Operation: Climb Mt Ngungun

The Briefing

I recently went on my first proper hike/climb with a mate up Mt Ngungun, one of the beautiful mountains located within the Glass House Mountains, QLD.

During one of my doom scrolling sessions through Instagram, I saw a video recommending a simple climb up a mountain (Mt Ngungun) that was around a 2 hour drive from where I lived. I’d been trying to get outdoors more and introduce more exercise into my weekly routine, so I sat and thought to myself “hmmm, that sounds fun”.

I messaged one of my mates and the conversation pretty much went like this:

Me: Hey... wanna get up at 3:30am to climb a mountain and see the sun rise?
Him: Sure..
     My bags packed ready
Me: Sweet, pick you up at 4am

and the mission was a go, operation: climb Mt Ngungun (original, I know)

Leading up to the climb

Leading up to the climb, I knew in the back of my mind it was going to be somewhat challenging, whether that be the climb itself or the 2 hour drive and 3:30am wakeup.

So I did what any self respecting man would do.. I bought an energy drink.

The Climb

So here I am, 3:30am in the morning, energy drink in hand, ready to drive to this mountain.

The drive couldn’t have gone any smoother, it was peaceful. Just me, my favourite tunes, and the windows down, going 100 on the highway.

I picked up my mate and we were off. We arrived at the mountains base around 5:20am and we were ready to start the hike. Despite the heavy rain the night before, the climb was pretty dry. It did however lead to an intense humidity within the bush.

Figure: The trail on the way up - Mountain View

Figure: The trail on the way up - Trail View

The Peak

Within 30 minutes we had reached the top of Mt Ngungun, and oh my, was that breeze just what we needed. The sights from 259 meters above were absolutely stunning.

Figure: Foggy view of the area below

My mate had been smart enough to bring a small tarp for us to sit on. We sat down to rest and had a small picnic taking in the views.

Figure: Top of Mt Ngungun

Figure: Views from Mt Ngungun - Image 1

Figure: Views from Mt Ngungun - Image 2

The Comedown

After about 40 minutes on the top (and a thousand photos taken), we decided it was time to pack up shop and head to a cafe for a proper breakfast.

On the way down, we passed many people who we’d assumed were the locals doing their morning routine. The thought of being able to wake up before work and see views like that really excited me.

I don’t know what the future has in store for me, but I know it at least involves another mountain or two.

- Brook ❤