Like a Rollingstone, Day 93 – Purling Brook Falls

Day 93 Wednesday 10/8/2016, Burleigh Heads, 24

While the Woody and his brother Woody the Elder go off in search of the Russian Deli that we learnt about last night, my sister in law The very good golfer takes me up to Springbrook in the hinterland for a walk.

Only a few metres into the forest we get the view of the Purling Brook falls as they plummet to the valley floor. Far in the distance is the ocean and the highrise buildings of the Gold Coast. Some brave young French folk sit on the very edge of the falls kicking their legs and taking photos.

Happily kicking their legs on the edge of a sheer drop

We take the circuit walk and start the climb to the bottom and after hundreds of steps the sight is worth it. The falls create a rainbow over the pool at the bottom, ferns and palms glisten with spray. It is difficult to get the falls in one photo.

We cross a small bridge and begin the slow zig zagging walk back up to the top. Thankfully there are few steps.

Both down and up it’s a delightful rainforest walk

Well exercised we pop into a little hills cafe and order lunch. “Just park your bums and I’ll bring it over” says the waitress. We wait and wait and wait. When we eventually complain we are told that the pilot light has gone out on the stove, but it’s nearly ready. What the gas or the lunch? At least we were entertained by the cheeky Butcher birds stealing leftovers from diners’ plates. The Butcher birds probably would have been faster workers in the kitchen too.

A few minutes up (or is it down?) the road is the aptly named Best of All lookout. Although we are still in Queensland we look north to the Queensland border and east down the Tweed valley to Byron Bay.