The Quarterdeck covers a large part of the Coalcliff amphitheatre south of the Powerlines lookout.
A great crag that has everything from small grey walls in the rainforest to big expanses of orange rock overlooking the Ocean. It's a walk-in area that has great access along the base so no rap-ins or hanging belays here.
Many of the Wollongong crags are located in the Illawarra Escarpment State Conservation Area (IESCA). This region has had a chequered history in recent times, with large swathes of popular crags having to be closed after it was missed that a new NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Plan of Management (PoM - 2018) had incidentally banned climbing along most of the escarpment. After a lobbying effort and a stroke of coincidental good luck an amended plan of management has been published (2023), modifying the plan to allow rock-climbing “… on the west- and south-facing cliffs of Mount Keira and on cliffs north of Bulli Pass."
Access comes with caveats and all climbers should be aware that that “… new bolts or anchors may only be installed with NPWS consent, and park infrastructure such as safety railing may not be used as anchor points as they have not been designed for this purpose. NPWS will not install, assess or guarantee bolts or other fixed protection points. Participants in these activities are solely responsible for their own safety.”
Given the pressures many rock-climbing areas have been under around Australia and the plethora of access issues that have followed it is imperative that climbers respect and heed the access requirements. Access granted can easily be access taken, noting from the PoM: “Locations where rock climbing and abseiling are allowed may be reviewed and altered to address safety issues, risks to visitors or impacts on cultural values or environmental values. Temporary closures of rock climbing and abseiling locations may be applied to limit impacts. Permanent closure of sites may also be necessary. NPWS will consult with representatives of the local climbing community before implementing any permanent closures.”
Please refer to the ‘Ethic” section for more notes on how to be a good steward for the climbing community.
The Crag is located at (-34.245285, 150.962531).
30 mins on foot or 10 mins by bike
Park opposite the School at the big gate on the Old Princes Hwy (-34.247071, 150.944106) Pass the gate and take the 2nd major left after 750m. Follow this road for 1.2kms then take the right fork under the powerlines. Follow this road towards Powerlines lookout for 500m down the steep hill then take the right 50m past the big hairpin corner. Follow this overgrown coal road down the hill for until the end then follow a vague path left (north) for 100m until you hit the boulder filled walk-down gully.
The modern climbing scene and all the access issues that go with it requires modern ethic and all climbers should familiarise themselves with general good crag etiquette to ensure access is maintained into the future.
The following is a short summary for the area:
Learn more at https://www.cliffcare.org.au/education
Found in the distant past by unknown persons as evidenced by a lone carrot found near ABC. Rediscovered in 2018 by Chris Ash but development didn't start for a few years after this. The first climb (Keel Hauled) was bolted in 2020 and one week after this Rod Young found the crag independently and started putting up routes.
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