On a Saturday morning a little while ago I woke up far earlier than I had planned - 2:40AM to be exact. My little one stirred and I awoke. When I couldn't get back to sleep, I got up and went for a hike.

I left the house shortly after 3:30AM for a mountain I had never been to before. Mount Greville in the AMAZING Scenic Rim. It is part of the Moogerah Peaks National Park near Aratula. Just over an hour from Brisbane. The mountain is quite small, 770m to the summit and sits behind Lake Moogerah.

Mount Greville had been on my list for a long time. I LOVE the Main Range section of the Scenic Rim, so I want to hike them all!

Well I got there, after taking a wrong turn due to:

Navi getting confused
Being pitch black due to heavy clouds and being an hour before sun rise
Because I had never even been there in the daylight.

But I finally got to the car park!

I grabbed my back pack, put on the headlamp and headed off.

Mount Greville has 3 tracks which all eventually lead to the Summit. There is Waterfall Gorge track, South East Ridge track and Rainforest Gorge track.

I had originally wanted to go up via Waterfall Gorge as it came highly recommended by an awesome dude has hiked it many times before, however it had seemingly been raining overnight and there is a bit of climbing and scrambling this way, not a great idea in the wet AND the dark. So I opted for the South East Ridge and given that I was there before sunrise, boy am I glad I did.

My hike had been fairly slow as it was still damp and slippery, but after about 45 minutes I could see the sun was about to come up over the mountains, and I happened to see what looked t be a great vantage point on a cliff over looking the valley to the east.

Perfect timing to have a makeshift breakfast and set up the tripod.

I ended up staying out on the outcrop for longer than expected, but it was lovely. some beautiful low clouds and mist, lovely colour and some mountains... perfect sunrise for a landscape photographer.

After chowing down on some beef jerky and taking far more shots than I expected, I packed up and kept on the trail, passing many other (and occasionally stopping to shoot) vantage points with great views of the valley. What a glorious morning!!

I didn't end up reaching the summit this day due to bad weather coming in, so I headed back down the hill from about two thirds of the way up.

I took an alternate route back, however I went down via the rainforest gorge track. It was basically, as the name suggest, a rainforest wedged into a small gorge. It was actually a lovely walk down. The track was difficult to see at times, up it is a gorge, so you can't get lost.

I grabbed a number of great rainforest shots on the way down, and it was a much easier track. Slippery at times due to fallen palm fronds, but not difficult.

I must admit I hiked slower than I usually would, as I was stopping often for photographs, and taking it easier due to the wet conditions. But this didn't hamper my enjoyment.

The hiker who told me how great it was two days prior was not wrong! I honestly can't wait to go back and check out waterfall gorge and the secret spots surrounding it. I can't wait to get an opportunity to camp along the mountain and catch sunrise from the absolute top! And I just can't wait to explore the mountain more. It is such a diverse mountain!

I highly recommend it for anyone wanting a hike that can be easy OR challenging, and with spectacular views.

A New Favourite Location