Jack Saunders, now aged 13, lives in Queensland, Australia, but is originally from England. This is Jack recounting his experience of climbing Mount Warning — in a sometimes cheeky voice that’s still full of wonder and awe.
One Saturday in May 2015, my dad dragged me to the foot of Mount Warning, an extinct volcano. It’s listed as a World Heritage site, located in Murwillumbah in New South Wales which is right on the border of Queensland. You can see its peak from miles around, and this is supposed to be the first place in Australia that gets the morning sun. Apparently, it was called ‘Wollumbin’ by inhabitants of the area years and years ago, and this means ‘cloud catcher’. Pretty neat, because when you’re at the summit you can understand where this name comes from. Books say it was Captain Cook who named it Mount Warning.
At the foot of the mountain, which is the entrance to the Mount Warning National Park, you’re right in the thick in the rainforest, and this is all you can see as you look up and all around. It’s dense with every shade of green you could possibly imagine. And you can hear so many different bird calls it’s amazing.
Photo: Jack Saunders
Although I like walking and climbing, I wasn’t sure about tackling Warning because of the distance. Apparently it’s nearly nine km up and down, and, knowing this meant walking for about five hours, it was a bit daunting. Still, Dad doesn’t often take no for an answer… It was about midday when we started, and a sign told us not to set out too late as climbing down in the dark was dangerous as it’s easy to get lost.
After getting out of the car, putting on jackets and stuffing a few last bits into our bag, we set off. It was essential we prepared, because due to the number of people who climb the mountain every year, it’s protected to maintain its natural beauty and prevent erosion. So things like toilets, cafes, campsites, etc, are not to be found beyond the entrance. For the first one km there were heaps of steep man-made stairs that weave through the forest. And I mean, heaps. Hundreds. I’m not a fan of stairs so I moaned and complained as I forced myself up, step by step. My legs ached and all I wanted to do was sit down. But straying from the track is not advised because it’s easy to get lost. I could see why.
Mt. Warning-Petra Bensted-CC 2.0 via Flickr
We continued up the mountain, following the winding paths and jumping through waterfalls. After what felt like hours, I was sure we were almost at the top, but sitting there was a sign saying we’d come up just 1km and had 3.4 km left.
On we trudged after a pep talk (or five) from Dad, before coming across another waterfall, where we stopped to take a five minute break, and fill up our water bottles. It was definitely the clearest water I’ve ever seen. I poured some over my head because it was pretty hot and I was sweating lots—and this was in the winter!
Then, after a bit more walking, we saw the second sign. It said that we still had another kilometre to do. By this point, I was ready to quit. As we got a little further though, we stopped for a rest at a little viewpoint. Here I took my very first mountain selfie! #Yolo. One thing the mountain does have is plenty of spots to stop and gather your energy to keep going. And it’s cool to just sit and listen to the wildlife and rainforest sounds.
Photo: Jack Saunders
Then, finally, we reached the gateway to the top of the mountain, which is also known as a tonne of rocks with a chain down one side and a cliff on the other. There were people in front but no one behind, which meant we could go slower, and take a rest when needed.
It was good fun, climbing up the rocks, clinging onto the chain for dear life. I was quite quick getting up, though I think that’s because I really enjoyed it.
Mt. Warning-climb-Greg Schechter-CC 2.0 via Flickr
We wandered around the top for a while, up above the clouds, eating, drinking and enjoying the view. And the view was incredible. 360 degrees of rainforest, mountains and the sea in the distance. Luckily it was a clear day, so Dad pointed things out for me—although I think he made a lot of it up. Then, we started the trek back down the mountain. Much easier going down than up though!
On the way home, Dad told me on the other side of the mountain, there is a way to drive up the first three km. I wasn’t very happy to hear this. But would I do it all again? Absolutely. I loved it!
Photo: Jack Saunders
I come from England, and my impression of Australia was that it was all deserts and spiders. But little did I know that there’s so much more to it than that. The central east coast is tropical, with more rain than you’d believe, so the rainforests and farmland is everywhere you look. And the Australians really care for their countryside and nature. People coming here should respect that but enjoy what the area has to offer.