Leader - Colin
Total Distance: - 7.0k
Walkers – Grahame & Helen, John, Mike, Paul, Michele, Julie, Leigh, Jackie & Bert, Colin
Starting off in Mt Tamborine fog we drove to Beaudesert and then on to Flinders Plum Picnic Area arriving in cool but bright sunshine.
After a little hesitation on which way to go we started up the mountain. We had an early Smoko to gain some energy for what was to be a hard day’s climbing. At Smoko another younger group came through, some dressed as Zombies, others with make-up on which resembled cuts and abrasions from falls. It fooled leader Colin who offered first aid which was politely refused.
Report
About half way up the mountain we had another rest stop so we could all re-group. At this point some decided that the taking in the views from there was enough and stayed. That left eight of the eleven to continue on. There had been fire in recent times and a number of tree falls which required some re-routing of the track. The dense re-growth in some areas also disguised the track. After some searching the crevice was found and this was the last difficult part of the climb.
The views from the top were magnificent with two vantage points being the helicopter pad and the communications station where we all gathered for lunch and rest. We knew we were in for a tougher time going down as there was a lot of loose stones, gravel and dust. Every one of us ended on our backsides at least once and we were all blackened somewhat from grabbing onto blackened (from the recent fires) trees and shrubs. We all made it safely to the bottom which seemed (and probably did) to take longer than the ascent.
We stopped at the Peak Crossing Café for refreshments and our usual natter. We stayed longer than usual and started the drive back to Mt Tamborine just as the sun was setting. A tough – satisfying walk in beautiful weather - Colin