White Rock and the Glass House Mountains

Because I work longer days, once a month I have a rostered day off (RDO) and get a three day weekend.  Last Monday was my RDO for May so Ross came up from Wellington for his first trip to Australia.  It was great to see him again after about three weeks apart.  Us being us, we spent the weekend out hiking and exploring around Brisbane.

Rock Wallaby at the Australia Zoo

On Saturday morning we hiked out to White Rock in the White Rock Conservation Area southwest of Brisbane.  Despite being at the edge of a new sub-development and gorgeous weather, there were very few people on the trail so Ross and I enjoyed a peaceful walk out to and around White Rock.  The forest is Eucalypt and low scrub with tons of different birds, animals, and plants.  We didn't see any Koalas but we were looking.

After hiking out to White Rock we went to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens and spent the afternoon wandering around through some of the various gardens.  These gardens are different from the City Botanic Gardens that are located along the Brisbane River right in downtown Brisbane and that I visited on my second weekend in the area.  The Brisbane Botanic Gardens were established in the 1970s after 8 major floods swept through the City Botanic Gardens between 1870 and 1974.  The gardens are 56 hectares and have more than 100,000 plants, representing approximately 5,000 species from around the world.  Needless to say, Ross and I did not see it all.

On Sunday we headed north from Redcliffe and went to the Glass House Mountains National Park.  The mountains are made of volcanic plugs that formed around 25 million years ago.  Over time the softer surrounding material was eroded away leaving behind the rock spires that are present today.  There are fourteen mountains in the area with the highest being Mt. Meerwah at 556 meters.  Lt. James Cook named the mountain range in May 1770 after the shape of the glass kilns found in the north of England.  Ross and I went up Mount Ngungun (253 m) and were treated to sweeping 360 degree views from the summit.  

From the Glass House Mountains, we continued north and spent the afternoon at the Australia Zoo, which is also known as the Home of the Crocodile Hunter.  It was a nice zoo and we got to pet kangaroos, wallabies, and a koala!  That being said, it was on the pricey side and not something that I think we would do again.

On Monday, we slept in, hung out in the sun on the patio, and had a leisurely stroll into Redcliffe for lunch before I took Ross back to the airport.  He is coming to visit again in mid-June and we're planning on going camping either on Moreton Island or in one of the national parks near the border between Queensland and New South Wales (Lamington or Main Range are my current top picks).