing
    • Australia >
      • Queensland, Australia >
        • Kangaroo Point Photos and Beta
        • Kangaroo Point Review
      • New South Wales Australia >
        • Blue Mountains >
          • Blue Mountains Photos and Beta
          • Blue Mountains Review
        • Nowra >
          • Nowra Photos and Beta
          • Nowra Review
    • Mexico >
      • Potrero Chico Photos and Beta
      • Potrero Chico Review
    • United States >
      • Climbing Area Check List - U.S. >
        • Climbing Area Check List Part 1: Alabama to California
        • Climbing Area Checklist Part 2: Colorado to Michigan
        • Climbing Area Checklist Part 3: Minnesota to New Mexico
        • Climbing Area Checklist Part 4: New York to Wyoming
      • Arizona >
        • Queen Creek Canyon
      • California >
        • Joshua Tree >
          • Joshua Tree Tips
        • Mount Whitney >
          • Mount Whitney Photos and Beta
      • Idaho >
        • City of Rocks >
          • City of Rocks Photos and Beta
          • City of Rocks Review
      • Oregon >
        • Smith Rock >
          • Smith Rock - Photos and Beta
          • Smith Rock Review
        • Spring Mountain >
          • Spring Mountain Review
          • Spring Mountain - Photos and Beta
        • Trout Creek >
          • Trout Creek Photos and Beta
          • Trout Creek Review
      • Nevada >
        • Gun Club
        • Keyhole Canyon
        • Red Rock Canyon >
          • Red Rock Canyon Review - Yeahs and Neahs
          • Red Rocks Photos and Beta
      • New Hampshire >
        • North Conway, NH
        • Rumney, NH
      • New York >
        • Gunks Review
      • Utah >
        • Echo Canyon
        • Ferguson Canyon >
          • Ferguson Canyon Photos and Beta
          • Ferguson Canyon Review
        • Ibex >
          • Ibex Photos and Beta
          • Ibex Review
        • Maple Canyon >
          • Maple Canyon, Utah Photos and Beta
          • Maple Canyon Review
        • Moab >
          • Moab - Main - Photos and Beta
          • Moab -Main - Review
        • St. George >
          • St. George - Prophesy Wall- Photos and Beta
          • St. George - Prophesy Wall - Review
      • West Virginia >
        • Seneca Rocks
      • Wyoming >
        • Ten Sleep
  • Contributors
    • Photos by Contributor
    • Writings By Author >
      • B - Stephanie Bahnsen
      • B - Dave Barnes >
        • Dave Barnes Extended Bio
      • B - Keith Bell
      • C - Erin Collins
      • C - James Crump
      • D - Stefani Dawn
      • G - Leesa Gallia
      • G - Enock Glidden
      • H - Grey Hensley
      • J - Jonathan
      • K- Melissa Kline
      • K - Christine Kuebler
      • M - Rick Momsen
      • O - Maggie Odette
      • P - Emilie Pellerin
      • P - Brice Pollock
      • R - Monique Richard
      • R - Juan Rodriguez
      • S - Jeff Smoot
      • T- Frothy Thomson
      • T - Matt Tredway
      • W - Lani Wilson
  • Contact and Submissions
    • Dialogue
    • Mailing List Request
  • About Common Climber
    • Why I Started Common Climber
    • Welcome Dave Barnes!