Just behind the Gold Coast, Mt Cougal’s twin peaks overlook the scenic Currumbin Valley. This small section of Springbrook National Park protects a subtropical rainforest remnant, scenic cascades a and the headwaters of Currumbin and Tallebudgera Creeks.

The Mt Cougal Section is an important wildlife habitat and the most easterly known location of the Lamington spiny cray. One of the world’s largest skinks, the land mullet, also lives here.

A bush sawmill operated here from 1942 until 1954 producing timber for housing and to crate bananas grown in the Currumbin Valley. The remains of the partly restored sawmill are located at the end of the walking track.

The Mt Cougal Section of Springbrook National Park is part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage Area.

Go for a scenic drive through the picturesque Currumbin Valley. Have a bush picnic by the creek or just sit quietly and enjoy the peaceful sounds of the bush away from the noise and bustle of the nearby Gold Coast. Take drinking water.

See the local wildlife. Eastern water dragons, sooty owls, water-rats, brushtail possums, brush-turkeys and logrunners are some of the animals you might see.

and the headwaters of Currumbin and Tallebudgera Creeks.

The Mt Cougal Section is an important wildlife habitat and the most easterly known location of the Lamington spiny cray. One of the world’s largest skinks, the land mullet, also lives here.

A bush sawmill operated here from 1942 until 1954 producing timber for housing and to crate bananas grown in the Currumbin Valley. The remains of the partly restored sawmill are located at the end of the walking track.

The Mt Cougal Section of Springbrook National Park is part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage Area.

Go for a scenic drive through the picturesque Currumbin Valley. Have a bush picnic by the creek or just sit quietly and enjoy the peaceful sounds of the bush away from the noise and bustle of the nearby Gold Coast. Take drinking water.

See the local wildlife. Eastern water dragons, sooty owls, water-rats, brushtail possums, brush-turkeys and logrunners are some of the animals you might see.

Photos taken up at the Botanical Gardens and Curtis Falls, both Mt. Tamborine.

Gold Coast Hinterland is made up of the spectacular McPherson Range which offers plenty of walking trails and some truly amazing scenery. The Gold Coast Hinterland also features a host of wildlife and many different species of birds and an assortment of amazing flora.

truly amazing scenery. The Gold Coast Hinterland also features a host of wildlife and many different species of birds and an assortment of amazing flora.

Standing on a bald rocky headland with a precipitious cliff on the east side, and a sheer drop of approximately 100 metres, Cape Byron Lighthouse is the most easterly light in Australia, and one of the most powerful.

Built in the style used by NSW colonial architect, James Barnet, Charles Harding his successor, prepared the plans for the Cape Byron Lighthouse. Due to the elevation of the site, a tall structure was not required. Construction began in 1899 with the levelling of the site by contractors, Mitchell and King. The total cost was �10,042 (pounds) to the contractors, �8,000 for the apparatus and lantern house, and �2,600 for the road from Byron Bay township.

Tower Construction
The tower is constructed from concrete blocks made on the ground, lifted and cemented into position and finally cement rendered inside and out. This technique saved erecting framework.

The Lens
The eight ton optical lens was made by the French company, Societe des Establishment, Henry Lepante, Paris. It is a dioptric first-order bivalve double flashing lens and contains 760 pieces of highly polished prismatic glass. The lens revolves on a bath of 7cwt mercury. The original illuminant was a concentric six-wick kerosene burner. This was replaced in 1922 by a vaporised kerosene mantle burner, which increased the intensity from 145,000 cp to 500,000 cp. In 1956, the light was converted to mains electricity increasing the intensity to 2,200,000 cd.

The original lens weight driven mechanism, which works on a similar principle as that of a grandfather clock, was also replaced with an electric drive motor when the light was converted to electric operation. An auxiliary fixed red light is exhibited from the tower to cover Julian Rocks to the north.

the most powerful.

Built in the style used by NSW colonial architect, James Barnet, Charles Harding his successor, prepared the plans for the Cape Byron Lighthouse. Due to the elevation of the site, a tall structure was not required. Construction began in 1899 with the levelling of the site by contractors, Mitchell and King. The total cost was �10,042 (pounds) to the contractors, �8,000 for the apparatus and lantern house, and �2,600 for the road from Byron Bay township.

Tower Construction
The tower is constructed from concrete blocks made on the ground, lifted and cemented into position and finally cement rendered inside and out. This technique saved erecting framework.

The Lens
The eight ton optical lens was made by the French company, Societe des Establishment, Henry Lepante, Paris. It is a dioptric first-order bivalve double flashing lens and contains 760 pieces of highly polished prismatic glass. The lens revolves on a bath of 7cwt mercury. The original illuminant was a concentric six-wick kerosene burner. This was replaced in 1922 by a vaporised kerosene mantle burner, which increased the intensity from 145,000 cp to 500,000 cp. In 1956, the light was converted to mains electricity increasing the intensity to 2,200,000 cd.

