Today we’ve finally done it, we’ve climbed Wollumbin or Mt. Warning! I reckon that this is a must do thing when you visit the area or live here because this national park is stunning.
Wollumbin is 1156 metes high and located right between Byron Bay and the Gold Coast . The mountain is covered in beautiful, subtropical rainforest and it’s also a holy place for the Bundjalung people. According to Aboriginal legend, Wollumbin used to be a giant bird which was speared by a warrior. This fatal spear is still visible as a point of the summit. I also learned that Wollumbin Nationalpark is world heritage listed and that the mountain ranges that stretch from Northern NSW all the way to the Gold Coast were formed by volcanoes over 23 million years ago. This is quite remarkable!
I must say I completely underestimated this hike since all the locals seems to hike this mountain every week, no problem. But let me tell you, it’s 8.8 km to the peak and back and obviously the first part of the hike is all uphill! But as if this is not exhausting enough already, the last meters of the track are just steep, slippery rocks and gravel which means you actually have to climb them. If that’s not something. I was so exhausted by the end of it and swore that I will never climb this mountain again.
View from Mt. Warning
When we finally arrived at the top I simply collapsed onto the grassy picknick area next to my friends. Pheeew, what an effort. Thank god my friends fed me some chocolate so I made a quick recovery and had a look around. The view from the top is just amazing!! Obviously you get glimpses of it on the way up but the top is really stunning, totally worth all that exercise, climbing and sweating. You can see all the way to the Gold Coast and Surfers Paradise. I was blown away and really glad that we went on this hike.
View from halfway up
Funny shaped tree
View from top of Wollumbin
When we got back to the car park we realised that it only took us 3 hours to walk up to the top and back. Most people need between 4 and 5 hours. So we’re extra proud of us today and deserve to hang on the couch for the rest of the day.
Over and out!
Climbing Wollumbin Today we've finally done it, we've climbed Wollumbin or Mt. Warning! I reckon that this is a must do thing when you visit the area or live here because this national park is stunning.