Profile for Vonsnrub - Aussie Bushwalking

This Year

Number of Walks Ticked

306.3km

Total Distance Ticked

All Time

193

Number of Walks Ticked

1,830.7km

Total Distance Ticked

Ticks

Name	Date	Difficulty	Distance/Duration
Mt Tinbeerwah (Sunshine Coast)	16 Sep, 2019	Easy	1km return 45 mins
Like others have said this is a very quick and easy walk. Has a fantastic 360 degree view from the top though and excellent for watching thunderstorms approach.
Mt Cahill (Kakadu National Park)	29 Aug, 2019	Easy	1.5km return 45 mins
Very even and consistent gradient the whole way up, very well marked, you would have to be doing something very wrong to get lost! There is a little structure at the top to see the lookout (which is mostly obstructed by trees). Not a bad hike but you're probably not going to get any amazing photos there.
Mount Cooroy (Sunshine Coast)	18 Aug, 2019	Hard	3km return 2 hrs
After an ill-fated attempt to climb Mt Cooroy earlier in the year I begrudgingly decided to go during the Cooroy Festival. There are properties all along the perimeter of the mountain so there really isn't any way up there without trespassing unless you do it on the one designated day a year. Track was quite nice, views from the top were mint. Very crowded, lots of waiting in queues, lots of people tripping over and dislodging rocks, having people flick branches back into your face, standstills when 2 people going in opposing directions stop to have a chat blocking everyone going up and down. Not the same etiquette you get among more experienced hikers. Won't be doing it again, was more of a box ticking exercise, would have been a nice climb without all the people.
Wild Horse Mountain (Glass House Mountains National Park)	13 Jun, 2019	Medium	1.4km return 30 mins
The easiest of the Glasshouse mountains, yet probably the one with the best views. Get an excellent panorama of the remaining Glasshouse mountains from the little bungalow at the top. Great place to go to watch a sunset, doesn't take very long to walk and it's paved the entire way up.
Mt Joyce Summit Walk (South East Queensland)	8 Jun, 2019	Medium	12km return 5 hrs
Decided to bring our push bikes to save time getting to the base of the mountain. I would say we saved time but it certainly didn't save effort. The track has a lot of sand on it which led to some pretty sketchy moments riding downhill. The walk from the base to the top was really nice, wasn't overly difficult but enough to get your heart pumping. Was a bit of a miserable day but the view is still fantastic! Make sure to check on the SEQ water website before you go, first time we tried it was closed and the track was fenced off.
Mt Philp (Glen Rock Regional Park)	26 Apr, 2019	Hard	4.5km return 4 hrs
Well I wouldn't say it is trackless, there are a lot of paths all leading in completely different directions, what it lacks is a correct path. Following the GPS track from Wikiloc you start at the carpark, walk through a field of knee high grass, get to a small car track (get your hopes up that there is going to be a nice track) then you have to walk up through more knee high grass and bushes filled with spiders. Eventually you get to the ridge and you can follow that up and it gets a bit easier. Very steep pretty much the whole way, reminded me a bit of Mt Barney just in how draining it is. Took me 90 minutes up and 90 minutes down because you have to be so careful descending. Very nice view from the top, surprised they haven't capitalised on it by making an actual track.
Bally Mountain (Gold Coast)	18 Apr, 2019	Hard	9.5km return 4 hrs
Walked this via the recommended route in the description from the end of Bonogin Road. The area reminded me a bit of the Spring Mountain reserve only a bit steeper with a better view from the top. The view was sensational, could see Surfers Paradise, Coolangatta, Mt Cougal, Mt Warning from the top of Bally Mountain. Like Spring Mountain there is a labyrinth of different tracks around so was definitely nice to have a GPS to make sure I didn't wander off onto one of the more protected areas.
The Steamers (Main Range National Park)	13 Apr, 2019	Hard	18km return 2 days
Downloaded a GPS track from Wikiloc starting at the Emu Creek campsite, would not recommend that start point. You can intercept the main track but it involves 45 minutes of walking along a creek then bush bashing your way up the side of the cliff. At the top of the ridge there is a clear path up past the steamers. Eventually you will reach an intersection, one route continues on to the summit of Mt Steamer, the other backtracks along the top of the rock formation to Lizard point where you can get that famous photo of the Steamers. The view was incredible! Involved a little bit of scrambling but wasn't exposed. After that we carried on to Mt Steamer which was only 40mins away or so along a reasonable track. The view from the top isn't as good as the Lizard Point lookout but it is still very nice, better than Wilson's peak. Has a perfect view of Mt Superbus, was great seeing the side profile of Superbus and understanding why it took so long to walk from one side of the 'summit' to the other. All in all was a day well spent, took longer than expected but I think that was mainly cause we had to do a return trip down the side of steep hill covered in vegetation to get to and from the car.
