Tuesday 23/10/2023   The Pines-Centenary Park Campground – Central Gully Track – Bluff Lookout Road – Bluff Lookout – Mount Grapples Summit Road – Summit Picnic Area – Pharos Gully Track – Gully Loop Walk

                                         Mount Arapiles – Tooan State Park, VICTORIA

                                         Wotjobaluk Country                                   

Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies 

Mount Arapiles is a world-famous rock climbing destination. We found plenty of groups of people in the campground who looked to be settled in and ready to try out some of the routes on offer. Fortunately for non-climbers such as us, there is also plenty to see in the compact area around Mount Arapiles. 

Download file: 20231023a910.gpx                         Track Info

 

This morning had us depart The Pines-Centenary Park Campground for the Central Gully Track, through heathland with plenty of trees, here we caught sight of several swamp wallabies and heard plenty of birdsong. Most of these birds were very small and flighty, they didn’t hang around anywhere very long and spent most of their time deep within the heath. This proved an extremely challenging environment to take their photos, to say the least. There were also plenty of wildflowers to admire along the way.

The main attraction, was, of course, the rock. These old, heavily weathered sandstone cliffs are only about 170m high at their highest but provide a myriad of different forms and textures with lots of lines loved by climbers. We took a couple of the side tracks to get closer to the rock and see it from a slightly difference perspective. With our very basic rock climbing days long past, we could only imagine how brilliant the views may have been when on the cliff. 

The walk through Central Gully is on a straightforward, rocky track and despite all the sightseeing along the way, it didn’t take very long to get to the top. Once there we followed Bluff Lookout Road to Bluff Lookout and then Mount Arapiles Summit Road to Summit Picnic Area for some more views, both mostly over the flat wheat fields off to the east.

The descent down Pharos Gully Track is steeper than where we had come up but some stairs make it easy. As with the ascent, there are great views of many of the climbing routes on the sandstone cliffs nearby, and this morning we were lucky enough to see a few groups in action. 

Once out of the gully we had views of the eastern faces, many of which had the white stains of bird poo on them below nesting sites. One explanatory sign on site explained that these were the nesting sites of Peregrin Falcons and that at times climbing areas are closed to allow for their nesting. Today, I managed one photo of a Peregrin Falcon in flight, this resembles a Where’s Wally drawing in that you will have to look very hard to spot it. Against the cliff wall, the bird seems tiny and to make spotting it even harder its plumage has similar tones to the rock behind it.

Photos

 

Information on Parks Victoria signage along the way

Welcome to Mount Arapiles – Tooan State Park

Take some time to connect with the Mount; stroll around its flanks on a summer’s evening, watch the moss turn green after a shower of rain, listen to the chatter of peregrine falcons overhead, smell the leaves of the native mint bushes, admire spring wildflowers, feel the texture of the rock.

A haven for plants, animals… and people

Djuirite/Mount Arapiles, Mitre Rock and the larger, more remote Tooan blocks create a native vegetation island. Collectively they make up the 7475 hectare Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park proclaimed in 1987.

About 500 native species of plants occur in the park with some 14% of the State’s plant species represented in this Mount Arapiles block alone. The rock wattle and skeleton fork-fern are examples of the Mount’s rare, threatened or endangered plants.

Bushwalking

The short Nature Walk on the Summit Road features spring wildflowers on an easy walk.

The vehicle track circling the Mount is also a fine spring wildflower walk (and mountain bike ride).

Pharos Gully and Central Gully walking tracks can be combined into a loop walk and feature some spectacular views.

Cycling and mountain biking Cycle on mountain bikes around the 15km vehicle track circling Mt Arapiles. Get a workout by riding up the Arapiles Summit Road and be rewarded with excellent views. Go slowly and be careful on the descent.

Camping

Centenary Park Campground is renowned among climbers worldwide. The campground is ideally located to access the climbing. Camp fees apply – see Information Notices for current fees and payment options.

Camp Fires – not during summer

No campfires are permitted during the summer Fire Danger Period (approximately November to May). Outside this period campfires are permitted only in the fireplaces provided. Never leave your fire unattended and ensure it is fully extinguished before leaving. Firewood collection is prohibited in the park. Please bring your own wood or a gas or fuel stove.

Rich human history

The Djuirite Balug (the Traditional Owners of this area climbed these cliffs to quarry and use Djuirite’s hard silicified sandstone for working into stone tools. Scarring from their stone chipping activities here dates back centuries. 

