Twin Falls Loop Trail

The main part of the Springbrook Park centres around the Twin Falls loop.

The wet season is probably the better time to be there because the many waterfalls around this escarpment weren't running.

The trail descends through the dry eucalyptus forest and through the two crevices above. Once we exited from the second crevice we were suddenly in the cool rain forest and looking up at the waterfalls & escarpments we had just been walking along.

We reached the pool at the bottom of twin falls, but the Twin Falls was missing a leg. This seemed to be a theme for a few of the other cascades & waterfalls in the area.

The last waterfall we came to is called Blackfeller Falls. I'm not sure that you can call things that anymore because of the whole political correctness thing, but that's what they're called.

Time for a couple of arty shots now.

Eventually we climbed the switchbacks to the top of the plateau. We stopped at the top of Blackfeller falls (below) to look out over the Gold Coast. The haze had the better of us, but we we still able to make out most of it.

We jumped back in the car & headed back to Brisbane. That night we took mum & dad out for dinner at a flash restaurant to thank them for looking after us & lending us mums car that week.
The next day we were on a flight back to Perth.
Next trip, Thailand!

Natural Bridge

This little gem is the payoff for the pleasant walk through the forest past the dragon. I remember being in this cave when I was in primary school (at night to see the glow worms).

The loop takes you back to the top of the bridge. The top side of the little waterfall isn't nearly as phogenic as the cave.

Water Dragon

At the start of the Natural Bridge track, we nearly trod on this guardian of the forest sunning himself.
He's an Eastern Water Dragon (I'm pretty sure). Pretty fierce looking don't you think? Not really. These guys were often hanging around in the back yard when I was a kid. He's a close realative of the more famous frill necked lizards that you'll see in the tourist brocures that hang around in the desert.

Springbrook Rainforest

Tuesday - Springbrook National Park

Breakfast was included with our hotel room so we stocked up our energy reserves with a very nice buffet before packing up our gear and checking out.

We headed South to Muwullimba so that we could take the scenic drive into the ranges. It's some of the most picturesque farmland I've seen. We didn't loose sight of Mt Warning for long until we crossed the border into Queensland. Maybe the Rocky Mountain Foothills near Calgary are a rival but very different. The road was a bit twisty but nice & interesting. The only blight was the local drivers not paying much attention to double lines on blind bends.

We did make it in the end. Our first stop was Natural Bridge. It's in a differnt valley to the main part of the park, but was along the way.
There's a nice shortish loop through the temperate rainforest that takes you down to the bridge.

The rainforest was full of birds including the noisy catbirds that make a sound just like when you pull a cat by the tail. (Or maybe country & western music.....)

Kingscliff

The rest of the afternoon was spent meandering our way north through the many little townships along the way. We arrived at the hotel in Kingscliff about 3.30 & kicked back for a couple of hours before going for a walk along the beach.

The sunset over Mt Warning from out hotel balcony was quite the sight. The smoke from the sugar cane fires turned the sky orange.

We managed to catch up with some of Kerri's relatives at the local Thai restaurant for dinner. They live in one of the near by rural communities.