A visit to Tamborine Mountain

A number of years ago as a family we had holidayed at the Gold Coast and during that time we overlapped our visit with that of friends who lived in Auckland (Gillian and Nick for those who know them) and we had enjoyed a great holiday together.  As there were six of us (Peter and I and our two children Roanne and Cam plus Gillian and Nick) we had decided the best way to decide what we would do each day was for each of us to choose one activity per day and the whole group would attend.  This worked really well for us all and we had some great experiences that suited everyone.  One of those visits was to the Skywalk at Tamborine Mountain.

We had not visited the Tamborine Mountain area since that time but with nearly seven weeks in Brisbane Peter and I had decided a repeat visit would be ideal.  However, the weeks had slipped by and now he was in New Zealand for a little over a week so Sharryn and I took the opportunity for that visit.

I have to say that the actual elevated bridge was shorter than I had remembered.  After coffee in the cafe we entered the bridge from the gallery where it enters directly into the upper and middle canopies of the lush rainforest.

From the walkway we had a great perspective of the height of the trees with their long trunks descending deep down to the forest floor.  The giant strangler fig trees are just amazing.  The signage provides information about these trees.

Once at the end of the elevated bridge the track descends through the lower canopy to the forest floor and the stream running through.  There were a group of young guys taking no notice of signage and had wandered further up the stream rock hopping there way.  They were enjoying themselves but for everyone else they were just a nuisance getting in the way of photos.

We saw a lovely display of rainforest orchids which were flowering.  Although we could hear the birds we didn't see any nor any other wildlife.

There is a free-standing cantilever which soars 30 metres above Cedar Creek which has beautiful views of the valley and the rainforest - however for us it was quite hard to actually see anything as the group of young guys had finished their rock climbing and were taking the vantage point on the cantilever.  They appeared to not understand normal courtesy of moving so others could also see!  Surprisingly I held my tongue and didn't ask them to move on.

We enjoyed our walk - it is well built with no stairs so accessible for those with very young children and also the disabled.  However the price of $19.50 per adult (and $9.50 for each child) seemed a bit steep for a wander in a rain forest.

From here we moved on down to the Tamborine village and enjoyed lunch in a lovely cafe overlooking the Curtis waterfalls and then further on we took a stroll through the village shops.  We finished off our visit with a brief visit a boutique brewery with cheese manufacturing company - the venue also has a bistro and grill and is a popular venue.

From down the hill a little we could see a distant view of the Gold Coast - just a reminder that the coast is not that far from the hinterland.

Gold Coast view

The next day it was time for Sharryn to return to New Zealand - so after a leisurely day doing what we do best (relaxing in the outdoor lounge area, shopping at Paddington and enjoying cake and coffee) it was time to go to the airport and say good bye.  Until next time - I wonder where we will next holiday together?