Mt Woowoonga (Wide Bay Burnett)	31 Mar, 2019	Hard	3.6km return 2.5 hrs
Fairly nice hike along a well marked track to the summit. It reminded me a bit of Mt Coochin only a bit longer (took me 45mins from the carpark to the summit). The views from the top are fairly obstructed so it's difficult to get a good photo. I ended up walking onwards to the higher Mt Goonaneman which has the TV tower at the summit. Wouldn't really recommend it, the track is a bit hard to follow and there is no view from the top of that mountain..also not really sure if I was meant to be walking around the TV tower. I didn't see a sign telling me otherwise though. Nice enough day out but if you want amazing views go to Mt Walsh instead.
Wilson's Peak (Main Range National Park)	25 Mar, 2019	Very Hard	12km 5 hrs
Very detailed description that was all completely accurate. Took me 2hrs up and 1hr 45 down. Very easy mountain to navigate, you walk along the fence for the vast majority so very hard to get misplaced. The first 3/4s is undulating so you don't really gain any altitude until you get to the steep hike up the peak. VERY similar to Mt Cougall, views aren't quite as good and the uphill component is certainly longer. Saw a snake on the way back, fortunately it was on the NSW side of the fence. Could have hugged the fence if it wasn't covered in barbed wire.
Mt Koroyanitu (Fiji)	23 Mar, 2019	Medium	6km return 4 hrs
Decided to hire a guide to show us the waterfall and then proceed solo to the summit of Mt Batilamu. In retrospect probably didn't need the guide. There are some breath taking views on the way to the waterfall, looks like something out of a movie with all the high cliffs and waterfalls. Eventually I got the guide to point me in the direction of the summit track and I made my way to the top. He said it would take 2hrs each way but in reality I did it in 1hr 15 up and just under an hour down. It is trickier finding your way back down if you elect to go via the waterfall, the main track is a lot easier to follow. At the top there is a little cabin, and about 5 minutes further there is an excellent lookout with expansive views all the way to Nadi and beyond! The track wasn't too muddy but I did cop a face full of spiderwebs more than once. Overall a great way to spend a morning!
Mt Tomanivi (Fiji)	21 Mar, 2019	Hard	4.5km return 5 hrs
It's a long drive out of Nadi but in my opinion it was totally worth the effort! The dirt road starts off quite reasonable but gets a bit rougher as you start ascending the mountain range. Would definitely recommend renting a 4wd, mainly for the clearance. Once I got to Navai I spotted two guys standing on the side of the road so stopped to ask them how i would go about climbing the mountain. They explained the pricing structure and one of them offered to be my guide. He hopped in the car and directed me to where I needed to park. He didn't have a backpack, or a waterbottle, in fact all he did have was a machete which at first was a little intimidating, but it turns out whenever anyone heads up there they use it as an opportunity to clear shrubs off the track. He was a very friendly guy and explained to me that entry/guide fee all goes to the village and as such they love having tourists along to come climb the mountain. The track is very well marked, it would be hard to miss it or wander off. It is however completely covered in mud so you can pretty much guarantee you will ruin whatever shoes you are wearing. It's also very slippery and at times you'll put your foot down thinking it's firm ground only for it to sink into a massive hole covered by long grass. As you near the top the track will become less muddy and a massive clearing will come into view. From here you can get a 360 degree view of the island. Before the climb I was told it would take 3hrs to reach the top but we did it in around 90 minutes. Very well spent money in my opinion, thoroughly enjoyed it!
Mount Superbus (Main Range National Park)	5 Mar, 2019	Hard	10km return 3 hrs
Decided to approach it another way so went via the Emu Creek track. I know sometimes you see written on this site 4wd only but it's really not too bad...well this was not one of those times, that road pushed my pool little Forester to the limit. The walk started off quite nicely with a decent track but it doesn't take long for the track to become fairly intermittent and you spend a lot of time reintercepting it. If you intend on going there and just winging it following the coloured tape, pack a tent, you'll be there for a while. So pretty soon you get to the steep part and it's not too bad, special thanks to whoever put all the rope up, would have been a lot trickier without it. After about 90 minutes (since the carpark) you get to the wreckage of the Lincoln Bomber which is actually pretty impressive considering it's been there for so long. A lot better preserved than the Piper Commanche up Mt Glorious. So from here I decided to duck up to the peak of Superbus, easier said than done though. The walk from the plane wreck to the summit was like an hour! And you spend alot of it getting misplaced (easier on the way back, the coloured tape seems to favour people coming from Superbus to the crash). It made me appreciate the dodgy track at the bottom of the mountain a lot more cause the one up the top is way worse. There