The Glass House Mountains

When you think of Australia, mountain and forest aren't really what comes to mind first! I know it wasn't what came to my mind the first few times. Luckily for me some of the famous mountain ranges is a short drive away. This mountain range is the Glass House mountains!

The range consists of 11 mountains, some you are unable to climb. While some are harder than others. I have had the pleasure of climbing two of the mountains so far. I still have a few more on my list, but I still have some time to tackle those!

Mount Beerwah

I had no idea what I was getting myself into. My friend that I was going with had messaged me if I wanted to go on a sunrise hike. Of course I said yes! Nothing is more magical than watching the sunrise, anywhere! We left Brisbane around 4 am to make sure we had enough time to climb and make it for sunrise. We were meeting another friend there who was going to climb with us.

On the drive there I was given a pep talk. This pep talk included, "Its best we do this in the dark so you don't see what you have to climb". "You have to climb in between us in case something happens". Oh and someone died climbing this last month because they slipped!! Its just a hard scrabble, that it what I was told!

I thought to myself- okay, I can do this I have done scrambled in the rockies before. I have done hard climbs, I work out, I can do this!!! You got this!!

WELL HOLY HELL. You guys, this was not a scarmble. Google tells me a scramble is " WALKING up steep terrain involving the use of one's hands". I don't know if I would say I walked. It was a glorified rock climbing with no gear! The rock you are climbing is almost completely straight up. Very smooth rock with little places for you to get a grip on. At one point I had stepped in a bit of water which had made my shoes too slippery the guy below me held up my foot while I tried to find a new grip! Now, I totally understand why most local climb barefoot! It was no joke, this climbing took up most of the mountain and the rest was fairly normal climbing.

It was honestly one of the hardest things I have done in a while. Very rewarding, the views on the top are absolutely stunning! And totally worth it! I would do it alone, and I would definitely go with someone experienced again.

On the way down I just slid down on my bum, making sure I would always slide into a set of rocks, just in case. Not many people on the top of the mountain and it probably took us three hours round trip! There was a couple of guys who were doing the climb seven times, SEVEN!! I asked them what they were training for, and it was just to stay fit! Good for them! I was so impressed.

After finishing this hike I really had no idea how famous and how hard this hike is. People have died doing this Hike before. So good take away would be don't do this in the rain, to the heat, (rock are hard to hold when hot, as it faces the sun) and don't feel a failure if you need to turn around and try again another say. Ultimately safety come first.

Mount Tibrogargan

Also known as Mt Tibro. This is another difficult hike, and some may argue harder than Beerwah. There are two side to this mountain that you can climb. One side is the rock climb where you need proper equipment to climb and the other is the tourist track.

Finding the trailhead is easy to find and even has some toilets to use at the start. The trail starts out as very well marked and has plenty of stairs up. It is a bit deceiving as yo think it will be an easy climb all the way up to the summit. You will get to a point where the well marked trail ends and you come to a HUGE rock. This rock is known as " chicken rock". It is called this because this is where people get scared and turn around. This is the first section of the scramble and the hardest part of the scramble. Once you get over the rock you are still scrambling but at a much nicer and more pleasant angle. The rocks are easy to hold on to and lots of places to put your feet!

You know you have reached the summit because it suddenly gets more green! The views are beautiful. One side you have a beautiful rock you can sit and rest and take it all in, but this side I think has the least appealing view as you look out on a mine. The other side Is a beautiful view of the other mountains in the distance. But here you don't have a spot to sit and catch your breath.

Going down was easy, I climbed down like it was a ladder. Going down felt easier then going up! The best part about finishing a rewarding hike is finding a local cafe on the way home and treating yourself to a cuppa and a pie!

Mt Ngungun

This is the most common hike in the Glass House Mountain and for good reason. It is a very family friendly hike and took myself and friends about 26 min to the stop taking it slow and without stoping. A well marked trail with mostly manmade steps to the top. when your nearing the peak you have more natural steps.

The views are absolutely incredible for such a short and easy hike. This is a great hike to catch the sunrise and sunset and you will be able to see the sun behind the mountains in the background, making for some stunning photos.

Because the hike is short and sweet it is easy to make a full day out of it. After the morning hike I headed to Gardner falls for a dip in the water and a cheeky picnic. On the way home I stumbled across The Barrel at Clouds Vineyard. Also know that class by is the Australia Zoo AKA Steve Irwin Zoo! SO many great activities in a short distance away from Brisbane. Definitely feeling lucky to be living in the state and Covid has been making it hard to travel around the rest of the country so far.

Thank you for following along and I hope you enjoyed the read. I have been SOO slack on posting on here and I will continue to try and do better! In the meantime if you do want to stay up to date just follow me on my instagram to see what I am up too!

XO Nic