Glass House Mountains

The Glass House Mountains are a popular tourist site in the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. The mountains were named by Captain Cook, who in 1770 thought they looked like glass houses as he sailed along the eastern coast of Australia. The region consists of a flat plain punctuated by volcanic plugs, the cores of extinct volcanoes that formed between 25 million and 27 million years ago.

Most of the Glass House Mountains is now protected and managed by the Queensland government, as part of the Glass House Mountains National Park.

Understand
The Glass House Mountains are:
 * Mount Beerburrum
 * Mount Beerwah, 555 m – the largest mountain in the range. However, access to the Mount Beerwah summit route has been closed since 2008 due to the erosion and destabilization of some walking tracks, leading to a high risk of rockfall.
 * Mount Coochin, 235 m
 * Mount Coonowrin, colloquially known as Crookneck, 377 m
 * Mount Elimbah, 129 m
 * Mount Miketeebumulgrai, 199 m
 * Mount Ngungun, 253 m
 * Round Mountain
 * Mount Tibberoowuccum, 220 m
 * Mount Tibrogargan, appearing to be a giant ape, 364 m
 * Mount Tunbubudla or the Twins, 312 and 293 m
 * Wild Horse Mountain, 123 m

There are three that are on the base of the Glass House Mountains. The first is Beerwah, which is situated north of Glass House Mountains, approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Brisbane, and just south of Landsborough. The second is Glass House Mountains, while the third further south is Beerburrum.

History
The Glasshouse Mountains are located in the traditional lands of the Gubbi Gubbi people. The first Europeans to discover the mountains were led by James Cook in 1770 when he was sailing up the East Coast of Australia.

Flora and fauna
The peaks support a diverse range of habitats, including montane heath and shrubland, open forest and woodlands and small rainforest patches on some peaks. The montane heath is particularly rich in threatened and endemic species, many of which can be found nowhere else.

Get in
From Brisbane, follow the Bruce Highway (M1) north, take Exit 163 Steve Irwin Way (Tourist Drive 24) and follow the signs to the Glass House Mountains.

From the Sunshine Coast, follow the Bruce Highway (M1) south, take Exit 179 and follow Roys Rd to Beerwah, then head south along Steve Irwin Way.

By train
There is a train station in the heart of Beerwah and the Glass House Mountains township which offers frequent (usually hourly) services. Timetables can be found at the TransLink website.

Do

 * The bushwalks/scrambles to the tops of the mountain vary from an easy 30 min walk along a sealed path to a more intense four-hour return journey.

Other

 * Roped sports—abseiling and rockclimbing – A full list of where roped sported can be done can be found here.

Sleep
There are no camping areas within Glass House Mountains National Park. The nearest camping spots are in the nearby Beerwah State Forest and the nearest motels/hotels are in either Beerwah or the Glass House Mountains township.