The Yellow Brick Road

Well, after a couple of days of random nothingness we finally got to have a beautiful adventure here! Today we went to the rock pools in Tambourine, Nerang. I can not even begin to describe the beauty and magnificence of this place. It's a trek into the Australian rain forest, but we somehow made our way to where we needed to be. We first walked down a long path with huge rain forest trees on either side of us. There were signs saying to be careful because there might be koalas around but unfortunatly, we didnt see any.

Then it opened up and we could see a beautiful river flowing over these huge rock faces. There was a waterfall and a pool for swimming that was riddled with people. There was a part of this first pool that had been smoothed out over time and all of the kids were sliding down it into the pool. It was so cool. Brittney and Tiffany couldn't help themselves and they had a go together down the slide while all the little kids watched. It was really funny to see all the kids so confused at why adults would be sliding down THEIR slide.

After they got their kiddie-ness out we went down past the next waterfall to another pool. This was no easy feat, mind you. We were literally rock climbing to get down to the water. I'll tell you what, rock climbing in sandals is not the best. Once we made it down without dying, we enjoyed a sun bathe and a dip in the open water. The waterfall flattened out into little shelves at the bottom near the pool and we were sitting in the water like a shower. It was the most beautiful and relaxing feeling I have ever felt. The sound of the water and the sensation of being drenched in cool running water on a 90 degree day in the middle of the rain forest was magnificent. Once we had our fill (which was a LONG time after) we took another dip and then headed up the hill to leave.

Getting up the hill was a LOT harder than getting down. I mean, it took us a LONG time to trek up those rock faces. I thought a few times I was going to lose my balance, but I managed to get up in one piece. We made it to the cars and decided to stop at a little cafe on the way out for lunch since none of us had eaten anything all day. The food was good, but they messed up EVERYONE'S order. There was even a girl who paid and then didn't get food. Despite that though, we had a great time sitting around and talking about what we had planned for the near future and what we had been doing so far. I think we are going to drive up the coast over spring brek for some sight seeing and beach time. I need to get a surf board before then so I can just go everywhere. I guess we'll see how that pans out.

When we left the cafe we decided to take the scenic route home. We drove through some wine country and up onto a hill the you can see the entire Gold Coast from. It was brilliant. The whole city where we live was stretched out before us. The view looked more like a picture than the actual pictures. It was really stunning.

Now I am exhausted. We came back and went for a dip in the pool real quick to rinse off and cool down from the drive home and all our hiking. I didn't realize it, but the pool here is a saltwater pool. It's really nice. I seriously sweat my eye balls out today, so it was a good thing the pool was already salt water.

In the morning I start school and I am not sure what to expect. I am really excited to meet more people in class that have similar interests and are from other countries. There are a ton of American people here. It's starting to feel a little like Chico, but not in a good way.

Tomorrow I delve deeper into the forest, further along this yellow brick road into the dark...