were a few viewing points along the way, certainly not going to win first prize in a National Geographic competition with any photo you take up there though. I found the little box at the summit that had a couple of notebooks, a pair of glasses and an ants nest in it. So the way back down was interesting, don't consider myself a supernatural sort of guy but did hear footsteps a lot and kept seeing shadows which put me a bit of edge. I picked up my pace but kept getting caught on lantana (insert expletive!!) then had a brown snake slither out of the lantana over my foot (insert louder expletive!!!!). Wasn't the last snake I saw either, next one was a massive red belly black snake. So I guess you could saw that significantly slowed my pace but then as the sun began to set and the light began to dim I heard wild dogs howling from not far up the track where I had just come from. So my pace picked up again until I got to the car. Glad I did it, won't be back!
Uluru Summit (Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park)	26 Feb, 2019	Hard	3.5km return 3 hrs
Been on my bucket list for a while and figured I'd do it before it gets closed permanently on October 26. I know there is some contention about whether you should climb it or not given the cultural significance but I validated it in my mind by treating the climb and the land with a high level of respect and following the rules stipulated at the base of the rock (much like I do with every mountain I climb). You can only get access to climb Uluru in summer months between 7-8am and only then if the wind isn't forecast to exceed whatever the rangers threshold for high wind is. I rang up beforehand and was led to believe it was closed more often than it was open due to wind and temp, but hard to know if they were just saying that as a deterrent. The climb itself is a bit like a less intense version of Mt Beerwah with a fairly steep rocky incline at the very beginning. The view from the top is excellent, you can see miles in every direction. Is a shame they are closing it, was definitely the highlight of the trip.
Mount Manaia (North Island NZ)	17 Feb, 2019	Hard	4km return 2 hrs
Great walk, lots and lots of stairs, no surprise we saw firefighters in full gear walking up and down it for practice. The view from the wooden platform is great but the view from the rock pillar is unreal. Definitely have to have a head for heights to go up there but it seems to be well travelled. There is a nice clearing at the top of it where you can sit and enjoy the view.
Mt Maunganui (North Island NZ)	15 Feb, 2019	Medium	3.5km return 1 hr
Great way to kill an hour or so. Nice steady gradient which attracts a lot of people. On the day I hiked it there were quite a few people paragliding off the summit. Great view for only a moderate amount of effort!
Mt. Ngauruhoe (aka Mt Doom) (North Island NZ)	14 Feb, 2019	Very Hard	8km return 6 hrs
Probably the hardest mountain I have done to date. The walk along the Tongariro crossing was pleasant but climbing the volcano was pure madness. One does not simply climb to the summit of Mt Ngauruhoe I suppose you could say. The scree is very slippery and the incline is insanely steep. We made it up making quick bursts of about 30 seconds then resting. Becomes a bit more rockier at the top and from there it is a lot easier to climb. Took about 1.5hr to get to the bottom of the volcano, 2hrs to the summit, 40min back down, 1.5hrs back to the carpark. Be prepared to destroy whatever shoes and clothes you are wearing on this mountain, you come back covered in dirt and your shoes get torn up by the volcanic rocks. But the view at the top is excellent, best vantage point of an area that could be best described as Mars-like. Glad I did it, won't be doing it again though.
Paritutu Rock Summit (North Island NZ)	13 Feb, 2019	Medium	300m return 30 mins
Only takes 15mins or so to climb to the top, but you get a lot of value for not a lot of effort because the views are spectacular. Sunrise and sunset in particular would look sensational from here. Very easy to access and very well marked track to the top with a little viewing platform.
Mt Tauhara (North Island NZ)	13 Feb, 2019	Medium	6km return 2 hrs
Nice gradual climb, which also appears to be very popular with the locals (saw quite a few jogging up and down). On a clear day you can see the huge snow capped mountains off in the distance not to mention the sun reflecting off the massive Lake Taupo. Great bang for buck mountain, good place to see wildlife too, we saw a hedgehog on the way down.
Mt Taranaki (North Island NZ)	12 Feb, 2019	Very Hard	12.6km return 8 hrs
Fantastic mountain with incredible views! It took around 8hrs up and back and was very draining. Passing the Tahurangi Lodge I ascended into the clouds and didn't think I would get to see any view from the top but was pleased to find the summit was just above the cloud layer. The crater was totally engulfed in cloud and the GPS came in handy directing me to the summit. The scree field is probably the most dangerous part of the hike. We had a big rock shoot right past us while making our way down that someone further up must have inadvertently dislodged. Quite a few people climbing although a lot turned back before the summit thinking there would be no view due to the cloud cover. Really glad I didn't!!