On the weekend of 11th & 12th March 2006 I travelled down the south coast of NSW to Mystery Bay, south of Narooma to join the Shoalhaven Bushwalkers for a weekend of car camping, kayaking and bushwalking. One bushwalk on the agenda was the steep and imposing trek up the slopes of nearby Mount Dromedary, a walk I had wanted to do for many years. On Sunday 12th March five members of our large party decided today was the day.

A clear sky, the sun beating down and the temperature rising into the early 30's. We needed our heads read to be climbing the 730 or so metres to the summit of Mt Dromedary. It was 9.15am when we jumped into Jan Liddiard's car for the drive to the small village of Tilba Tilba. Apart from myself and Jan, there was our walk leader, Kynie Evison, Julie Davison and Yuriko Ball. The drive was only 15 minutes to Tilba Tilba. We parked the car on a vacant patch next to Pam's General Store, put on our packs and ventured along the trail which commences next to the store. A small breeze had started which did help to cool us but it was still quite hot.

At first the track (known as the Tilba Tilba Track) is quite wide and level and passes between dairy farms, but soon ascends to a locked gate where vehicles cannot go. From here we had good views of the rocky western flank of Little Dromedary to the east. We were quite bemused when a car stopped and out got two cyclists who proceeded to pedal up the steep track ahead of us. By now the temperature had risen considerably and already my shirt was soaked in sweat - and we had hardly begun the walk. We continued on, the vegetation either side of the track quite thick and providing ample shade. The track continually ascends without flattening out, but thankfully the ascent isn't overly steep and we set an easy pace without trying to walk too fast. We were starting to gain some height and got occasional views through the trees of the coast below us, but I made an effort not to look at the summit above as the distance to the top may just dampen my enthusiasm in this heat. I continually sipped water from my hydration bag, hoping the 3 litres would last the expected 5 hour journey.

Before long we passed the grave of the unknown chinaman, a miner from the 1800's who died here after gold was discovered on the mountain. The very track we were on was created by the miners during the gold rush. The grave is on the right hand side of the track about 2km from the start and is basically a pile of stones built into a cairn. It doesn't mark the exact grave site which is located in the bush nearby. We continued on climbing, setting a steady pace, but stopping for regular breathers. I was quite surprised when we passed 'Halfway Rock' a large granite boulder set at the left side of the track. Just a few metres past this rock is a well defined track leading off to the left known as the Battery Track. It leads about 800 metres to where the old miners once had a steam powered rock crusher and some items of old equipment may still be found in the area. We weren't going to explore this track today, but it would be a great diversion during the descent on a future walk.

We stopped for morning tea on some small rocks in the track about 100 metres further up. The rest break was welcomed after the climb so far. I was soaked with sweat and I resisted the urge to light a cigarette. With plenty of steep walking still to go I had no intention of lighting up until we reached the summit. We continued on, the track steeply climbing to the saddle. I concentrated on keeping a steady pace without trying to push myself too hard. I felt the others were doing the same, no one was falling behind or pushing ahead too far. Eventually we passed a pit toilet to the left and just beyond was a shelter and a large log table. We had arrived at Dromedary Saddle.

Yuriko & Julie next to one of the impressive monoliths

It was here we were told that we could find a small footpad into the forest that would take us to some impressive rock formations. We found the track behind the pit toilet and followed it for a short distance through the forest before we reached an amazing scene. Rock Tors and monoliths rose from the forest floor and dominated the forest. We were informed this was a sacred aboriginal area, for most of the formations had a rather phallic resemblance. We spent the next 30 minutes exploring. The shapes and colours were magnificent and I ran my digital camera batteries low by continually taking photograph after photograph. The formations continued on and on, occasionally giving us excellent views of the coastline below, some framed with tree ferns and other rainforest plant species. However, our main aim was to reach the summit of Dromedary Mountain, so regretfully we headed back to the saddle and followed the signposted track through thick rainforest as it again started to ascend steeply.

Kynie stands atop one of the monoliths next to a precariously balancing rock

After a short distance we passed a signpost that signalled a track intersection. Here a short cut track ascended very steeply to the summit. We decided we would return via this track and instead, follow the rainforest circuit to the summit. The rainforest track was magnificent. Many species of plant and tree, many signposted along the trail such as the giant Pinkwood and Sassafras and the floor of the rainforest adorned by ferns, lichens and mosses. The walk was so interesting that we were almost able to ignore the steepness of the track to the top and eventually we came out onto the summit at exactly 1.05pm and sat down at the trig to enjoy lunch. The summit was well overgrown, but still provided views of the coast, but the best part was the cool breeze that helped drive away the heat we had built up during the ascent. The celebratory cigarette was wonderful. With lunch finished we took the obligatory trig photographs, then shouldered our packs for the descent back to the car at Tilba Tilba.

Yet another impressive monolith

And Another

Kynie quickly found the correct track for the short cut back to the main Rainforest Track. It was very steep, but before long we were on the track we had walked on before. We made good time heading down the mountain, though Julie put on the pace, keen to get back to camp, most of us took a steady pace, happy to take in the scenery and the vegetation along the route now we were descending. The walk down seemed to take forever and I wondered how in the hell we had managed to climb so far earlier in the heat. As we got closer to the bottom of the mountain we noticed that many of the eucalypt trees were dead. I later found out this was due to the recent drought, the trees root systems are very small and the soil very thin here.

As we reached the end of the forested area just above the farmland we were treated to a wonderfully strong cool breeze that almost knocked us off our feet. We had just one kilometre to walk to Pam's General Store and a refreshing ice cold drink, my hydration bag had only just lasted the day's walk. We arrived back at 3.00pm and were back at Mystery Bay Camping Area 15 minutes later.