Islands in the Mt Bartle Frere

Since the sun is below the horizon, there is no direct path for the light to reach the mountain. Instead, light reflects off airborne water, particles low in the atmosphere. These conditions differentiate between a normal sunrise or sunset and alpenglow.

Thornton Peak - a Place to Meditate

Throughout history, mountain tops have impressed humans. Some see them as a challenge to conquer while others find a deep spiritual connection. Some cultures believe it's where the spirits of their ancestors live, while others believe it's where their gods reside or a portal to their gods. Others use them to meditate and focus their thoughts through mindfulness.

North Peak Mount Bartle Frere

Mountain tops in the Wet Tropics are precious, deeply sacred places that should be respected. From an ecological point of view, they are 'Islands in the Sky' containing plants and animals found nowhere else on earth. Each mountain top has its own particular climatic condition, harbouring its own unique assemblage of dung beetles, freshwater crayfish, frogs, lizards and plants found on no other mountain top in the Wet Tropics, let alone in the world.

Sunset The Pinnacle

Alpenglow (from German: Alpenglühen) is an optical phenomenon in which a horizontal red glowing band is observed on the horizon opposite the sun. This effect occurs when the Sun is just below the horizon. Alpenglow is easiest to observe when mountains are illuminated but can also be observed when the sky is illuminated through backscattering.

Summit Detail Thorton's Peak

Climate change has the potential to change the delicately balanced mountain climate, putting at risk all the attendant reliant species.

Mt Pieter Botte-Pieter Botte Lookout

Mount Pieter Botte or Ngalba-bulal to the Kuku-Yalangi people, lies hidden due west of Cape Tribulation. A landmark from the sea, Mount Pieter Botte can only be glimpsed from the land in just a few locations and only from a distance. This is an ancient landscape that has been unaffected by volcanism, sea level rise and climate change for over 100 million years and therefore contains plants unique to its slopes.

The "Shark Fin" Bartle Frere Summit

Clouds swirl over the upland valleys of Mount Bartle Frere; the bushwalker lends scale to the hidden landscape.

The Last Glow Mt Bartle Frere

Although the term may be loosely applied to any sunrise or sunset, light seen on the mountains, true alpenglow, is not direct sunlight and is only observed after sunset or before sunrise.

Trinity Bay From Thornton Peak

Snapper Island to Cape Grafton.

Thornton Peak Granite Boulders

The Pinnacle Summit

The Pinnacle dominates the landscape of Whyanbeel Valley, a huge granite tor that offers fabulous views across Trinity Bay for the adventurous bushwalker.

Summit Mt Bartle Frere

The summit of Mount Bartle Frere usually offers unimpeded views of the Atherton tablelands. On a winter's afternoon, cloud blankets the entire Tableland, leaving the bushwalker on the roof of the world.

Quandong (Elaeocarpus linsmithii)

Some rainforest species are restricted to mountain tops only. Elaeocarpus linsmithii is found only in the Mount Lewis-Mount Spurgeon area as well as the Summit of Mount Bartle Frere, at an altitude of between 1000m - 1500m. How this plants have distributed themselves across the landscape is speculation only.

Mt Mulligan at Dawn

Just outside of the Wet Tropics lies Mt Mulligan or Ngarrabullgan to the indigenous custodians. This sandstone

Boulders in the Mist Thornton Peak

In the absence of mountains, the aerosols in the eastern portion of the sky can be illuminated in the same way at sunset by the remaining red scattered light straddling the border of the Earth's own shadow (the terminator). This back-scattered light produces a red band opposite the Sun.

Black Mountain Summit

Black Mountain (Cooktown) is an enigmatic, magical and deeply spiritual place. Weathering of granite has produced an appearance similar to castle ruins. Both the first and modern day Australian people have revered this mountain; it demands to be treated with respect. .

River of Clouds Mt Bartle Frere