8 minute read
Cover Story
DOUBLE IMPACT
It's a sibling rivalry as D-MAX and MU-X have a royal rumble in the Glass House Mountains.
WORDS: IAIN CURRY, IMAGES: MATT WILLIAMS
It was that old sea dog James Cook, then just a lowly lieutenant, who named these towering chunks of molten rock the Glass House Mountains. Aboard HMS Endeavour, Cook was on an historically significant pleasure cruise up Australia’s east coast when he spotted 13 hills peppering the Sunshine Coast’s horizon.
The soon-to-be captain named them for their resemblance to cone-shaped glassmaking furnaces back in Blighty, but didn’t drop anchor for a proper look around. We’re here to show Cook and crew what they missed.
Armed with breadfruit sandwiches and a new Isuzu D-MAX X-TERRAIN and MU-X LS-T, our adventuring would be far more serenely regal (and air-conditioned, leather-seated and GPS-enabled) than those faced by 18th Century Europeans.
For travellers not keen on a multi-day odyssey to reach places that take the breath away, the Glass House Mountains are a godsend. Just an hour north of Brisbane, we cruise up the Bruce Highway and soon spot the giant peaks on the horizon. Our Isuzus hang a quick left onto Steve Irwin Way (yep, it’s Croc Hunter homeland up here) and within minutes we’re in a land more akin to Jurassic Park than the Bruce’s three-lane rush hour.
It’s a 20-minute drive to Glass House Mountains Lookout—our start and end point for a loop taking us through a variety of 4x4 terrain. Even if you don’t fancy exploring the numerous national parks, state forests and cute little Queensland towns here, to bypass this lookout so close to the highway would be a travesty.
Majestic, magnificent, mythical, marvellous—it’s pick-your-adjective time as we gaze out across the mighty vista from this elevated spot. If you luck out with a clear day it’s all the more spectacular, then amplified again if you time your arrival with sunrise or sunset.
With the sky turning a variety of colours and the hills silhouetted on the horizon, it’s little wonder the region has huge spiritual significance to the indigenous Jinibara and Kabi Kabi people.
At 556m, Mount Beerwah is the tallest Glass House, but the chunky 364m Mount Tibrogargan is more imposing. In the distance, the svelte Mount Coonowrin (377m) is unmistakable with its narrow peak and incredibly steep flanks.
All were formed some 25 million years ago when masses of molten magma were forced upwards, then cooled and hardened. The hard rhyolite volcanic rock survived as the surrounding softer rock eroded, leaving us with these giant volcanic plugs. Dropping that little nugget of geological knowledge is sure to impress your passengers.
It’s a hot one out there so once I drag myself away from the lookout I appreciate the D-MAX’s air-conditioned cabin. I feel rather smug as I’d used the remote start on the key fob to fire up the eager 3.0-litre turbo-diesel a few minutes before, ensuring I was greeted by an icy-cool interior.
This being the range-topping X-TERRAIN, the inside is a bit fancy. There’s red stitching for our power-adjustable black leatheraccented seats, trim and steering wheel. It feels more sports car than work ute.
Buttons to heat the seats are noted (useful for winter, but not today), while my phone wirelessly connects to a 9-inch infotainment screen using Apple CarPlay. Had the Endeavour crew enjoyed such luxuries the decision to explore this place would have been much easier. Although, had the Endeavour crew enjoyed such luxuries, they might have stayed in Plymouth.
We pick up Connection Road just beside the lookout and flick the D-MAX’s dial to 4WD as bitumen makes way for dirt. In no time the road is of hard-packed red earth, helping our aptly coloured Volcanic Amber ute blend in. Through the windows are ramrod rows of pine plantations, climbing to the heavens in mathematically regimented rows.
We stop at a clearing near the base of Mount Beerwah with a powerline track undulating into the distance. There are some very gnarly, blue-blooded 4WD routes near here that have been popular with serious off-roaders for decades. Big Red and Little Red are the most famous, but these are officially no-go areas. Formed roads—those with proper drainage—are the only ones Queensland Parks and Wildlife approve for driving on. On the plus side, these still provide ample scope for off-road joy.
