Climbing Mt Gulaga - a two-humped dromedary

The picturesque South Coast settlement of Tilba Tilba is the starting point for the walk up iconic Mt Gulaga. The area is the setting for the SBS reality TV show 'River Cottage', and I seem to remember farmer Paul once leading his colourful friends on a trip up the mountain.

It used to be called Mt Dromedary, and the name change neatly solves the embarrassment of the two-humped mountain and the one-humped camel. They made the same mistake with the Tasmanian Dromedary, by the way.

Here we are setting out from Tilba Tilba on our nearly 800m ascent.









It's a fairly easy, steady climb over an hour or three to the official summit.







You pass an information board about the aboriginal heritage of the place, and the later gold-mining period. Then after a final assault and exploration of some scenic volcanic boulders and excellent rainforest pockets, you are welcomed to the top.

But it's a two-humped mountain, right? And our maps seem to indicate a nameless second top, a few metres higher, at 806m against our 797m. It's only a kilometre and a half as the Wonga Pigeon flies, so we decide to press on through the bush.

We don't make it to the true peak - the tracks marked on the maps seem to have long succumbed. We do encounter lots more magnificent rainforest though, and we have our lunches in one such pocket, prior to navigating back to the easy track down.