On a recent P-day we took the opportunity to travel to Springbrook Mountain, a World Heritage Area. Springbrook is a plateau that was formed millions of years ago from a massive volcanic eruption and is now part of the Gondwanna Rainforest. There was a beautiful clear blue sky as we left the Briabane area but by the time we reached Springbrook the sky was cloudy and it looked like we were going to see why it is a rainforest. When we arrived at the national park we carefully planned the places we would visit. Beginning with a drive through the rainforest where we saw wallabys for the first time in the wild, they are fast and stay hidden, too fast for us to get a picture. We saw cookaburos, they might have been sitting in a gum tree. We arrived at an area called the Best of All Lookout. After a gentle fifteen minute walk through the rainforest where he saw beautiful Antarctic Beech trees that are about 2,000 years old we came to the lookout. The view was stunning, we could see Mt Warning and beyond to Byron Bay. The clouds were thickening and you could see the rain approaching from the distance. Returning to the car we next went to the Canyon Lookout. When we arrived it was raining lightly but undeterred we donned our rain jackets and umbrellas and went to the viewing point. The Canyon Lookout overlooks the valleys created by erosion, we took several pictures and back to the car for the next stop. When we arrived at Goomoolahra Falls in the rain we followed the cool creek that runs through the forest and cascades over the rocks to the canyon floor 80 meters below. The view from the top of the falls was fun with more pictures taken under umbrellas. When we returned to the car the rain had stopped and the sun was coming out. Being the photographers that we are we thought we would return to the Canyon Lookout to see if there was any difference in the sunlight. This time no umbrellas, the sun was shining and the clouds were dispersing. From the lookout point the beautiful green color of the forest below popped. The shadows created by the sunlight gave greater definition to everything, this time we could see just how jagged the cliffs are and the layers of lava flow were apparent. We spotted several waterfalls that we didn't see the first time. The contrast created by the light really added to the visual feast we were having. This time we stood and pondered just how beautiful the creations of God are and thought about how the Light of Christ can have such an impact in people's lives. We watch each week how when people are taught the gospel their lives begin to light up. Their countenance becomes brighter, their smiles are numerous and they have more purpose in life which seems to make them happier. Timing our day to end it with a hike at dusk to the Natural Bridge and Glow Worm cave. We discovered that glow worms are really fly larvae that create a chemical reaction to glow in the dark to attract flies and insects to be captured and consumed by them. As it became dark the glow worms began to appear on the cave ceiling like stars in the night sky. Who knew glowing fly larvae could be beautiful, but then we saw a lot of beauty on Springbrook Mountain, Australia.
