A short hour and a half drive from Brisbane, just passed the quaint country town of Rathdowney, is a turn off to Mt. Barney. The road hugs Mt. Barney Creek then winds it way through the foothills of some of the most spectacular climbing and trekking regions of S.E. Queensland, Australia.
Mount Barney as seen from the approach road.
The area is predominantly open farming country, mostly beef, dairy and hobby farms that back onto the Mt. Barney massif. This massif comprises peaks of seven separate mountains, all within a World-Heritage listed park. As far as mountains go Mt. Barney is not that high, around 2000m, but it is the highest and one of the most rugged within easy driving distance of Brisbane.
The area has also special significance with the original land owners, the aborigines. Mt Maroon for example was originally known as Wahlmoorum (Yuggera language meaning 'sand goanna').
And it's because of its proximity to Brisbane that Mt. Barney and the peaks of Mt May, Mt Lindesay, Mt Ernest, Mt Ballow and Mt Clunie have been climbed by so many rockclimbers and bushwalkers. Scores of climbers each year regard their annual ascent of this popular peak, a pilgrimage. The round trip follows a steep rough track and takes a full 12 hours. I have now climbed 5 times, only once camping overnight at the summit. In that slower ascent weighted down with camping gear and photographic equipment, I climbed with friends on a clear winters day, that evening was one of the coldest I had ever experienced!
We camped overnight so we could photograph the sunset and sunrise the following morning. And wasn't it worth it, I will let you be judge!
Early morning mist from the summit of Mt. Barney