Springbrook National Park

We spent our Sunday at Springbrook National Park. After spending a few too many days just sitting and hanging out (understandable given that Matt hasn't seen his friends in over a year) I was ready to do some moving and seeing. I was amazed that a mere 40 minutes from the city this beautiful place exists. I immediately wanted to move here, though I'm not sure Matt would be keen to drive the curvy roads to and from work each day. There is a little mini village in in this park and several beautiful hikes and views as well. At the entrance there was a nice little lady in an info booth who gave us some information and a map for the park for a small donation of 2 dollars(which goes to support the park. Well worth it. She informed us which tracks were closed and how much we'd be able to do for the day, in the time we had.

We began by driving to The Best of All lookout, and while the lookout was amazing what really took my breath away was the 15 minute hike from our parking spot there. I took many breaths of fresh air as I walked past some of the oldest beech trees in the world. The rocks were covered in moss and lichen and fern bolted up everywhere creating a massive sea of green no matter which way you looked.

The next stop was Goomoolahra picnicking spot. Here a little tiny creek flows into a bigger beautiful waterfall. I was amazed that little trickles could turn into something so large. Matt and I enjoyed our packed lunch, and were then prepared to hike it off.

We ended up doing the Twin Falls hike as several of the other hikes were closed due to bridge construction and heavy rain storms on New Years day. I'm so glad we ended up on this path. It was a grade 3 hike, and I was a bit concerned about the fact that I didn't have my hiking boots with me, but the trail was well maintained and other than slipping from the wetness in a few places I didn't have any issues. While on this path you cross through 9 different forest types, and while I didn't think there would be much of a different there was. It go from feeling cold and damp to being warm, sunny and dry in mere steps, and you could definitely see the different types of vegetation along the trails.

There were many spots to view waterfalls and reaching the bottom of one you are able to swim in the pool formed. I don't recommend this for the faint hearted as the water is numbingly cold. There is also and option to walk behind the waterfall, which was breathtaking. We began our assent first down (not sure why the path goes further down) and then up.

There were plenty of cute little cafes around, though many of them were closed either due to the holidays or it being a Sunday. Eventually we found and open one and treated ourselves to milkshakes. We did stop to look at the Purling Brook waterfall and could spot the construction on the suspension bridge, but by this point we were ready to go.

I had been told not to miss the Natural Bridge, and while it was quite a drive in the opposite direction I am so glad we didn't miss out on this. Here the water has flown so hard that it created a hole in the middle of the rock. It was a beautiful sight to see.

If you are looking for some easy and enjoyable hiking in the Gold Coast area this is the spot to go. There are so many different options and experiences available, and these hikes are good ones to get non nature lovers out and loving it.

Chasing dragons: Komodo and Rinca Island

We arrived at Labuan Bajo, Flores a little late, but luckily already had our tour arranged. It cost us 170 USD for the tour which included but he following:

Pick up from the smallest airport in the world. They pass our bags to us through a window.
A boat ride out at sunset with a delicious lunch,snack, and dinner. We were also able to see jumping dolphins and flying fish.

A late night swim and evening looking at stars on the boat.
A night on the boat. This wasn't the most comfortable simply because of the fact that there was no air circulation in the cabin. Our friends had a mouse in their room and ended up sleeping in the open air dining area. 

A early morning breakfast followed by a 5km trek of komodo island. It took about 1.5 hours and we were able to see komodos, green pigeons, yellow cockatoos, native deer, civet cat, and spectacular views of the island. Our ranger also picked us fresh custard apples as a snack.
We returned to the boat for avocado smoothies and snorkeling off of pink beach where we could see trigger, parrot, and banner fish.

watch out! hunting komodo ahead!

check those muscles

Then we ate lunch while being transferred to Rinca island for another 5km trek. Here we saw water buffalo, wild pigs, smaller komodos, and the trip ended with spotting a baby komodo dragon. This trek had excellent views.

sticks used for poking dragons nose if they begin to attack.
They can't see well, so they use their nose to hunt.

The gang at the top of the hill on Rinca

baby komodo!!!

From here we traveled back to Labuan Bajo to stay at the hilltop hotel.

Cool facts
Komodos lay about 30 eggs, but depending on the temperature only about 3 survive.
The temperature also determines the sex. Warm weather means more males.
The mother wants to eat her own babies. Therefore komodos live in trees until they are about 3.
They start out the size of a large gecko and grow to about 2-3 meters depending on sex and age.
They can swim 50-100 meters in the water.
They hunt their prey, bite them and let their poison slowly work to make the prey easier to catch about 3 days later.

I'd say the dragons were cool, but for sure the best part was the view of the stars from the boat. There were so many, and it was so bright.