03.02.10
Leeches? no one said anything about the leeches!
A fun yet wet day at Tamborine National Park
So it seems that all this rain has started to add up, in many areas around Brisbane they are hitting century highs. Some areas are flooding and as we were on our way to Mt. Tamborine (a slight change of plan from Springbrook NP, our original destination, – no glow worms boo hoo) we got to see this first hand. On our way up the mountain we came up to a flooded road that looked way too strong and high for us to pass (pic above). We do a 10 point turn about (we were in a bus) take an alternate route and hear even more reports of more roads flooding (from the way we came up) so another alternate route on the way home as well.
Our guide Nev, from Bushwhacker EcoTours, jokingly tells us about leeches, snakes, and deadly spiders (among other things). We know those things are out and about but weren’t really thinking we’d be dealing with any of them. We made a total of 4 stops throughout the day and on our first one Nev mentions as we get going that we should be watching the person in front of us for leeches. We realize now that maybe he isn’t joking about that part. He wasn’t. Yes that is a leech above, a little one thankfully.
We had our first leech sighting not long after while hiking through the rain forest. Not long after that I had my first one, then Jess. We all became a bit paranoid, so while watching our step, trying to look up past our umbrellas to see the awesome view of trees, ferns and streams, we all would also be checking our legs, ankles, toes for anything moving. I had a bit of a laugh as there was a family along for the tour and there were 2 teenage girls (one in white flats, the other in ankle boots – not the hiking type) and dressed for a day at the mall not exactly a day in the rain forest. The girls, tho not overly excited about being out with the family on vacation, dealt with the leeches better than i had expected with no major freakouts (that i saw). Also on the trip was a young bloke (we were guessing maybe 20ish from england) that did not deal with the leeches well at all, he seemed all cool and hip until the first mention of a leech. He then almost jumped on top of the bus seat, but later got back his man card for a moment when he smooshed one with his flip flop. (Oh, did i mention he squealed like a girl at any mention while on the hikes and immediately did a self check) – ok we all did self checks but seriously it was awesome comparing the two groups.
We hiked to some beautiful waterfalls (Curtis Falls shown first below, then Cameron Falls, then a huge worm) and just enjoyed the misty view of the rain forest. I’m not sure if we were offiically in the cloud forest or not but it surely seemed like it when at a few times we could barely see 25′ in front you, which made driving even more fun.
Our last stop of the day was to the “SkyWalk” – a canopy walk with a cantilever lookout. Again fun views of the forest from a slightly higher perspective. (but we weren’t entirely sure it was worth the pricetag – course it was included in the tour so we didn’t think twice about it)
Overall a good day in the beautiful rain forest. We were a little bummed about not being able to go to Springbrook, but we’ll be off to Moreton Island tomorrow and we’re crossing our fingers that the record setting rain starts to abate!
To finish the night off right we decided to go for a walk and find some yummy dinner. A couple of our guidebooks had suggested a steakhouse not too far away so we decided to give it a try and see if we’d be let in (flip flops are our fanciest shoes these days). Lucky for us Cha Cha Char in an informal steak house and we were let in. Located right on the brisbane river, it has a wonderful view of the Story Bridge, and has even better food and drink. I have a new favorite cider – 3 oaks. Of course made in South Australia and probably not available at home, but boy was it yummy! We started our dinners with cornmeal rolls with a nut sauce and a gravy that was in a little cow jug. (we realized later we paid for each roll) Jess’s T-Bone and my Eye Fillet were superb (yes i ate beef!!) and the double cream mash dish came looking like 2 skinned potates. Although pricey, this was one of our best meals down under and we both decided… every now and then it’s worth it for some good cow. We finished the night with a quick stroll through part of the botanic gardens to get a glimpse of the cliffs across the river. Not wanting to push our luck any further, we made our way home thru the busy city streets.
