John a fellow SGWAAC member and myself decide to do a reconnaissance trip into the Budawang National Park, John had not visited the park for 18 years and me, it is 40 years since I climbed Pigeon House Mountain.
We accessed the park via Braidwood and spent the first night at Wog Wog camping area having arrived close to 6pm so it was a chance to set up our tents in the dark
Budawang National Park is classified as a wilderness area of approximately 237 km2 it has steep mountainsides moist forest it has an abundance of creeks and rivers, along with hiking, camping, swimming and scenic views. But please note this area is for advanced well-equipped hikers
In 2019/20 a fire raged for 74 days and as a result the undergrowth has come back with a vengeance making the walking tracks overgrown and what timber walkways were there before the fires now only charred timber remains quite unsafe to walk on. We saw very little in the way of bird life and no animals at all which I presumed most were wiped out by the fires. We only saw 2 other people in the six days we were in the park.
The park derives its name from one of its dominant features, Mount Budawang – whose name is a variation of the Aboriginal word ‘Buddawong’. The prominence of its peak meant it was used to light signal fires and to observe the movement of people between the highlands and the coast.
If you want to venture into this wilderness, you will need good equipment and a good knowledge of navigation using compass and map.
It is a truly remarkable place to visit. Graham T.
