There’s no shame in taking the easy option. Is there?

That’s what I kept telling myself on the Bald Rock climb, anyway.

It’d been too long since I clocked up an Australian exclusive, so climbing Bald Rock, largest exposed granite rock in the Southern Hemisphere and centrepiece of the boulder-studded Granite Country around Tenterfield, was a no-brainer.

Choosing the easier of the two Bald Rock walking tracks was also a no-brainer – for an acrophobic*, that is! At 2.5 km (one way) the Bungoona trail was the longer of the two.  But with its medium degree of difficulty rating, interpretive signs and path through a good cross-section of granite country had a nice, gentle, safe sound to it.

Rock Face, on the other hand, didn’t!

I could cope with ‘spectacular scenery’. I could cope with ‘short’. I could even cope with ‘steep’. But I couldn’t cope with ‘exposed’!

If you’ve never suffered from vertigo, fear of falling or just plain old gutlessness**, you’ll have NO IDEA what I’m talking about. If that’s you, then you might as well knock yourself out and do the Bald Rock climb on the Rock Face track.  Then brag about it on YOUR blog. Thank you for reading this far, you are now free to go.

Of course I didn’t out myself as a gutless wonder*** to Pilchard.!

‘Let’s take the longer track through the woodlands on the way up,’ I casually suggested as if I’d actually considered the Rock Face option for more than a fleeting nanosecond. ‘That way we’ll get to see more birds****,’ I added in a masterful blend of reverse psychology, low cunning and staggering genius.

So we took the LONG track (yes, my dodgy plan really worked!) as it gently wound up through the open eucalypt country on the lower slopes of Bald Rock.  It went in and around the series of boulders and tunnels that make up the Granite Titans, and up along a number of rocky ledges into the open.

My gaze flickered over the sloping rock looking for the edge. There wasn’t one.

But then I saw the track markers marching down the slope to where the Rock Face track plunged over the side of the massive granite incline into oblivion.

I didn’t care which descent route Pilchard took, but I didn’t need a crystal ball to see 2.5 km of back-tracking in MY future!

But I put that problem on the back burner. For now, I could see the summit across a rocky expanse, cracks filled with vegetation, and extraordinarily vibrant colours flowing down the rock into the valley below.

Way WAAAAAY below!

Rising 200 metres (666 feet) above the surrounding plain, Bald Rock is part of a volcanic extrusion of the New England underlying Batholith. At least that’s what I’d say if I was a geologist or a show-off, but it’s easier just just describe it as a gigantic hunk of granite.

But not just any old granite – this is Stanthorpe adamellite! Which is (of course) distinguished from ordinary granite by the presence of pink orthoclase feldspar, white plagioclase feldspar, black biotite mica and clear quartz in the rock.

Or so I was reliably informed by one of the several interpretive signs along the way. It’s only a short stroll to the summit from where the Rock Face track joins the main trail. The staggering 360° view over Bald Rock National Park extends across the border into Queensland.  It even takes in the adjoining Girraween National Park – an excursion for another day.

The summit is the best place to see the massive monolith.  At 750 metres long and 500 wide there’s nowhere on the plain to appreciate its gargantuan proportions. As well as the smaller boulders, vegetation, seasonal wildflowers and texture of the rock.

Yes, it’s the Bald AND the Beautiful

And as I gazed over the amazing scenery I figured it didn’t matter which of the Bald rock walking tracks I’d taken to get to the top.  The view from the summit was the same either way.

Bald Rock Fast Facts:

Size: 750 m long; 500 m wide; 200 m high (measured from the surrounding plain)

Where is Bald Rock: 34 km from Tenterfield – 29 km on the fully sealed Mt Lindesay Highway then 5 km on the park access road.

Where is Tenterfield: 270 km S of Brisbane; 770 km N of Sydney; 160 km W of Lismore; 160 km NE of Inverell.

When to Visit: Bald Rock National Park is accessible all year round

What to do: Several Bald Rock Walking Tracks including 2 summit trails – Bungoona (3.2 km one way) and Rockface; Bald Rock Picnic and Camping Area with Barbecue facilities

Cost: $7 entry fee per car per day; Camping Fees: $10 per adult/$5 per child + $7 Entry fee per day (as at September 2015)

Want MORE?

