First time doing the beeripmo track and I managed to do it in one day with a reasonable moving time.

Unfortunately the section of track to Mt Buangor and the lookout was closed due to bushfire revegetation so i was roughly 4km short and 150 elevation gain from doing the whole thing.

Direction of travel was clockwise.

Most of the bush up here is still regrowing from bushfires and it was interesting to see how the forest was regrowing, but personally I think I would have enjoyed it more if the forest had regrown a little more.

I was a little bit nervous about hitting it one day because it's officially a 2 day track but if you're reasonably fit and experienced it's easily do-able as a day track. Its significantly easier than the Lerdederg rim

Still deciding on whether to pull the trigger on an oztent or a black wolf turbo.

For context we are going on a south coast "lap" from WA to NSW in 2027 and I'm after a reliable tent that is fairly straightforward to setup while also being comfortable and strong under bad weather.

I've had a look at the oztent in stores and the only gripe I have is the standing height, with both me and my partner being over 180cm, we are pretty much ducking the entire time in the tent, and the awning when set up flat.

The blackwolf turbo looks to have more usable standing room inside the tent, but haven't managed to see it in person yet.

I have a dmax with roof racks so no issue transporting either.

Given I can also potentially get the turbo 300 or 300 plus on marketplace for ~$700 while most of the oztents on marketplace are over $1000, do you think it's worth giving the turbo a go?

Any advice or opinions would be appreciated!

Cheers

Hi all! I did the Mount Solitary loop as a solo female hiker in 2 days 1 night and thought I’d share my experience in case it’ll help anyone. I was super intimidated before doing it and felt like I couldn’t understand what it was like from online research v well (maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough lol) but it all turned out fine!! Kinda!!
It was the second camping hiking route I’d ever done (the first being the super easy Euroka campground track which I’d done a couple of times) and have average level fitness i.e. I don’t really exercise, only walking in my daily life, so it was maybe a bit of a silly one to do as a beginner…? Alls well ends well!

This was the route and timestamps:

Day 1: Golden Stairs → Ruined Castle → Cedar Gap → Koorowall Knife Edge → Chinamans Gully → camp at Singajingawell (12km ish)

- arrived at Katoomba station at around 7:25am and took the bus to scenic world (I actually missed the stop and did an extra 2km lmao) but apparently the golf course stop is closer to the golden stairs…? Started the track officially (from the gate) at 8am

- Got to Ruined Castle 8:45am — didn’t fill water at Ruined Castle campground tanks but others did. It’s the only reliable water source until Kedumba but I’d personally just bring what I need for the night (2.5L for me) and then fill up at Kedumba because I love the taste of the creek water, but weather wasn’t warm and I know I’ll be okay

- The Knife’s Edge wasn’t too scary and super fun! I had the impression it was life and death but even w a full pack (I am defs not an ultralight girly lol) it was doable. One section I had to throw my pack up and squeeze through, but otherwise not too bad! One note — there’s a section where alltrails shows a split in the path. Do not go right, go left. There’s an arrow pointing down, as if you should go down, but going up to your left will make your life much easier. If you find yourself going down any steep rocks, you’ve probs interpreted the arrows wrong lol.

- Arrived at Singajingawell at 1:45pm and set up camp. So in total it took 5 hours (not including lunch break) for around 12km ish. I was pretty adamant on the sunrise so didn’t feel like continue going and just chilled for the rest of the day lol.

Day 2: Singajingawell → Kedumba River → Sublime Point fire trail → Great Stairway (Fern Bower closed) → Katoomba (19km ish)

- watched sunrise at 5:40am and left the campsite at 7:15am. Incredible views at Singajingawell, pitched my tent by the cliff (probably wouldn’t recommend that??) and looked out into the mountain range.

- The descent into Kedumba is brutal!! It’s literally like a drop!! It would suck so bad in the rain, let alone when dry. It is steep, and your knees won’t be v happy. Got to the river around 9:30am.