Significant climbing skills were needed to reach some of the quarry locations.

“The Mount was ideal for working into stone tools… Aborigines took considerable risks to quarry this rock and… it is astonishing what dangerous positions they would have reached. ” Andrew Long, Archaeologist, 1994.

Major Sir Thomas Mitchell climbed the mountain on 23rd July 1836. He climbed the summit on the anniversary of a battle of the Napoleonic wars in Spain, and named it Mount Arapiles after a hill near the battle site.

Disease and dispossession soon followed in the footprints of Mitchell exploration. The Aboriginal people of this area succumbed to disease and dispossession. Survivors were taken into missions and an era of Australia’s culture had changed forever.

Proud Aboriginal people, descendants of the survivors of European settlement, still live in the area today. Sharing their traditional stories and knowledge, their presence and their knowledge of sacred sites and culture testify to a rich lifestyle celebrated at Djuirite (Mt Arapiles) and on the surrounding Wimmera Plains.

The first recreational rock climbers arrived in the early 1960s. Since then there has been a rich and continuous recreational climbing association with the Mount.•

Today, Wotjobaluk people are proud of their heritage and their Ancestors’ achievements. Djuirite is a site of cultural significance for the Wotjobaluk.

Barengi Gadjin Land Council (BGLC) is the trustee of the Native Title rights and interests of the Wotjobaluk, Wergaia, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali and Jupagalk (collectively Wotjobaluk) people who were the first group in South East Australia to be recognised as the Traditional Owners of their Country through Native Title consent determination. As a result, a co-management agreement is in place for a number of parks in the area including Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park.

The Arapiles Big Sky Bicycle Trail – 33km 

This self-guided (mainly off-road) unsealed recreational trail loops through Natimuk, Natimuk Lake, Mitre Lake, Mitre Rock and Mt Arapiles. 

A trail brochure is available from the Horsham and Grampians Visitor Information Centre, Natimuk shops or can be downloaded from www.arapilesbiketrail.com.au

Driving and lookouts

Drive up the Arapiles Summit Road to the Summit Picnic Area and Lookout for excellent views of the surrounding lakes and plains.

Lookouts from the Bluff Picnic Area (disabled access) and the Summit Picnic Area give spectacular views.

The Summit Road and the (unsealed) vehicle track circling the Mount are suitable for 2WD driving, but are not recommended for larger vehicles or caravans. Note: The circuit road may be closed during wet winter periods.

Rock climbing

Extensive information is revealed on the alternate side of this display. Mt Arapiles is widely regarded as the top rock climbing area in Australia and is world renowned.

Rock climbing can be a hazardous sport and should only be undertaken by climbers with experience and training, or under the guidance of skilled and qualified instructors.

Caring for your park 

You can help keep Arapiles special by 

• Making use of the recycling station in Natimuk and taking your rubbish home with you thereby reducing rubbish removal costs.

• Limiting your water usage, bringing water with you.

• Keeping to the walking tracks, reducing vegetation trampling and erosion.

• Not removing or disturbing native plants, animals, geological features and Aboriginal archaeological sites or artefacts. These are all unique and special and are all protected by law.

Embrace the Magic of Arapiles

Arapiles is a special place! It is the best cliff in Australia, and one of the best in the world

Everyone can enjoy the same special attachment that climbers feel about Mount Arapiles.

For many thousands of years this place has been a spiritual place to gather. The Djuirite Balug gathered here to celebrate their culture including rock-art and climbing cliffs to quarry stone for tools.

More recently people have gathered for family get-togethers, picnics, community celebrations, bird watching, sightseeing, cycling and walking.

These are some of the many ways people have enjoyed Mount Arapiles long before the 1960s when recreational rock climbing first started here.

The Pines

Mount Arapiles is a great place for meeting people from all over the world. At popular times of the year the Pines Campground can be crowded – but always with a social and friendly atmosphere. Lone travellers can turn up and be almost guaranteed to meet someone to climb with.

‘The Pines’ took root when the Mount Arapiles Centenary Park Committee formed in the early 1930s. The development of Centenary Park was part of a pageant to celebrate the centenary of Major Mitchell’s pioneering visit in 1836. The committee, along with Natimuk State School children, originally planted 500 pine trees – more than 80 years ago.

The nature of the rock

The rock is super strong quartzite sandstone creating especially steep and spectacular climbs for their grades with wonderfully varied and technical moves. The nature of the rock, with its many cracks and slots, allows for climbs to be “traditionally’ protected.