• Bald Rock National Park and Bald Rock Climb
• Tenterfield, New South Wales
• Bald Rock – one of 12 Aussie Rock HOT Spots!
• MORE Bald Rock Photos on Flickr

* Acrophobia = Fear of Heights

** Gutlessness = Cowardice

*** Gutless Wonder = Coward

**** The feathered variety, to which Pilchard is devoted!

The post Climb Bald Rock – Australia’s BIGGEST Granite Monolith! via Tenterfield, NSW appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

With the world’s biggest rock AND largest monolith*, Australia’s the land of the ultimate ROCK – or at least the coolest Australian rock formations! But where’s a keen rockhound to go once they’ve seen Mt Augustus (biggest rock) and Uluru (biggest monolith)??

Check out a few more Australian Rock Stars – otherwise known as distinctive and unusual Australian rock formations – with this handy guide to 12 HOTTEST Rock spots from all around OZ!

1 Bald Rock via Tenterfield, NSW

This 750m x 500m monolith around 25 north of Tenterfield in New South Wales’ Granite Belt isn’t Australia’s largest monolith. But it’s Australia’s largest GRANITE monolith!!

Thrill seekers and the time-poor can take the short, steep exposed route straight up the face to the summit – 200 metres above the surrounding plains. Those wanting a more relaxing experience (read: more cowardly) can take the longer, more scenic route through the bushland up the back. Either way, the exposed summit has spectacular views over two states – and a spectacular drop down to the bottom!

MORE about Bald Rock National Park

2 Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island, SA

The remarkable shapes of these rocks sculptured by wind, water and weather at the southern end of Flinders Chase National Park on Kangaroo Island off the South Australian coast are a real clue to what their ultra-imaginative name actually means

Australia’s 3^rd largest island – an intriguing blend of superb natural attractions, wildlife, gourmet treats and beaches – is South Australia’s answer to the tropics.

But whatever their reasons for visiting Kangaroo Island, sooner or later, most visitors head for the all-natural Remarkable Rocks – where they’ll take a photo remarkably like the one above!

MORE about Flinders Chase National Park, Kangaroo Island

3 Balancing Rock & Caves – Chillagoe, QLD

I’ve still got the cool Serpentine (I think) egg I bought from a Chillagoe shop on my only visit 20+ years ago, but it’s Balancing Rock and the Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park tour I remember.

Outside, the dramatic jagged edges of the reef housing the caves tower above the classic outback landscape.

It’s just as dramatic inside – a separate, subterranean world of limestone in intriguing formations, weathered caverns and towering columns.

Back outside and the self-guided walks to the historic smelter sites, Aboriginal rock art are interesting, but it’s the amazing Balancing Rock that’ll get you snapping!

MORE about Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park

4 Tessellated Pavement, Tasmania

I’m such a sucker for names that when I heard about an attraction in a place called Pirates Bay near the township of Eaglehawk Neck on the Tasman Peninsula, it didn’t matter what it was. I just HAD to go see Tasmania’s Tessellated Pavement – one of the best known examples*** of this complex geological phenomenon involving rock fractures, polygonal blocks, erosion and sea salts. If you’re not a geologist, this is probably enough information. If you ARE a geologist, then you’ll already know WAY more than this!

At low tide, the tessellations (like mosaic tiles) make an interesting patchwork on the flat rock platform just above the water level. But make sure your cool pavement shot isn’t ruined by slipping on the wet rocks!

MORE about the Tessellated Pavement

5 Mirima National Park, Kununurra

Tiny Mirima National Park on the outskirts of Kimberley town Kununurra, with its wildlife, walks and wheelchair access, is a chance to experience the MUCH bigger West OZ attraction Purnululu (aka Bungle Bungles) in miniature.

Formed by the same process as its larger counterpart, Mirima’s sedimentary rock layers glow in the early morning and late evening light. And with the right angle of perspective and the right level of concentration, a more skilled photograper than I could ALMOST convince viewers that the shots were taken elsewhere!

But I had no time for photographic trickery – I was more interested in avoiding the 3 metre snake!

MORE about Mirima National Park

6 Devils Marbles, Northern Territory

Snapping a killer sunset or sunrise in what is arguably Australia’s most intriguing rock pile without other people in your shot can be a challenge!

But the complicated geological theory involving weathered layers of sandstone and granite that’s the standard scientific explanation for the almost perfectly spherical shapes doesn’t quite do justice to the magical setting and extraordinary light.

So forget the ‘facts’, settle back, and drink in the magic of Karlu Karlu with the story of the Rainbow Serpent. According to this Indigenous legend, those spherical shapes are the Rainbow Serpent’s fossilized eggs!

Now … isn’t that a FAR more satisfying explanation for this geological phenomenon?

