Australia is synonymous with beautiful beaches, but there’s another natural wonder that is rarely talked about: their rainforests.
Australia is home to the most extensive area of subtropical rainforests in the world. Collectively, the 50 parks that make up the Godwana rainforest of Australia are a World Heritage site; that’s only in one state! The Godwana Rainforest is one of the most ancient on Earth, and still contains plants and animals from which life on earth evolved.
We drove through the winding, tree-lined roads deep into the rainforest. We parked and set off down a hiking trail and almost immediately came to a beautiful waterfall dropping high off of a cliff. From there we passed through many different types of huge trees, surrounded by twisting vines, with high roots and big leaves. Little geckos scamper across your path, while every once in a while you see a large, black, oily, dinosaur-like lizard slowly moving across the jungle floor.
Down we went, further into the canyon searching for an elusive natural swimming pool. Sounds of parrots, kookaburras, doves, and who-knows-what all echo through the canopy. The air is dense and fragrant with the smells of life and decay. The narrow path edges you down the canyon, your eyes always peeled for movement; pythons and boa constrictors also live here.
We arrived to the pools, and immediately dipped into the cool water to wash the sweat from our skin. The creek rippled slowly and flowed around boulders into the pools, creating a small waterfall. The water was cold, but a welcome refresher. Until we saw the pool’s guardian. Mark was doing a jump off the waterfall and Alayna walked to try and take a photo almost stepping on a snake. It started swaying its head and we took that as our cue to get out of the water and begin our long trek up the canyon.
We stopped at a few look-outs to see the beautiful escarpment and could see all the way to the ocean. The next day we went back into the park, from another point and went to a “rad rock slide” that was recommended to us by our surf instructor while he showed us a video of him careening down a waterfall. As we entered the park, there were many signs in bold letters, DO NOT JUMP OR SLIDE INTO WATER FROM ROCKS. DANGER. We took this to heart, initially. We swam in the rock pool and just as we were about to leave, we saw an Aussie girl sliding down the rocks. SPLASH. She got out, laughed, and then her friend went. ‘Hmm, they survived. It can’t be that dangerous…’ We headed back down to the water. By now a few people had gone and all were living to tell the tale. We decided to do it. Mark went first, holding himself partway up the waterfall, he quickly let go and the water took him down smoothly, and flung him off the 5 ft drop at the end into the pool. He scrambled out. It was Alayna’s turn now and with some minor hesitation, she careened down the rocks as well. We both survived, and did it again.
The Australian hinterland is wild for many reasons. Its nature; its wildlife; its people (and their hobbies – all have a small element of danger that makes it more exciting). It contrasts well to the relaxed vibe that emanates from coastal towns and makes it a wonderful place to explore.
Those Millennials 