In Five Caves, Five Days, Australian climber Ben Cossey sets off on what he alliteratively dubs “The great Australian coastal cave climbing crawl from Campbelltown to Coolum.”
Cossey’s been climbing in Australia for more than two decades, but he admits that he hasn’t explored much. He has his few favorite areas, and until a friend suggested it, hadn’t thought much of climbing north of Sydney. But after looking at a map and finding five promising crags in a line along the coast, he set out to expand his horizons.
Ben Cossey climbs ‘Fifty Shades of Mt.Druitt’ at Junkyard Cave. Photo: Screenshot
Junkyard cave
The first stop is at Junkyard Cave, outside of Campbelltown. Cossey meets up with local climbers who introduce him to a warmup line named Fifty Shades of Mt Druitt.
One of these locals, also named Ben, shows Cossey the main event. It’s a line that he and his peers have been working on for a long time, but has attracted little attention from the broader Australian climbing community. Ben hopes they can get more people to try it and appreciate the “little paradise” around Junkyard Cave.
Cossey is game. He manages to send the line, quite literally kicking and screaming, emerging victorious atop a rather cinematic jut of cliff.
“A clean, beautiful rock,” he admits, surprised. “Reminiscent of some of the best stuff I’ve climbed in Australia.”
Cossey climbing the project line at Junkyard Cave. Photo: Screenshot
Lobster Cave
Tom is the friendly local assigned to Lobster Cave. In addition to showing Cossey the lines, including one Roast Lobster, they spend some time exploring the area. Close to the coast, the area around Lobster Cave has been inhabited for a very long time. Australian Aboriginal people have carved rock art nearby.
When it’s time to start climbing, Cossey first goes for the Red Headed Dragon.
“Not a bad spot,” Cossey says with satisfaction. “That’s an ideal top out… another coastal cave-crawl classic.”
Ben Cossey climbs the “Red Headed Dragon”. Photo: Screenshot
Hoppy’s Cave
Another day, another cave. This one is known for being rather sharp. Cossey isn’t dissuaded, but he does stop and pick up some analgesic cream in anticipation. His guide today is Jason, who sets Cossey onto Blackleg Miner. The route is long and steep, running all the way from the back of the cave.
“It’s pretty radical. It’s really radical,” Cossey says, impressed. The rock sticks out from the surrounding valley, the only feature like it in sight. It is also, as promised, sharp.
“Man, that is an undertaking!” Crossey exclaims when, hanging upside down bat-like from the ceiling, he reaches the end of the line.
Cossey climbing ‘Blackleg Miner.’ Photo: Screenshot
Flinder’s Cave
“It’s about 400 degrees in the shade,” Cossey says, as day four finds him at Flinder’s Cave. That’s 752 degrees Fahrenheit. Lucy is his guide today, who starts him on Wet Jigsaw Puzzle as a warmup.
Cossey compares her introduction to the cave to being shown around someone’s home.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s better than what I expected,” Cossey says.
After “Wet Jigsaw Puzzle” and one other, Lucy sets him onto the grand finale: A Space Odyssey. It’s a hard climb, with smoother rock than the other Flinder’s lines. Cossey is screaming and panting in the final stretch.
“There’s unfinished business there,” Cossey reflects. “A lot of routes there to go back to.”
Lucy and Cossey at Flinder’s Cave. Photo: Screenshot
Mt. Coolum
Cossey’s final day finds him sore and swollen-fingered but undaunted. Krystle meets him at Mt. Coolum, a cave with unique horn-like rock formations.
The strange new style of rock throws Cossey for a loop, to his surprise. The locals, used to the strange surfaces, scurry up the rock where Cossey was struggling, but he keeps at it.
His goal is to finish a route at every crag, and for the first time, there’s doubt if he can. As the hours go by, Cossey is running out of time.
Torn to shreds by five days of climbing, his fingers force an end to the fight. This time, Mt. Coolum defeats him. The locals, smiling, are sure he’ll be back.
He technically failed the challenge, but resolved his original question: Is there enough good climbing along this coastal route north of Sydney to consider it a climbing destination?
“The answer is, absolutely.”
