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Now you can get up close and personal with Mt Tibrogargan |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 15 September 2005 |
If you're stuck for something to do this weekend check out the new 3.3
kilometre walking track around the base of Mount Tibrogargan, one of
the Glass House Mountains. State Member for Glass House Carolyn Male
opened the trail on Friday. The Tibrogargan circuit gives walkers
the experience of being close to a mountain without having to climb to
the summit, Ms Male said.
| Dr. Eve Fesl welcomes guests with a song writted for the occasion
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"The end result is just magnificent," she said. "I climb Beerburrum Mountain all the time, because that's my home town and it's an easy mountain to climb. And I'm sure other people do appreciate climbing the peaks. But there are a lot of us who would much rather walk around the base of them and look up and see the majesty of the mountains and appreciate them from that angle."
Ms Male also opened Stage One of a track upgrade at Mt Ngungun and new toilets at Mt Beerwah. Gubbi Gubbi elder Dr Eve Fesl welcomed people to the openings.
"It's a pleasure to be here today because these mountains are icons for the history of our people," Dr Fesl said. "Even when they were incarcerated, at Barambah, which is now Cherbourg, the people used to sneak out to come down and pay respects to the mountains and make sure everything was okay. Then they would make the long journey back to Barambah. So it's very nice to see that other people are taking an interest too, and I know that particularly QPWS have been working very hard and the people that live around here have been caring for the land."
Dr Fesl said her people were not allowed to climb the Glass House Mountains because it was only by looking up from below that you could show your respect.
Ms Male paid tribute to the work of the Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service in protecting the mountain environment. "We love these mountains as if they've always been part of our heritage and a lot of us are very keen to make sure we preserve them for future generations," she said.
Ms Male thanked earthmoving contractor Shane Doyle for the way he carefully constructed the track to make sure there was no unnecessary damage to the environment. She also paid tribute to QPWS co-ordinator Mark Lythal who plotted the path of the track and to colleague Blair Young who constructed the beautiful bridges across 24 watercourses along the trail. More than 100 people were involved in the project. The crowd was impressed by Mr Young's "little troll bridges of stone and timber" and they are certainly a feature of the track.
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| QPWS employees Blair Young, left, and Mark Lythal, right, with Carolyn Male on the new Mt Tibrogargan track.
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The Tibrogargan and Ngungun joint project cost $310,500 and the work was spread over three years finishing in June this year.
QPWS Ranger Cheryl Thomson said the track took in casuarina thickets, melaleuca forests and samples of vegetation that could only be seen around the magnificent Glass House peaks. She said the mountains were formed from igneous volcanic cooled rock that formed about 21 million years ago.
| Blair Young's "little troll bridges of stone and timber" are certainly a feature of the track
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The new track will help boost tourism numbers in the area. "The QPWS has done a fantastic job on this," Ms Male said. "We do like people to go to Maleny and look out over the mountains, but we also want them to come back and experience the mountains from the trail."
Division Two Councillor Anna Grosskreutz said tourism was thriving in the area and she was fielding more and more calls from prospective operators wishing to set up with the Glass House Mountains as a backdrop to their operation. The new circuit track, the existing 5.1 kilometre Trachyte Circuit and the summit access track all start and finish at the Mt Tibrogargan picnic area, accessible off Barrs Road, Glass House Mountains.
For more information about the Glass House Mountains National Park and other walks go to www.epa.qld.gov.au or phone QPWS Maleny on 5494 3983.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 15 September 2006 )
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Range News 2005 - ON 