Arapiles is nature’s domain – take care

Visitors here interact with weather, gravity, precipices and loose rock – please take care of yourself and others!

Precious plants, animals and birds cali Arapiles home – please care for them.

True mountaineers

‘They tied ropes around themselves and clambered down the cliff face like true mountaineers.’ – West Wimmera Mail newspaper.

In December 1955, local district farmers Harold McCredden and Ivan Maybery showed skill and daring at the northern end of the Mount during construction of the original fire lookout tower. A new phone line had snagged on the cliffs, so Ivan lowered Harold down on a rope to free it.

Bob and Steve Craddock investigated the district after seeing a picture of Mitre Rock in an RACV pamphlet in 1963. These other “true mountaineers’ set out from Melbourne to investigate. They discovered the joys of engaging with the climbing at Arapiles, and Jackson proclaimed it the best cliff in Victoria.

Arapiles – the heart and soul of ‘traditional climbing’

Arapiles fills the dreams of climbers world-wide drawing many on long pilgrimages. For more than 50 years now people have come and more than 3000 routes and ways have been established on the many cliffs.

Traditional Climbing versus Sport Climbing 

‘Traditional climbing’, or ‘trad climbing’, is the original style of rock climbing in which the leading climber places all the gear; such as ‘nuts’ and ‘camming devices’, while ascending to provide protection in case of a fall. The second (or final) climber then removes all the gear leaving nothing permanently attached to the rock.

In contrast ‘sport climbing’ is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors, called bolts, fixed to the rock, for protection. The emphasis can be focussed on pure movement, gymnastic-like ability, strength, and endurance with very limited risk management required.

In traditional climbing, lead climbers need to be competent to handle both the physical demands of the climb and the challenge of placing adequate protection for themselves and those who follow.

Traditional climbing has a strong emphasis on adventure, risk management and self-sufficiency. Some routes have bolts, some of which require a bolt bracket to clip, but they are not commonplace. Arapiles is not a sport climbing area. Rock climbing can be a hazardous sport and should only be undertaken by climbers with experience and training, or under the guidance of skilled and qualified instructors.

‘It’s a climber’s paradise’ – Simon Mentz, guidebook editor 

“Victoria’s handful of climbers in the 1960s had the run of this new and strange mountain…It was a big blob of orange rock in wheat paddocks on the edge of the desert.’

The early pioneers established many fantastic climbs – Tiptoe Ridge, Arachnus, Agamemnon, Bard, Watchtower Crack, Eurydice, Missing Link, D Minor, Yo Yo and Muldoon. All these climbs and many hundreds of other climbs have become world-class classics.

By the mid 1960s new faces began to appear – Chris Dewhirst, Phillip Stranger, John Moore, Chris Baxter and Roland Pauligk from Melbourne, and a handful of Natimuk teenagers led by Dr Rod Sutherland.

Development quickened, equipment improved, grades rose and the mountain’s many hidden secrets were unlocked. So much so, that by 1966 there remained ‘four last great problems’ – Scorpion, Skink, Kingdom Come and Electra, and by the following year all the ‘truly great lines had been done.

At the end of 1967 there were about 230 routes on the Mount; today there are about 3000. With thousands of climbs and thousands of climbers, any history of Mt Arapiles must remain incomplete. The million untold stories are within all who come here today.

Find out more

Over the past 50 years more than 3000 routes have been established on the cliff: presenting a superb variety of expertise and challenge to climbers of all levels of experience. The climbs are featured in a variety of commercially available climbing guidebooks.

Make a difference – stay on existing tracks

Look down when you are up high and you will see the multitude of informal walking tracks. In a park like Arapiles you will never be just the one person. Thousands of people access climbs using numerous paths criss-crossing the base of the cliffs.

Conservation work continues to reduce the impact of these eroding tracks. Volunteers from the VCC Cliff Care Group and Friends of Arapiles, in partnership with Parks Victoria have, over many years, continued their hands-on involvement To find out more and get involved please call Parks Victoria on 13 1963 or contact the Victorian Climbing Club [email protected]

Arapiles needs you!

With such a heavy visitor load, many of the climbing areas need stabilisation to help control erosion. In the bigger picture this also reduces the impacts on the area’s plants and animals.

How can I help?