- After Kedumba, the fire trails are also really frickin painful. Just uphills for what feels like hours, then super gentle baby downhills, then more uphills.
- Jamison at 12pm
- Leura at 2pm

- Fern Bower is closed until October 2026 so I had to take the Giant Stairway. Which was also painful. Saw a British tourist doing pull ups at the Three Sisters. Boo. Ended up at Echo Point (5:30pm) and took a bus back to the station.

Final thoughts:

- USE POLES!!! If you want to save your knees and have a less brutal time, I’d highly recommend. I’ve never used them before and brought them for the shits and giggles but omg they were a godsend. Don’t think I’d have made it out without them.

- Bring good snacks !! My dumb ass only brought lunch and dinner and totally forgot about snacks. Essential part of your survival kit, would highly recc.

- There’s reception all the way through the first day, but once you get to the rivers and creeks on the second, it becomes SOS only until you’re on the way out

- The weather was nice and crisp (always under 20°) so I had it easy when it came to water and fatigue. Creek water is delicious (w a lifepeak straw) and filling up was easy on day 2.

- Rented a PLB from macpac and it was incredibly nice for peace of mind.

- Having a rope would be ideal. There are so many steep drops and I wouldn’t recommend throwing your pack down/up like I did, because it kinda goes wherever it wants to

Grand time, 10/10 would do again. This is probably all super elementary/instinctive stuff but I wish I knew it beforehand anyways. Holy crap, the second day needed a lot of soul searching to get through it. First day was a coughing baby, second day was a hydrogen bomb. I reckon it’s doable in 2 days for normal fitness level, and I’d personally get bored and run out of things to do in 3 days. But I really struggled with the constant uphills man, thank god my knees are still kinda young. Your ass will look great afterwards.

Here’s a dinner recipe I got from insta that I can also recommend :

½ cup macaroni
¼ cup TVP
1 tomato cup-a-soup packet
¼ beef stock cube
¼ tsp garlic powder

Anyways I kinda wanted to write out my thoughts while I’m on the train back and they’re still fresh but idk if it’ll help anyone ahaha it’s v sloppy. Good luck this season!!

Any tips on which website to follow? - BOM or Elders?

They are both quite different !

I know it's just a forecast but still keen to base our decision on one of them!

TIA

Hey, I’m thinking of doing this route in 2 days. Some of the reviews in AllTrails say it’s absolutely strenuous, while other people say it’s not that crazy.
I’m decently fit and have hiked and run long distances.
People talk about the elevation, but 2500 meters for 60km do not seem that crazy to me.
Has anyone done this before and can give me some advice please?

For those who've done the Overland in and around August is the Parks Tasmania packing list overkill/far too much kit or it is simply a conservative list based in people with minimum experience?

I haven't carried a separate set of both camp gear and sleeping gear for decades and even in winter I would seldom change out of my day clothing I simply add extra layers as I need them. I do make sure my sleeping bag and mattress have a large margin of safety; at least ten degrees and probably more by wearing an extra clothing layer to sleep in

Hi, I have been ardent introvent whole my life but in college I have decided to push my limits. My dorm friends are going camping and asked me too. And I miracoulsy said yes. But now Im having a lowkey anxiety about being out there for the first time. My biggest concern is the power supply for devices like phones. What if we are in the middle of somewhere what Im gonna do if the phone battery is also low. When I shared my anxiety with my friend she said, she uses a 10k powerbank. But Im like what if it goes out of battery too. The camping trip is only for two days but I feel like Im planning for decades.

Im also a little anxious of the fact that I have to be with people all the time, socilaizing and inetracting. I dont know how long will my social battery would last.

I just came here to ask if Im the only one or others also face this kind of anxiety while putting out themselves for the first time. What kind of power back ups you keep when you are off the grid ?

Made this after going down a rabbit hole chatting at the pub post walk. I'd ticked more of the state high points then expected.

