Springbrook National Park

In Gold Coast, we have already explored many beautiful places, as you could see in previous posts. But after our hike today, I have to say that Australia has stepped it up a notch, because Springbrook National Park is truly one of the most beautiful parks we have seen so far.

Our alarm went off at 5:00 AM this morning, and for those who know us, that is not exactly our preferred time. For a moment, the thought of turning over and going back to sleep crossed our minds, but our curiosity to see a real rainforest prevailed. Tired and groggy, we headed towards the airport. We had reserved a small rental car there. An hour later, after a bus and train ride, we arrived and plunged into driving on the left side of the road. Yes, the left-hand traffic and the narrow winding roads didn't appeal to one person as much, but it provided a lot of fun for the other person... Let's leave it at that.

After a good hour and a short rest, we arrived at our first destination. Springbrook National Park has many attractions, and one of them is the Natural Bridge, with a small walk of about one kilometer. This little bridge is made of a rock that was shaped like a bridge after thousands of years of water flow, where a waterfall plunges in the middle. It was truly beautiful (check out the amazing pictures). With the sound of the waterfall and birds singing all around us, we could have probably spent the whole day in this one spot. But we had more planned...

Our main goal was to hike the Warrie Circuits, a hiking trail of about 17 km with several stunning viewpoints, according to the internet. Of course, we wanted to see it for ourselves, so we drove there in our small car. We were able to park at one of the many rest areas, which are all very well developed. Usually, there are sanitary facilities and BBQ grills to be found, which are also available in Surfers Paradise and along the coast (we plan to try them out in the remaining days we have here). So we parked the car quickly and off we went.

Right at the beginning, we encountered one of the absolute highlights of our day: the Twin Falls. Since it hasn't rained heavily here for some time, the falls weren't as strong, but still incredibly beautiful. There is a small loop trail where you can walk behind the waterfall and then cool your feet in the clear water below. We had an incredible view of the waterfall and some rainbows. Definitely a beautiful place!

After the Twin Falls, we encountered waterfall after waterfall, each providing a beautiful view. We climbed on rocks, walked behind waterfalls, saw kangaroos (okay, very small ones, but they were hopping!), admired birds, and took many photos. It's best to just look at the many photos, because they speak more than a thousand of our words ever could.

For about three hours, we steadily descended until we reached a point where two water streams meet (Meeting of the Waters). From there, it was about 8 km uphill. In total, it took us about 5.5 hours for the route (but we also made lots of photo stops and simply enjoyed the view for a few minutes ;)) and then we drove back to our Airbnb.

Now, we're really exhausted and looking forward to bed. Tomorrow morning, we're even leaving much earlier because we're going to: SYDNEY!!