Though it was our last day in the Glass House Mountains, we really couldn’t do that much because our flight was fairly early in the day – certainly morning hours… The night before, talking to Bret, he mentioned that if we had the time, we could all climb Mt. Ngungun. Obviously, we wanted to do that! So, we got up at 5am (not that difficult, because for whatever reason, we can’t seem to sleep much past 430 these days.) Out we went at 630 to climb with Bret.
We entered a fairly flat path through the gates and the world was instantly transformed into untouched earth. And that might be what I most love about this country. There is just so much of it that hasn’t been destroyed by human beings. There’s a respect for nature, a law in fact that nothing can be removed or destroyed – yes, that means even crocodiles make the rules along the estuarine rivers. As we walked, we saw indigenous flora and fauna (mostly flora, as the birds are easier to hear than see, and the wallabies are sleeping or sunning at that hour in grass plains.)
And before too long, the paths were climbing. Equally as beautiful is how the paths are thoughtful. Unlike hiking trails and paths I’ve often walked in the States, these paths have charm. They are made from the nature around them – large rocks for stairs, packed clay for the path itself…no smelly blacktop pavement. And every once in a while I saw a tree with initials carved into it…from some couple that must have walked it before us.
Before to long, the path was virtually at a 45 degree angle, over rocks and boulders, roots and clay. And we were climbing and getting the blood flowing right good! We passed two caves that according to legend, were the original homes of the aboriginal elders of the clan of that area. By the way, on that note: Ngungun is pronounced with a not quite silent “n.” So technically it’s not “gun gun”…just first make the “n” sound. It’s really quite simple.
After our 25-minute climb over what we later discovered was a moderate- to difficult-rated climb, we arrived at the gorgeous, breathtaking summit. We had climbed about 600 meters and could see all of the Glass House/Hinterland region. Our amazing and very cool host, Bret, had arranged in his pack a thermos of Milo and a pack of Chocolate TimTams for our brekkie atop Ngungun. He pulled out some mugs from home and graciously offered us this amazing, once-in-a-lifetime breakfast that will certainly stay with me the rest of my life. For those of you that have never heard of it before – Milo is basically a chocolate breakfast drink, similar to hot chocolate but with more healthy benefits such as added protein, vitamins, etc. It also lacks that “tooth rotting” sweetness of American…well American anything – This was absolutely lovely, since neither of us really love painfully sweet things. It was simply delicious and was perfectly paired with the delectable TimTam. The three of us sat on top of the mountain, took pictures and talked about what people talk about when they are sitting on top of a mountain, watching the sunrise.
We so enjoyed our time at the Crookneck Retreat and have already decided that when we return to Australia, we will be returning to Bret and Megan Standring and their amazing retreat tucked into the macadamia orchard within arms reach of Coonowrin and company. It was nothing short of magical and we loved every single second.
have you climbed a mountain today?
love, peace and milo...
m
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