Day 14... Springbrook National Park...
I had a super duper awesome day! I had no idea that just an hour or so out north of Brisbane that this incredible natural spectacle existed!!
The drive up the range made me nervous... I guess my imagination is just too vivid... I kept imagining myself losing control and falling off the edge... over and over... eek!! I was surprised by how high I was going and was enchanted by the glimpses of the view through the trees that hugged the road. I really had no idea about what to expect when I reached the top... I assumed that it would be just wilderness and green... and it was but heaps of people live up there... who knew?
My first stop was at a lookout/walking track called 'Purling Brook Falls'... I didn't do the whole circuit... just the short walk out to the lookout... Wow!! It was so beautiful! Where I stopped over looked a huge waterfall... I would have stayed longer here... and taken more in.... except that I wasn't alone at the lookout. There was one other person there... a man in a motorcycle onesie... harmless I'm sure. The problem is that I have watched far too many documentaries about serial killers and every time I turned to take a photo... I was sure he was about to come up behind me and push me over the fence... Ha! I am crazy! So of course when he asked if I was traveling... I immediately thought... "Oh, you want to know if I am traveling... alone Huh? Am I going to missed? Oh, I am on to you buster!!!"..... Like I said I am totally crazy... to the point that I even considered lying and saying that I was on a day trip with my husband... haha! So I didn't stick around too long...
My next stop was a picnic area called 'Goomoolahra Lookout Falls'... I was the only person there... and it was so pretty! There were picnic tables scattered through the greenery and a lovely bubbling brook flowed through next to the tables... I followed the path down and came to the lookout where the brook turned into huge waterfall!! The view over the canyon was incredible... everything was so green and lush. I drank it all in and then walked back up to my car and continued on my way. The next lookout was called 'Canyon Lookout' and the view was beautiful! I could see so many sneaky waterfalls peeking out of the sides of the canyon... and I could see buildings of the Gold Coast in the distance. AMAZING! As I drove to my next destination I saw so many pretty things... wallabies, thousands of flowers, mist and a beautiful timber door on an old shed. The colours on the door were so gorgeous and rustic... :) it made me happy!
The final place that I went before heading home was called 'Best of all lookout'... and in my opinion... it certainly was! The feel of this part of Springbrook was so different to all the others... the air was cooler and as I entered the rainforest track it was misty and wet. Everything was covered in tiny droplets of water and they sparkled like diamonds in the fleeting sunlight. Moss grew on everything and and there were splashes of colour amongst the green with the scattering of red berries. It truely was like an enchanted forest and I half expected to spy a fairy hiding behind one of the many fungi s... The view at the end of the walk was thrilling! I was so overwhelmed by the dazzling artistry of the mountains, clouds, mist and rock that I had to keep averting my eyes because I felt over stimulated! Ha! I took some time to breath deeply and really appreciate what I was seeing before I walked back to my car and went home...
It was a great day!
21,150kms on the dash... 4,205kms down
xo
