Sydney Indoor Climbing Gym

This climbing gym has expanded considerably since I first started going years ago. There are heaps of climbs at different ability levels and it’s always busy. If you’ve never climbed before the staff give you some training in belaying. The tunnels are CRAZY! I tried one of them and had to twist and turn in darkness to get through — it was actually quite scary and I consider myself fairly brave. Don’t go in there if you are claustrophobic!

Rockclimbing is a great way to exercise and try something new with friends. This climbing gym is really well equipped and has recently added a new section with fun routes to try. It is massive and tend to get busier on Mondays and Fridays because of the $ 10 climbs for uni students.
There’s a kids wall on the right side of the gym too. So it’s not just for adults but also for kids. Sometimes you also see birthday parties held here.

With a large surface area for climbing and some interesting routes, this is one of the better climbing gyms I’ve been to around the world. They periodically change routes (important for regular gym climbers) and make it easy to know which climb belongs to which difficulty. The staff are friendly and also periodically give instruction if you re belaying incorrectly, and don’t interfere in those that are focussed. For those that have children, they have regular birthday events etc to tire out your children, and it has great opening hours. They have food, water and gear for sale which is also very useful, but also hire gear as well for those just starting. They have lead climbs and a bouldering/​traversing area upstairs which is also good, with large mats.
Highly recommended. The only thing I would ask for is for the routes to be changed more frequently.

A group of us decided to head along to here one night just to try something different (as opposed to going to the pub) and we weren’t disappointed. Although our lack of agility and upper-​body strength was there for all to see, it was definitely a good way to get some exercise, and was quite entertaining at the same time — although there were plenty of people taking it seriously.
I’d actually done rock climbing a bit when I was 13ish, but my last experience of it was of me ending up in hospital with a badly torn sartorius muscle and I was pretty much done with it after that. But 14 years on, I thought it was time to forgive and forget and I’m glad I did. It’s a good work out — something that I forgot about, although I didn’t drink as much when I was 13 — and is more enjoyable than going for a run. There are a variety of different walls for different abilities, so you don’t have to attempt a big overhang with small bits to grab onto straight away. You also get a little into/​safety briefing which is useful so your partner doesn’t let you hit the ground when you inevitably fall off the wall.
A casual entry will cost you $ 26 with equipment, but there’s no time limit so you can go until they close if you like!
So if you happen to be looking for a variation to your exercise routine, you could do a lot worse than giving this a go. Although if you don’t like heights, you’re probably better off sticking to running.

The best thing about rock climbing is that it’s a great way to entertain a whole range of people at the same time: different levels of climbing challenge mean that everyone from a cautious kid to a tenacious teenager will be able to have a go. The worst thing is that it’s really hard, and the kids are all better at it than you are!
The Climbing Gym at St Peters is fantastically well-​equipped — a heap of different walls to try and really well maintained. It’s staffed by ‘real climbers’ too, so whilst they’d probably look more at home half way up the Three Sisters, they give you some confidence that they’re teaching you the right techniques.
Rock Camp runs most school holidays and on weekends, and there is an after-​school program. Kids from age 5 up can climb with instruction most days. It’s a good birthday party option, though facilities for cutting birthday cake are a bit limited — no surprise that they don’t want icing smeared up the climbing walls. In the evenings it’s definitely adult, with more sweat raised than a steam room. Think I’ll stick to the kiddy hours for the moment (less intimidating!)