Natural Bridge, Springbrook National Park

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With travel opening up in Queensland, there is no better time to go hiking in our national parks. If you're feeling like starting out small, then there is one trail in Springfield National Park that offers the most bang for your buck.

Just short of the New South Wales border, you take Exit 69 (Nerang) off the Pacific Motorway and follow the Nerang-Murwillumbah Road for 38 kilometres to the Natural Bridge.



A fully paved trail awaits with some steps, but as the Queensland Parks and Forests website advises us, suitable for all fitness levels. So, if isolation has limited your exercise activities and supercharged your TV viewing this one-hour circuit will be the perfect way to ease back into it.



There is plenty of beautiful wildlife to observe as you make your way through the rainforest including paradise riflebirds, green catbirds and wompoo fruit-doves.

On the day we went a little light rainfall had birds out and about, oblivious as we drew near them. We saw a beautiful green catbird up close before it flew on.

Ancient hoop pines are also part of the ecosystem and date back to the Jurassic era. There were a few people around, but everybody was happy to observe social distancing.



The highlight is the cave itself which the waterfall descends to from the creek above. If you do not want to do the full circuit, you can even go counter-clockwise and get to the Natural Bridge quicker. It truly is spectacular and even more so if there has been some rain recently.



In the cave there are mini-bats to see, and at night you can join a guided tour to observe glow worms. In summer there are also fireflies and glowing fungi present.

In the carpark there was also an ice-cream vendor selling yummy treats for children and the big kid in all of us. As restrictions lower, now is the time to get back out and enjoy what our great outdoors has to offer.



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#near_brisbane
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