Niamboyoo Hike
Armed with padded hiking boots, headlights and not enough warm clothes on our legs and bums, my friend and I ascended Niamboyoo at 4am on a Saturday morning. With short stops along the way, a moment of desperate need in the bushes and mysterious noises coming from the distant trees we slowly hiked onwards and upwards to the peak.
Niamboyoo (Mount Cordeaux) has two peaks, the first is around 3.5K up and the second (Bare Rock) is another 3K up. This time around, we ascended the first peak only. We planned on making it just in time for sunrise and while we were nearing our destination and the pathway started winding at the very top, it seemed the sun had other plans. So we dug our toes into the fresh earth and started walking faster than ever before; it was now a race to the peak.
With winds sweeping either side of us and sharp turns at each edge of the path we began to sweat in the 2 degree weather. Finally, we plonked our heavy legs up the very last steps where we were greeted with not only a crowd of people unlike I’ve ever seen on this peak before but also a sunless sky. This meant that we beat the sun and we could sit down, enjoy munching on a muesli bar for breakfast and watch nature do its thing.
For anyone out there that is thinking about completing a hike but they might feel a little overwhelmed or worried about undergoing such a feat, I would recommend Niamboyoo to you. This hike, if taken slowly, can be for people with low fitness levels. Check out the Aussie Bushwalking website if you’re looking for anymore info though - this website is my bible when it comes to hiking up mountains in the South East QLD region.
As always, be respectful of nature and leave only footsteps on the earth. If you do end up climbing this gorgeous mountain, please let me know how you go!