Our 4WD driving skills are tested over the steeper parts, although the D-MAX and MU-X barely break a sweat. I select low range and engage the rear diff-lock as the red ground looks very loose in places. Some deep ruts mean my passenger makes himself useful by acting as spotter while the ute steadfastly clambers over the toughest parts. Its 240mm ground clearance thankfully proves ample, as does the 235mm for the following MU-X.
In fact, the whole route is remarkably stress-free, making it ideal for novice and intermediate off-roaders. The clay-based soil up here makes things far more treacherous and slippery after a lot of rain, but on a dry day like ours it’s a breeze. No modifications, off-road tyres or different tyre pressures required—you can come straight off the sealed roads and into the wilderness without adjusting a thing.
Speaking of wilderness, as we join Millwood Road (Beerburrum) the environment takes a turn for the tropical. We’ve already passed open eucalypt forest and we’re now enjoying rainforest patches. Not on a luxuriant Amazonian jungle level, but there’s notably more colour variety in the plants and flowers, plus the unmistakable cry of yellow-tailed black cockatoos directly over our Isuzus. Good views of the mountains from up there, I think.
In no time the landscape changes again. The red earth is gone and we’re in farmland, where instead of perplexing goannas and possums with our presence, we’re confusing cows. We cruise a small patch of sealed surface called Cove Rd (Stanmore) and the D-MAX and MU-X show-off their versatility.
Be it rough road or smooth, our imperially cossetted cabins remain delightful places to be. It’s a special feeling knowing a move from 2WD into 4-High or 4-Low means we can rapidly adjust to our undertyre environment.
Our route takes us along Commissioners Flat Road, into Reserve Lane and then back onto Connection Road to complete the loop back to that lovely lookout. We’ve not passed another 4x4 on our entire journey on the unsealed stuff, just a handful of motorcyclists out exploring the tracks.
The whole loop could be travelled in a couple of hours, so if you have an off-road itch to scratch where there’s a fascinating variance in your surrounds, this Glass House area is tough to beat. The frugal 140kW/450Nm engines didn’t sip a great deal of diesel either, so not needing to carry fuel supplies or scramble to find a servo is a welcome bonus.
If you fancy sticking around the place you’re also well catered for. Beerburrum is ideal for coffee and cake; the township of Glass House Mountains (10km from the lookout) has the Glasshouse Tavern, fuel, and eateries; or in 40 minutes you could be in the lovely hinterland town of Maleny or chilling on the beaches around Caloundra.
But above all, this is a place you want to be among nature. You feel humble next to the giant mountains and there’s climbing, trail runs and mountain bike tracks for the active set. Plus there’s ample walks not involving reaching one of those peaks.
And while it’s possible to summit Mount Tibrogargan, Mount Ngungun and Mount Beerwah, the traditional owners respectfully ask people not to.
The other side of the highway, 30 minutes from the lookout, is Coochin Creek in Beerwah State Forest, where there’s good camping and fishing. If embracing a tourism icon is more your thing, Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo is only 20 minutes away. (Crikey!)
We made our expedition a day trip, but I leave wanting to stay for much longer. The Glass House region has plenty of other 4WD routes waiting to be discovered and I’m not over-keen to leave the views. The landscape elsewhere looks flat—literally and emotionally—by comparison.
You could roam for weeks here, but the joy of this place is that it need only take a day to enjoy… or half a day, even. With the correct steeds—an MU-X and D-MAX in our case—we’ve had a bite-sized off-road experience to remember and witnessed one of Australia’s most enticing panoramas.
Cook may have named these mountains, at least as far as the British crown was concerned, but he slid by in the distance.
We get to properly embrace them, even as we weigh the merits of flash ute versus proper SUV. In the end, it’s impossible to pick a winner—except, perhaps, for the two chaps in the driver’s seats. Whether D-MAX or MU-X, the Glass House brings the heat.
