Cover Photo By Simon Carter Onsight Photography

*‘Dyuritte is the accepted traditional owners name for Mt. Arapiles

Hours of plains, hum of wheels
Great distances, how time steals
Travelling for hours, westward ho;
time for a meal stop in Bendigo
Wheat fields and silos pass on by,
as the sun sinks low in the sky.
"Conquistadors of the Useless" that’s us two
bound for Djuritte with my mate Zoo
Horsham, Natimuk speed  on by,
​Then the horizon, brown crags high ​

​Tree lined boulevard leads the way;
to the crowded campsite in which to stay
Solitary telephone signals the turn
The Pines, The Gums, no fires to burn
Only a  wash shed, and a tap, that’s all,
Camping amid pines standing tall
Slack lines, tents, climbers surround,
Conversations and friendships, they abound
Shining moonlight lights up the sky,
​The Bluff dominates all that is nigh.

​Dawn's rays filter past needles of pine,
Awakening the sleeping hordes supine
Sleepy bodies rise up with the dawn,
Getting ready for the call of morn
Quick repast and then to pack;
Jangling items within their sack.
Decisions, decisions, what to do?
Maybe Diapason or the Didgeridoo?
The Organ Pipes nearness, clarion call
​Why not the Watchtower after all?

Agamemnon (11/5.6) Photo credit: Simon Carter Onsight Photography @simoncarter_onsight

So many climbing areas at "The Mount,"
on its facade, too many to count
Castle Crag, The Pharos and Tiger Wall;
Too many here to name them all.
Climbs of all grades from easy to hard;
Muldoon, Brolga, not forgetting The Bard
Yesterday, India, Punks in the Gym,
Harder ones too if you're feeling trim
So, unfurl your rope and slot in a nut,
​hexes, cams, there’s more than enough.

​Quartzite, smooth and bulbous skin,
Ample protection and holds hidden within
Cracks, walls, slabs, and chimneys too,
such a diverse range of climbs to do.
Just follow any line to the top;
Mitre Rock and the lake, you are sure to spot.
Cradled by grass and wheat fields below;
the climbing at Dyuritte will surely glow
All too soon it comes to an end;
Homeward bound, it’s time to wend.

The campground at Arapiles. Photo credit: Keith Bell

Andrew Trotter and Sarah Osborne, on the classic multi-pitch Checkmate (17/5.10b), Bard Buttress. Photo credit: Simon Carter Onsight Photography @simoncarter_onsight

Dyuritte's Tiger Wall and Castle Crag. Photo credit: Simon Carter Onsight Photography.