26/11/16 Natural Bridge

 After a good night's sleep , we got up about 8am - we are in a nice quiet spot here at Murwillumbah . Some washing done and a few little jobs , we headed off to Queensland - it's only 27 klms from here - and over the scenic rim to Natural Bridge . The road is popular for day trippers and motorbikes , pity the road isn't really wide , or smooth . It follows the Rous River for a good part of the drive from Murwillumbah - I'm sure the road winds around more than the river !! After driving up & down hills , we started to climb to the top of the range and the Queensland border - we stopped and took this photo of the valleys looking back to the southeast .

  Passing over the top , we dropped into the Numinbah Valley , equally as impressive !

  We only had 4 klms to go to get to Natural Bridge , we arrived shortly after crossing the border .
It's located in a valley not far from the main road , in dense rainforest , trees towering above trying to get to the sunshine . There are lots of Hoop Pine here .

  Heading off down the track and steps , we wandered through the rainforest , birds chirping , scrub turkeys scratching around in the leaf mulch on the valley floor , not worried about us walking past them . Only a short stroll beside the creek and we were there , water was flowing reasonably well
meaning the falls would be good to look at . You walk up some steps to a viewing platform to give you your first glimpse of the bridge and waterfall .

  The arch above the plunge pool is a cave and a home for bent wing bats , and some glow worms - not that we could see any though .
  Up some steps , then down into the cave , we had it to ourselves for a few minutes before a continuous stream of people kept arriving . Then the rain started , so we stayed a bit longer in the shelter of the cave . The cave reminded us of the Undarra lava tubes in Far North Queensland , only a much smaller version .

 Up the steps again and up the track that takes you to the top of the waterfall where it drops into the cave .

 Then around and across the creek to the other viewing point , oh , and here we are .

 Back up the bitumen track to the ute , and around to a picnic area where we had some lunch before heading back .
 On the way over we passed through the village of Chillingham , where we saw a strange tree . It had 2 trunks coming out of a central stump - thing strange about that - except that one was green leaves , the other was red flowers !!

 Beside this tree was another with white puffball type flowers on it .

 Back to town to get a few things at the supermarket and back to the van for a nice cold beer - nice to be out & about again !!
 Here's a map link :-https://drive.google.com/open?id=1xPZl0pS4ekLebMiA8NTLlF-U4uw&usp=sharing