To access the Green Mountains section of the Lamington National Park or "Woonoongoora", located in the Gold Coast Hinterland we took Lamington National Park Road. This is the only road into this section of the park and a road of about 20kms in length, which is narrowly weaved into the mountain side and consists of many sharp turns, blind corners, wallabies, rock falls, head-on vehicles and stunning views. Our aim was to walk the 17 kilometer Toolona Track that traverses Toolona Creek deep in the gorge, but after a few kilometers of scraping leeches off our shoes we reassessed and headed back to find another less leechy track. This experience reminded me of the time we attempted Smiths Track in Tropical North Queensland that resulted in the same outcome. The land leech will lay dormant in dry conditions, burrowing beneath the soil, inactive, waiting for moisture. Once they become wet however they puff up and rise to the surface to begin feeding. Recent storms and persistent rains in the area had made the Toolona Track very wet and moist, ideal conditions for hungry leeches. Morans Falls is a 6 kilometer return track that zig-zags through breathtaking dense rainforest culminating in views of the 80 meter Morans Falls and other various forest communities. Information signage highlights 5 different types of vegetation are to be seen; tall open eucalyptus forest, open woodland, subtropical rainforest, dry rainforest and tall open brush box forest. After our morning admiring nature's beauty we took a drive towards the beach for Heven Yah Gelato. We'd read about this hip gelato joint in a magazine and were keen to give it a crack as the owners, Gold Coast locals had sourced authentic gelato making receipts from Portugal. The gelato did not disappoint. Most definitely the best we had both tasted. We then hit the water, at Mermaid Beach for a white-foam swell session. The conditions were magic, but the view down towards Surfers Paradise errie, as skyscrapers shrouded in sea-mist, dwarfed the coast line, providing us with the gentle reminder that we weren't in Kansas anymore.
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The JourneyChoose Curiosity The Catalogue
November 2023
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