My wife and I had only recently moved back to Australia after spending a number of years overseas and it wasn’t long before we needed to get outdoors and spend some time ‘under the sky’.
As we are living in Brisbane we decided to head to a relatively close spot called the “Glasshouse Mountains.” The Glasshouse mountains is a range of mountains situated about 7km north (or about an hour’s drive) of Brisbane. The area is a popular spot for walkers and climbers as there are a number of walking tracks and lookouts which can be accessed most times of the year.
View from Wild Horse Fire Lookout
As we had been away we needed to equip ourselves for this trip and future ones. We wanted to be as self sufficient as possible so we bought a 3-person tent, a couple of sleeping bags, camping chairs, a gas cooker and a huge esky as we all know that camping without a cold one (or two) just wouldn’t be camping.
Now we decided to make this trip in July, which in Australia is pretty much the middle of winter. Queensland being a warm state, though, we weren’t really concerned about the temperatures.
Glasshouse Mountain Camping Ground
We packed the car up and headed off late on Friday evening as by the time we had finished work and got everything organised the sun had well gone.
We chose the Glasshouse Mountains Camping Ground as our base for the next few days and were very happy we did. It was very reasonable at $10/person per night and had all the facilities we needed, including a big fire pit where we could sit around and chat. The campsite is also centrally located so you can access all the tracks and mountains within short driving distances.
When we arrived we found that there were only a few people staying in the camping area that weekend so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We chose a good spot and set up camp.
Our Glasshouse Mountain home
It wasn’t until we turned off all our torches and lanterns did we realise how special a place we were in. The sky was full of stars. I mean no more space, keep moving kind of full. I think we counted about six shooting stars within the first 20 minutes of us being there. We sat in our chairs with beers in hand and gazed at the sky for what seemed like forever.
Finally, we decided to turn in for the night, especially as the temperature had dropped and the wind had picked up somewhat since we had arrived.
It turned out we had chosen the coldest weekend on record for a long time, so thankfully we had brought some extra clothes.
View of Mt Coonowrin and Mt Beerwah from Mt Ngungan
We spent the next couple of days exploring the various walks around the area. These vary from basic walks to the more advanced. There is something suitable for everyone. Upon climbing Mt Ngungan (253m) we could see some absolutely spectacular views as well.
View of Mt Coonowrin and Mt Beerwah from Mt Ngungan
The Glasshouse Mountains is a great area to get away for the weekend, but you could spend a lot more time in the area exploring all the different walks, climbs and scenery.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice one Simon!
I like the sound of watching the stars with a beer in hand.
Not as much the cold though
Awesome post.
Thanks Krisztian!
The cold all depends on how many beers you have in hand
Cheers.
Great post Simon!
Sounds like you had a lovely weekend away in nature.
I look forward to my next adventure and getting it up on the site.
Thanks Andrew!
It was great!
Looking forward to hearing about some of your adventures.
Cheers
haha wow. Im a bit late on this comment ooops. Definitely will put one up on my next adventure. I heard that the weekend of the eclipse in November is going to be special!
This looks like the kind of place that I would love to go camping in. You posted some really beautiful pictures with your article and I am going to get online and see if I can find some more information on this place. Do you have to hike very far to get to the camping site? Is this the kind of place where you have to have a guide?
Hey Tammia,
Thanks for your comment. It really is a beautiful spot. The camping site is a bit of a distance from where you start walking so you need to drive a little bit. You don’t need a guide, though, as all of the trails are well marked and the maps are easy to follow.
Hope you get a chance to get out there!
Cheers.
Hi Simon
I just read your report & you sounded impressed with the campsite. We had visited that campsite some time back but had never stayed there as it seemed run down so gave it a miss. It sounds as though they may have upgraded their faciclites recently? Is that your impression?
Cheers
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