The second edition of that modest volume is about to go to the printer. A fair bit has changed in the time: Dromedary has reverted to its indigenous name, Gulaga, and Tony Eggleton is now Australian National University Emeritus Professor Eggleton, one of our foremost mineralogists, with a form of silicate – eggletonite – named after him.

The first edition of “The Golden Volcano” sold its thousand-or-so print run, and the only reason the author has taken so long to produce a second edition is, well “other things got in the way”.

In “The Golden Volcano” Professor Eggleton traces the geological history of Gulaga from its fiery birth some 98 million years ago, and the role it played in shaping this part of the far south coast.

He explains its geology, and touches on the area’s golden past as well – but essentially it is intended as a guide to bushwalkers making the trek to the top of the mountain.

Included is a series of suggested stopping points, with explanations of what walkers will find around them, particularly the geology of the rocks they will see.  These stops were marked with small plaques at the time of the first edition and surprisingly, according to Tony Eggelton, most of those plaques remain.

The second edition, in addition to map co-ordinates for Lands Department topographic maps, is expected to list the GPS co-ordinates of the stopping points, for modern trampers who travel with iPhone in hand.

The “The Golden Volcano” should be available mid-December – “in time for Christmas” its author says – from local newsagents and tourist information centres.  The price will be “reasonable”.

It will be a handy guide for anyone walking Gulaga – and perhaps inspire more of us to make the trek up our own big mountain.