Tag Archives: Australia

Gold Coast: Natural Bridge at Springbrook National Park

2016-08-13 11.12.16

The Natural Bridge’s name is taken from a rock arch where water from a waterfall along Cave Creek flows through. This was our next stop after Hinze Dam.

GC - Natural Bridge (12)

We passed by a rainforest to reach the arch, and these are just some of my favorite photos from my walk.

We passed by some bridge and creeks too, and signage like this made my walk more interesting.

GC - Natural Bridge (11)

When we reached the arch, I marveled at the unspoiled beauty before me. I spent some time here just listening to the sound of rushing water, relishing the views that I didn’t have to share with a lot of people (I was in Gold Coast in winter).

Natura Bridge - main photo

I just wish I came here at night, or at a season when it’s glowworms season… I bet the whole experience would be magical. I saw glowworms in Chicago’s Field Museum once, and it was amazing. How much more if I observe them in such a natural setting?

GC - Natural Bridge (7)

Nevertheless, I loved my views, especially when I went inside the cave and was greeted with these views.

Natural Bridge - panoramic

GC - Natural Bridge (8) GC - Natural Bridge (3)

While working on this post, I found out that there are a number of falls at Springbrook Park, and I got to see this before we left.

For more information about the National Bridge, click HERE.

Gold Coast: Advancetown Lake

Gold Coast: Hinze Dam

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While this vast embankment and ungated spillway across Nerang River’s primary function is to provide water security and flood mitigation to Gold Coast, it has also become a popular destination for locals and tourists alike because of its stunning views as you can see from the above photo.

This Open Space was my first view of it as seen from the coffee shop that’s above the parklands and the lake.

While my friend waited for our breakfast, I headed to where the walking trails were and was utterly charmed by these views.

So pretty. And the weather’s perfect for walking. (I was in Gold Coast during winter, so it was still cold despite the sunny weather.)

I lingered here for sometime to read a couple of signage that tell the history of the place, and found out that the dam was named in honor of the Hinze family who lived in the valley that got flooded by the dam.

Don’t get confused by the Little Nerang Dam in the above signage as this forms part of Hinze Dam.

When I felt my tummy grumble, I headed back to the café to eat. I’ll share more details about my dining experience at View Café in a future post. In the meantime, here’s a teaser photo of my latte.

After my filling breakfast, I headed to where the dam itself was. On my way there, I got sidetracked by the information center, which was still closed when we arrived. I spent some time here too learning about Hinze Dam’s design and operations.

While the views by the circuitous pathways were lovely, the views along the top of the dam wall were just as pretty.

The views were so picturesque I felt it’s worth a selfie shot. Te he.

I was so in love with the views I have dozens of photos from this spot. Here are some of my favorite pictures.

Blue happened to be my favorite color, and it was just so relaxing to watch the tranquil vivid-blue waters against the paler blue sky and the cottony white clouds and lush mountains.

From the same spot, I could also see the village and parts of the dam.

I’ll end this post with a panoramic shot of the dam taken while I was on the bridge.

It’s definitely one of the prettiest sights I enjoyed in Gold Coast and among my many travels, so if you do find yourself in GC, make sure to include Hinze Dam in your itinerary.

Sunset at Neddy Harper Park

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I could tell from the way the sun shone above Nerang River at Neddy Harper Park that the park would be a perfect spot for sunset watching. And so after spending half my afternoon at Cascades Gardens, I headed back to Neddy Harper Park to catch the sunset.

I love sunsets (and sunrises too) so wherever I travel, I make it a point to include sunset-watching in my itinerary. And as always, I wasn’t disappointed.

Just look at how this perfectly rounded sun looked like a full moon.

As the sun descended, people at the once busy park stopped what they were doing to admire the sunset, like this guy who stopped skateboarding to enjoy the views.

I sat behind him, all the while envious of his prime spot. A lady stopped jogging and asked if it was all right to stand on the bench I was sitting on so she could get a better view. I said yes, sharing that I did the same thing a while back. We both laughed.

Surprisingly, skateboard guy left and because I was nearest him – and faster in moving, so I’d like to think, te he! – got his prime spot!

Don’t you just love the view? Too bad we couldn’t get to the dock as it’s roped off. I bet the views there were better…

Behind me, the lady took a call and apologized that she would be late because she got sidetracked by the stunning sunset. I couldn’t blame her. I myself was supposed to head back home too, but the views were too pretty to miss.

Here are some zoomed-in shots of the setting sun.

The above was one of my favorites as I loved how the trees provided a nice backdrop against the fiery sky.

As usual, I’m ending this post with my most favorite photo from this set.

As Beau Taplin wrote, “Sunsets are proof that endings can often be beautiful too.”

Rosy Trumpet Tree

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As mentioned in this post, these lovely trees were what attracted me to Cascades Gardens.

Rosy Trumpet Tree is also called Tabebuia rosea or pink poui. I already wrote about a different genus of Tabebuia here, though I only realized this when I saw the flowers up close. Our Tabebuia here in the Philippines isn’t as tall, though.

A trivia: This is a national tree of El Salvador.