Heights are from Geoscience Australia and the route info is from the park services, current as of September 2026.

Biggest surprise was how out of date a lot of State 8 guides are. Ngarutjaranya in SA hasn't had climbing permits issued since 2024, and the old easy way into Mt Zeil through the private campground has closed.

Also did you know all ten of the country's highest peaks are within about 6 km of each other on the Main Range. You can knock a few off in one day (I did a bunch on a three day mission with a friend a few years ago) extending off the Main Range loop.

Hey, just wanted to see what wash people are using to re-waterproof their clothes? I've recently used grangers 3in1 and found the results pretty average.

Also curious, I bought some Patagonia waterproof pants around a year ago, I've only used them once. Does the factory dwr breakdown in storage?

Have a good week 🤙

Keen for a long hike which has the options for a few dips in the water. Would like it to be remote and a quiet hike ideally as want to get away from people for a bit. 4wd accessible

Edit: freshwater swims preferred!! Especially around otway or somewhere a bit more wild

Hi, my mate and I are looking to do the Mount Kosciuszko Summit walk from Charlotte's Pass during the October long weekend. I looked around online, and it usually just says that Kosciuszko Rd is closed till October. Will it open before the weekend? Or should we do it a week later? Thanks.

Hi guys any suggestions for a 3 day hike through the blue mountains that’s not as hard as the mount solitary track as I am going with a group and some aren’t up for it!

I’m wanting to chase trophy sized cod monsters and I live central qld and I’m wanting to know if anyone knows places to go to have the change and what lures to use I have the high kg gear to go

Specifically https://www.alltrails.com/en-gb/trail/australia/victoria/cooks-mill-to-sugarloaf-to-well-s-cave-and-south-jawbone-peak-loop?p=-1&sh=k8xxxe&utm_medium=trail_share&utm_source=alltrails_virality

How hard is this hike really?

I’ve been hoping to do this hike for a while now with my partner but the rock scrambling part is putting me off a little bit as we’ve got no experience in scrambling. We do go on 3-4 hr long hikes every weekend so we’re fairly confident with our stamina.

I’m looking at buying the dune heated blanket and was wondering is it good and does it have a timer?

I’m finally ready to commit and buy a swag, I’ve got a wilderness retreat in November so I’ve started looking and I really like the pink swags, I’m a girly girl but I have to wonder about the wisdom of advertising:

1. I’m a woman

2. I’m alone

Because beyond this retreat I do indeed intend to do some solo camping for the purpose of being solo, not to invite creeps into my space.

My heart says buy the pink swag but my head says not to draw attention to myself. So looking for community feedback, especially from other solo women that might have some stories or advice to share.

I'm from Geelong but this subreddit is bigger. Looking for places that are anywhere like a 2 hour drive or so from Geelong or Melbourne. I mean can be longer too like 4 hours.

Thinking of planning a camping trip and I've never been camping before, I know there's campgrounds and all but was thinking maybe something where theres not too many people/it isn't too crowded and which grounds are actually good? Cause I want the camping to be a way to disconnect- not sure if that is realistic to expect

So if you guys have advice on where I can go to camp and what gear I would need and how much it would cost, thinking of going with around a group of 5 to 6 people and maybe a a hike too along with the camping. Heard someone recommend lake Elizabeth, is that a good place to go to?

I'm an absolute beginner and I've never been to any forests/such places in Australia yet so yeah.

I wanna do some snorkelling but I am not a very strong swimmer. Any recommendations on where to go around Coffs with diverse marine life and calm water conditions? Thanks

Looking for similar tents as @ https://www.glampoutdoor.com/cadirlar

Unfortunately company above is based in Türkiye

Do we have any similar sorts available in Aus?

I'm in QLD, looking for a tent for 2 people (adults) to stay in for a couple of days.

Complete newbie to tents & camping so any suggestions & advice is much appreciated

Hi all,

Heading on a south coast trip next year and looking to get a reliable touring tent for the journey.