MORE about Devils Marbles (Karlu Karlu)

7 Island Rock, via Kalbarri, WA

According to the tourist information brochure, Island Rock, one of the more spectacular of Kalbarri National Park’s Coastal Cliff attractions, ‘can be enjoyed from the safety of the lookout enclosures’!

But it doesn’t explain how safely walk the coastal trail atop the sandstone cliffs so high above the pounding sea below it’s almost impossible to fit them into a photo! Perhaps that’s why many tourists opt for a visit to the park’s best known rock formation, Natures Window!!

If you can tear your eyes away from Island Rock and the amazing sculpted cliff face, so treacherous to ships and bumblefooted tourists, you may be lucky enough to see whales far out to sea. But if the sheer drop gives you vertigo, turn and face inland – and you’ll see one of Australia’s most scenic loos**!

MORE about Kalbarri National Park

8 Sawn Rocks, via Narrabri, NSW

It’s an easy walk from the car park to the dramatic Sawn Rocks – Australia’s best example of the columnar jointing phenomenon more commonly called organ piping located a few kilometres from Narrabri in the shadow of Mt Kaputar National Park. Best viewed in the morning when the sun (if it’s out!) strikes the rock face, bringing out the amazing colours and shadows.

Standing underneath the soaring rock face can be awe-inspiring – until you realise that those enormous Greek temple ruinous rock columns all around can only have come from one place.

Yep, directly above!

MORE about Sawn Rocks, via Narrabri, NSW

9 Hollow Mountain, Victoria

You can’t swing a brush-tailed possum in Victoria’s Grampians National Park without hitting some kind of rock. So much so that walking through the park could give you a serious case of rock overload that only a fix from the awesome Halls Gap Bakery could cure

But I’m betting even the most jaded rockhound couldn’t fail to be impressed by Hollow Mountain, in the Northern Grampians. Exploring the wind-sculpted caves, caverns and crags can actually be more fun than reaching the summit!

And I’m not just saying that because I’m exercise-averse! No, REALLY!!

MORE about Hollow Mountain and Northern Grampians

10 Balls Pyramid – via Lord Howe Island, NSW

For pure rock star awesomeness, there’s not much to beat the 552m high spire of the world’s largest volcanic rock stack, out in the middle of the ocean and one of the only points of the mostly submerged continent of Zealandia still above sea level.

It’s an achievement to even get there. A 700+ km flight from Sydney to Lord Howe Island in a small plane that, depending on wind and weather conditions, may or may not be able to land. Then a 23 km boat journey that, depending on wind and weather conditions, may or may not actually depart as scheduled.

Once you’re on the boat, it’s easy. Unless you suffer from seasickness, in which case the hardest part of the trip is NOW!

MORE about Balls Pyramid, via Lord Howe Island

11 Bunda Cliffs, South Australia

Is it possible to have TOO much limestone??

If you’re not sure, head down south and drive the Nullarbor Plain skirting the Great Australian Bight. There’s nothing much between the road on the southern edge of Australia and Antarctica – except the majestic Bunda cliffs, ranging from 60 – 120 metres high and stretching for ~100 km.

That makes them the longest unbroken line of sea cliffs in the WORLD!

If that’s not quite enough limestone for you, then factor in the 270,000 km² of the Nullarbor Plain itself – World’s largest limestone karst formation!

MORE about the Bunda Cliffs and Nullarbor Plain

12 Mount Moffatt, Carnarvon National Park, Queensland

Mount Moffatt, 220 km north of Mitchell, part of the Carnarvon National Park and containing Queensland’s highest plateau (the Consuelo Tableland) is worth the long drive – and the flat tyre we got the instant we drove into the park many years ago!

Its remoteness made it the ideal hideout for the bushrangers, including the violent Kenniff brothers and notorious cattle duffer Harry Redford (sometimes known as Captain Starlight), who operated in the area. And the local Bidjara people, who refused to be ousted from their land, left a legacy of rock imagery throughout the park.

But it’s the sandstone formations we came to see – an awesome array of arches, ‘chimneys’ and monoliths scattered decoratively around the park. There’s no doubt about it – these rocks ROCK!

MORE about Mt Moffatt, Carnarvon National Park

That’s just a sample – and I bet I’ve missed YOUR favourite HOT Australian Rock Formations!  Tell me below!!

Want even MORE?

• My Aussie Alphabet so far: Aussie ABC A-Q

* According to www.answers.com HERE

** Yes, it’s in my book HERE

*** According to Wikipedia HERE

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