We Begin Our Scouting for Great Hikes!

Most people know that hiking is something we Allens really love to do.  We love finding great hikes with something amazing at the finish line.  This past weekend we headed to Natural Bridge and Mt. Tambourine to see if they lived up to the local hype.  These were some really fun trails.  They were more like walks than hikes, and really quick but we loved them because they were FULL of landscape and wildlife we had never seen.  It was a blast.  Natural Bridge is a waterfall that has rolled over this huge rock cave entrance for so long that it has finally worn a hole through the rock and falls through leaving the rock forming a "natural bridge" over the entrance.  We walked down into the cave and saw the falls through the rock, it was gorgeous.  The walk in was so interesting too.  Hiking in the "mountains" here is actually hiking in rain forest so you can imagine the scenery.  It felt like we were in a movie...Fern Gully or some other fairy/rain forest setting.  It was gorgeous.   There were huge trees with hollow centers; it almost looked like several trees had grown together to form the trunk and made one big canopy of branches and leaves up top.  We climbed right into the trunks and looked up.  Sure enough, you could see all the way to the blue sky--hollow.  Pretty cool.  I know the pix won't do it justice but we sure had a blast.  Mt. Tambourine was beautiful too.  The climb up in the car was so steep they don't allow buses or motorhomes up the hill.  Once you get to the top, it's this quaint little village full of boutiques gracing silk scarves, soy candles and several shops claiming boldly to carry "award winning icecream, chocolate and fudge".  In a nutshell...my kinda village!  It was adorable.  We ate at a dutch restaurant--fish and chips, enormous hamburgers (called the fair-dinkum burger--fair dinkum means "really".  The hamburger was fully loaded with all the usual toppings and then Aussie style with a big slice of beet root, bacon (ham slice) and a fried egg--sunny side up) This was a huge burger.  Don't worry the shop didn't go into the red by serving food that large...we had to sell Sydney and Oaklee into the kitchens to settle the bill-- but boy was that lunch worth it! :) No but seriously, we're trying to just get used to the costs.  Look at the menu and be prepared to pay a bunch, but the nice thing is-- no tipping here in Aussie.  No one gets tipped ever.  It's pretty great actually.  Oh and water is free unless you order it bubbly (carbonated) or bottled.  Also, can someone please inform the Aussies about how wonderful ice is?  Seriously just pitchers of water out on the tables in the sun (outdoor dining) and that seems really norm.  Parker loves it because his teeth are so sensitive and he can just relax and quench his thirst.  Anyway, it was a great weekend.  We went with a little family from our ward.  They are in the Air Force here (from the states).  They actually ship out in April so they'll leave before we do.  They've been here for 2 years though, so they are a good resource,  and really fun too.  Their 4 year old son is teaching Oaklee to speak in an Aussie accent.  She told me the other day, "Mom do you know who Jokuh is?"  I said, "No I don't think so, Oaks.  Who is Jokuh?"  "Oh he is the bad guy that wears too much lipstick and tries to fight Batman.  But don't worry Batman always wins.  Eric told me about him.  When we play super hero, Eric is usually Batman and I'm either Bat Girl or Super Girl.  I change back and forth because sometimes I need different super powers."  "Too much lipstick and fights Batman huh?"  In my mind I realized her Jokuh was the Australian accented version of Joker.  I told her, "Oh yah, now I remember him.  He's always laughing and getting beat up by Batman but I'm pretty sure he's way too scared of Bat Girl to laugh or even attempt a small chuckle."

At Mt. Tambourine we hiked in the Curtis Falls Rainforest.  It was amazing.  Flying squirrels were above us in the trees.  They look like big bats but with bigger bodies.  And my kids actually swung on some vines/twisty limbs.  It was awesome.  Some crazy vegetation.  And beautiful colors, I tried to get some pix of the trees and the vines and *sigh* I know it doesn't do it justice!

One last note, and this was very exciting.  We saw and petted our first live koala in Brisbane!  So stinkin cute!  We went to The Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary for the grand opening of their children's garden.  We got free Aussie hotdogs...long Brat-like sausages wrapped in a slice of bread with ketchup.  The children's garden was ok, but then they brought out the koalas and that was a huge highlight.  We bought a year round pass so we can go see them and feed the kangaroos a few more times before we leave this rainforesty place!