There are two groups working together with Parks Victoria to organise many of the conservation projects that take place. You can help by joining and/or donating to The Friends of Arapiles and Victorian Climbing Club (VCC) Cliff Care.

Both of these groups are ‘not for profits’ and rely directly on donated funds they receive from the climbing community. In order to continue protection of climbing sites and manage visitor impacts your help with donations and/or volunteering for the work days will make a difference.

Healthy Parks Healthy People Hanging around on rock has many health benefits; physical, mental and social.

Physically it is a weight-bearing exercise, building a strong back, and strengthening shoulders, arms and body core. Many people find building this strength reduces back and shoulder ailments created by a modern sedentary life and work.

Socially you can become part of a friendly community, developing friendships through shared experiences and adventures.

Mental health can be improved as a benefit of climbing. Rock climbing can challenge personal resilience and confidence through developing your competence.

There are moments of pure joy to be found in simply moving gracefully over rock.

Spiritual wellbeing and peace of mind can be enhanced and promoted through intense connections with nature.

Thanks to all the contributors, including Simon Carter, Peter Mills, Glenn Tempest, Simon Mentz, Keith Lockwood and Tracey Skinner.

 

The local flora, fauna, geology and history (Bard)

Mount Arapiles is a major rock climbing destination in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Gariwerd escarpment, approximately 200 km north-west of Melbourne. The mountain is made up of a series of sandstone cliffs, which are up to 100 metres high. Mount Arapiles is also a popular destination for bushwalking and camping.

Flora

The flora of Mount Arapiles is diverse and includes a variety of species that are adapted to the dry and rocky environment. Some of the common plant species include:

• Acacia: Wattles are a common type of acacia tree found in Australia. They are known for their yellow flowers and their ability to grow in harsh conditions.
• Allocasuarina: Allocasuarinas are also known as she-oaks. They are evergreen trees that are related to conifers. Allocasuarinas are often found in dry and sandy areas.
• Banksia: Banksias are a type of shrub or tree that is native to Australia. They are known for their unusual flowers and their ability to grow in poor soils.
• Callistemon: Callistemons are also known as bottlebrushes. They are a type of shrub or tree that is native to Australia. Callistemons are known for their red flowers and their ability to grow in a variety of conditions.
• Eucalyptus: Eucalypts are a type of tree that is native to Australia. They are the tallest flowering plants in the world. Eucalypts are adapted to a variety of conditions, including dry and rocky areas.

Fauna

The fauna of Mount Arapiles is also diverse and includes a variety of species that are adapted to the dry and rocky environment. Some of the common animal species include:

• Birds: There are a variety of bird species that can be found at Mount Arapiles, including eagles, hawks, parrots, and honeyeaters.
• Reptiles: There are a variety of reptile species that can be found at Mount Arapiles, including lizards, snakes, and turtles.
• Mammals: There are a variety of mammal species that can be found at Mount Arapiles, including kangaroos, wallabies, and koalas.

Geology

Mount Arapiles is made up of a series of sandstone cliffs. The sandstone is part of the Grampians Group, which is a geological formation that dates back to the Ordovician period (485-444 million years ago). The Grampians Group was formed when a series of rivers and lakes deposited sand and gravel on the floor of a shallow sea. Over time, the sand and gravel were compacted and cemented together to form sandstone.

The sandstone cliffs at Mount Arapiles were created by a combination of factors, including erosion and weathering. Erosion is the process of rocks being worn away by wind, water, and ice. Weathering is the process of rocks being broken down by the chemical and physical effects of the environment.

Indigenous history

The Djab Wurrung people are the Traditional Owners of the land that Mount Arapiles is located on. The Djab Wurrung people have a long and deep connection to the land. They have lived on the land for thousands of years and have a deep understanding of the local flora and fauna.

The Djab Wurrung people used Mount Arapiles for a variety of purposes, including hunting, gathering, and ceremonial purposes. They also used the mountain as a lookout point to watch for enemies.

White history

The first Europeans to visit Mount Arapiles were explorers Thomas Mitchell and William Hovell in 1836. Mitchell named the mountain after Arapiles Hill in Spain, where he had fought in the Peninsular War.

The first European settlers arrived at Mount Arapiles in the 1840s. They established sheep and cattle farms on the land. The settlers also cleared some of the native vegetation to make way for their farms.

In the late 19th century, Mount Arapiles became a popular destination for bushwalkers and rock climbers. The first rock climbing routes were established on the mountain in the 1880s.

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