After being rudely woken up by a plane, today we took a drive into the Hinterland behind the Gold Coast. The caravan park is close to the Gold Coast Airport and depending on the wind direction, sometimes the planes sound like they're going to land on the van!

A couple of weeks ago it seemed we may not be able to venture to the Hinterland because bushfires were ravaging the area, particularly a little further South in the Lamington National Park where the historic Binna Burra mountain lodge was destroyed.

Mount Tamborine was our first port of call and in particular the Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk. The 1.5km walk through the rainforest is a combination of floor trails, 300m of elevated steel walkways and a 40m cantilevered walkway to viewing platform 30m above the forest floor. 

 

While it was a good experience, we didn't think it was as good as our experience of other skywalks we've done, particularly the one in WA's Valley of the Giants. One interesting thing we did see on the walk was a plaque commemorating the fact that the ashes of Sir Jack Brabham had been scattered here at his request because he had been a frequent visitor to the Skywalk.

Next we headed to the Beacon Lookout in North Tamborine, on the border of The Knoll National Park. Unfortunately the views were not as good as we'd hoped because there was still smoke in the air limiting views to the horizon, but one could imagine how good they'd be on a clear day

But we stopped off at the Tamborine Mountain Bakery for some lunch and both the corned beef with salad sandwich and cream donut were delicious.

After lunch we walked up and down the "Gallery Walk" which boasts "over 60 art, craft, gift and nick-knack shops". Clocks ranged up to $20,000 in the German Cuckoo Clock Nest, but we settled for a couple of chocolates at $2.50 each from Chocolates on Gallery Walk.

Another item of interest on sale at one of the galleries was Ivan Lovatt's  "You're Terrible Muriel" sculpture which won the People’s Choice Award at SWELL in 2018. Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Ivan spent his childhood in Africa, England, Wales and Germany, emigrating to Australia in 1994.  He now lives in the Gold Coast Hinterland and now commonly uses galvanized chicken wire to create his works.

From Mount Tamborine we drove to Canungra. This scenic, twisting road descended steeply from the mountain and became so narrow at one point as to require lights to allow flow of  traffic in one direction only. Just before commencing the descent we stopped at a roadside clearing and with the steep dropoff, it was obvious why it had been selected as a hang glider launch site. We had a nice cup of tea at The Outpost Cafe in Canungra and then a walk up and down the strip of shops. Of interest were quire a few Rainbow lorikeets enjoying themselves on an elaborate bird feeder made from a wagon wheel. 

Also outside the Tourist Information Centre was a bullock wagon. The wagon was built by George Sirett, a second generation bullocky and represented Canungra's early timber milling history .

It had been a long day out and our dinner of basil & pine nuts tortellini with a Napoli sauce accompanied with garlic bread hit the spot. Some fresh fruit and a cup of tea with a donut completed the meal.