Stephanie and I have been rock climbing indoor (bouldering and top rope) for about 6 months now and it’s quickly become a part of our life. We talk about it a lot, we spend a lot of time finding new gyms and cool places to climb, and it’s generally become a great part of our relationship.

As we travel further and further around Australia it’s becoming harder to find climbing gyms, so we recently decided to take it upon ourselves to start outdoor rock climbing and begin building a base that allows us to climb anywhere we like.

This weekend we decided to take the leap and do a real rock climbing day, so we contacted Rob from Climb Nowra and pressed the button.

Meeting Rob at his home was immediately disarming. He was curious about our climbing experience but he was also curious about us as people and the whole way it feels as though Rob is feeling you out to see where he should take you climbing and how hard he can push you.

We drove about 5 minutes through Nowra and found ourselves at The Grotto. Surprisingly, it feels as though we’re still in town, but suddenly we find ourselves walking down a path with climbing faces all over the right hand side.

We walk through close rock formation slots, we pass anchors on walls, unfinished climbing projects, and quick draws still in the walls from climbs past. It’s amazing how easy it is to get lost in this moment, and as an outdoors person you can’t help but fall in love with the area.

Finally we arrive at our climbing spot and Rob takes some