Wards Hill

7 minutes

Crag faces south east

Introduction

A small but impressive crag offering nineteen well protected routes on two walls. The initial grey slab looks pleasant enough, but the main wall is the business - a 15m high wall of superb orange rock. All the routes have had their poor pro removed, except for the very last one, and had it replaced with a mixture of ring bolts and fixed hangers. Most, if not all routes have fixed anchors in perfect condition. Most of the routes look reasonably hard (20+). The crag faces south east and gets all the morning sun which makes it the perfect winter crag. The crag has amazing views over Cockle Bay, Kincumber Broadwater and Brisbane Waters.

Access

Drive up Ward's Hill Road, passing the Empire Bay Tavern on your right. Follow the hairpin turns and continue past the last hairpin that has the power lines in front of it. Continue up the hill and turn left into Maitland Bay Drive and park immediately on the left in the dirt parking bay. This area can comfortably fit 8-10 cars nose in first. Follow a well-defined, but at times vague path to the top of the crag. The final approach is located beneath the power lines which leads you to the grey slab. The main wall is a little further along the base of the crag. The cliff line continues for about a hundred meters and gets higher (but more broken) the further you go. There may be some new route potential for those willing to battle through the bush along the base of the cliff. There is currently no information on the routes for Wards Hill. If you hear a loud honking noise that sounds like a goose don't be alarmed, it's only the feral goats. One white and one black goat have been spotted trotting around the top of the crag displaying extreme interest in what climbers get up to.