We usually don’t sleep in during our travels because what’s the point of visiting other places worldwide if you don’t explore!? It was our first time sleeping in on any trip, meaning our day started at noon, unfortunately. Our agenda was to make an hour drive up to Tamborine Mountain from around Surfer’s Paradise, approximately, and go for a nice scenic hike.

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The hike itself reminded me of home (Hawaii) as it was very tropical and we were surrounded by a lush forest. The temperature of 78-degree Fahrenheit/25-degree Celcius and high humidity also reminded me of home. However, the solid, smooth, rock and unique water flow of the waterfall brought back memories of Slide Rock in USA, Arizona.

There are many waterfalls located throughout Tamborine and all flow year round. On this day, we went to a very popular (touristy) spot, Cedar Creek Falls/Rock Pools. After arriving at the falls itself, we headed lower to some rock pools. We did see people swimming and it looked safe enough but a few things deterred our ambitions to swim and jump off rocks: 1) It was late in the afternoon where people beginning to leave the area 2) Storm clouds started to roll in with thunder 3) Some locals told us they saw snakes in the bottom pool (where we were headed) and I’d say 4) I wasn’t fully prepared to go swimming, just a hike, plus it was a foreign area and no one was swimming around the area we were at so it was a no-go.

The REAL excitement came after we hiked up to Cedar Creek Falls. We decided to check out Curtis Falls. It was pouring rain, thunder roared above us sounding like massive explosions and the lighting dimmed the afternoon sunlight. During this “normal” Gold Coast afternoon rainstorm, we tried waiting it out for about an hour in our vehicle but by that time the sun had really dimmed out so it was a “now or never” decision, easily made. Auspiciously, the trek was about a 5-10 minute walk and although there was still sunlight, the forest was almost entirely pitch black. We used the only source we had, our mobile phone flashlights! It was a mad dash through the rain, thunder, and lightning with unknown creatures scurrying out of our way down to the falls and back but we were able to capture some beautiful photos! The picture above was highly exposed in post production it originally came out quite dark.

The hikes we did this day were very simple and quick. I believe this is a family friendly hike (Just don’t go during an afternoon lightning storm or crossover areas that say ‘do not cross’). It was an amazing experience and the weather just made it so much more exhilarating! What a wonderful place to visit.

More about this beautiful area can be found here.