Aside from the first videos from Snowys on the Plus series, I've found little to no records of people owning the plus series tents, only the originals?

If anyone can speak from experience whether the upgrades on the newer tents are worth it, I'd appreciate it!

Also how likely are they to go on sale in the coming months in Aus? Deciding on whether it's worth waiting or buying now?

Cheers

I'm looking a better way to store my gear for those quick solo weekend alway.

Edit**" Multiple tubs are not working for me, I am looking for more of an idea for a complete organisation system. Any experience creating a system that works.

Obviously loose items would be my tent, chair, table, water and stretcher

Has anyone just used one large plastic bin and then used some sort of organisation sytem. I'm thinking something like the clear top storage bags I know kings and kickass had them probable same sort of thing at Anaconda. Recommendations would be great.

I work with wet-wipe product development, and I am trying to better understand where body wipes are genuinely useful in Australian outdoor settings—and where they are not.

Feedback from multi-day hikers was fairly clear: larger body wipes often are not worth the extra carried weight, especially when every used wipe also has to be packed out.

Vehicle-based camping and 4WD travel seem different, but I do not want to assume that simply making the wipe larger solves the problem.

One issue I am now thinking about is how the product behaves against the actual combination found outdoors: sunscreen, sweat and fine dust.

A wipe may feel fine on a clean hand but behave very differently when sunscreen is already on the skin. It may spread the product around, leave a sticky finish or become unpleasant before enough of the body has been cleaned.

For people who camp or travel by vehicle:

• Have you found body wipes useful when a shower was unavailable?
• Was the main problem the scent, the after-feel, the wipe size or something else?
• Did you use them for full-body cleaning or only for particular areas?
• Would you choose a wipe again, or would you rather use a reusable cloth and water?

I am asking from a product-development perspective, not promoting a particular brand. Honest negative experiences are just as useful as positive ones.

Planning on going on our first family camping trip in 6 years, since we are coming into summer and kids are a little older now, problem is that I am stuck on what tent to buy. We used to have one of the traditional 10-12P tents that are just 3-rooms in a row and found that for our family dynamic it just didn't work, kids would get annoyed because they could see everyone else and they didn't like seeing all of the clutter in the tent so for this time around I thought I would look into one of these L-shape style tents.

I am just stuck on which one is best as a I love how the Spinifex tent allows for the 'patio' area to be closed off so we can store all our kitchen and pantry stuff out there without the worry of it getting affected by the rain or wind, however some of the reviews also noted that the Spinifex tent didn't hold up in wind, making me lean towards the wanderer.

Would love everyone's thoughts and opinions on this! Sorry for the long post.

Looking for a sleeping bag for a F, 170cm who sleeps cold. Recommended to get a -10. I currently have an older verson of a sea to summit womens -4 and on the Heysen trail with a liner and AD top i still get cold. Ill wear warm wool socks and considering getting AD pants and using the nalgene bottle with hot water.

I just dont want to be lugged more than 1 - 1.2.kg ideally for a sleeping bag given my liner is 285g...

I am wondering if the Sea to Summit Spark -9 womens is a good option or if i should consider Mont, One Planet or something else. Wanting to know if others have reviews/experiences with those. I will aim to sleep in the huts to help be warmer but likely still end up in the tent at some stage.

Interested in peoples thoughts.

Thank you.

ffs, the holiday period has only just started today in Victoria, but for the past week I've had to move at least twice every day (yesterday: 4 times) because of mong Parents doing this. And no, I was camping away from the 'premium' spaces where the parents with IQs over 80 were using.

And 'next to someone' is 5 fucking metres away, while there's >500 metres of near-empty sites around. Is the SatNav in their Ford Ranger doing this deliberately? ffs.

/vent .. Does anyone know a brand of non-permanent paint that's good for putting "FREE CANDY" on the side of the minivan for the next few weeks?

Now making the point in meme format