The original lens weight driven mechanism, which works on a similar principle as that of a grandfather clock, was also replaced with an electric drive motor when the light was converted to electric operation. An auxiliary fixed red light is exhibited from the tower to cover Julian Rocks to the north.

The magical sunset that I managed to capture last evening here at home... and if you are not quick enough grabbing the camera, that picturesque view lasts for about a couple of minutes then its gone.

A selection of photos taken during my
recent visits to this glorious mountain.

Photos taken here in SE Qld. A bit of this and a bit of that...

Piccies taken from Burleigh Heads down to Pt Danger and surrounding areas.

My latest jaunt to this great sanctuary.

Various photos taken in and around the beautiful city of Brisbane.

I spent about 4 hours here today. Polar Bear Shores was closed
for routine maintainance, so I will be going back for a couple of
hours tomorrow to visit with them.

I had a couple of hours here this morning to see the Polar Bears.
It was closed yesterday for routine maintainance. I have a yearly
pass so it doesn't cost me anything to return visit for 1 year.

year.

Piccies taken on Saturday afternoon at Rosser Park Botanical Gardens
here on the Gold Coast.

I was up at 4am this morning so that I could go down to Snapper Rocks to catch the sunrise. Was it worth it? YES. It was awesome, and these photographs do not do justice to the magnificence of the scene before my eyes. Some of the waves this morning reached as high as 3 to 4 metres. It was paradise for the early morning surfers.

scene before my eyes. Some of the waves this morning reached as high as 3 to 4 metres. It was paradise for the early morning surfers.

This is where the rich people park their boats!! I just visit now and again lol lol lol
We went for a morning stroll followed by
lunch :-)

Yes, another visit to this great place. I mean, how can one stay away with polar bears and dolphins to see? And I do have a yearly pass, so that makes the decision to go an easy one :-)

This selection of piccies was taken whilst we were have a walk along the
boardwalks through the mangroves. I wish I could have captured the
birds. But with so much green and brown around it was hard even to spot
them. But the bird song was just beautiful...

hard even to spot
them. But the bird song was just beautiful...

A selection of photos taken whilst at The Spit.

Everybody loves Sea World, Australia’s most famous theme park, where creatures great and small share an aquatic paradise packed with fast and furious thrill rides. Polar bears, sharks, dolphins and s seals, they’re all part of the Sea World family.

Events can happen virtually anywhere within the park, from sun-up to way after sun-down when the night sky lights up with a billion stars. A great way to start the day is with a hearty breakfast at one of three breathtaking locations where some residents love a splash of fun, while others offer a sharp hint of danger. Sea World’s dolphin lagoons take on a mystical feel as the glassy morning waters stir with the smooth dorsal fins of graceful Bottlenose Dolphins. For a totally different kettle of fish try Shark Bay, the world’s largest man-made lagoon system for sharks and other impressive creatures of the deep.

On the other hand, or paw, you can count on a heart warming encounter at the arctic style enclave Polar Bear Shores, hosting Sea World’s big and beautiful Polar bears from the frozen north. Of course, you might like to skip breakfast, and every other meal, and go straight to drinks later in the day. All three venues are just as impressive over cocktails as the sun sets slowly over the Broadwater. You can even stay on for dinner at Dolphin Cove where you’ll have the best seat in the house, right on the water’s edge, so close to the enthralling action that you’ll feel like part of the show.

Click on this link to read all about Seaworld.
http://seaworld.myfun.com.au/

seals, they’re all part of the Sea World family.

Events can happen virtually anywhere within the park, from sun-up to way after sun-down when the night sky lights up with a billion stars. A great way to start the day is with a hearty breakfast at one of three breathtaking locations where some residents love a splash of fun, while others offer a sharp hint of danger. Sea World’s dolphin lagoons take on a mystical feel as the glassy morning waters stir with the smooth dorsal fins of graceful Bottlenose Dolphins. For a totally different kettle of fish try Shark Bay, the world’s largest man-made lagoon system for sharks and other impressive creatures of the deep.

On the other hand, or paw, you can count on a heart warming encounter at the arctic style enclave Polar Bear Shores, hosting Sea World’s big and beautiful Polar bears from the frozen north. Of course, you might like to skip breakfast, and every other meal, and go straight to drinks later in the day. All three venues are just as impressive over cocktails as the sun sets slowly over the Broadwater. You can even stay on for dinner at Dolphin Cove where you’ll have the best seat in the house, right on the water’s edge, so close to the enthralling action that you’ll feel like part of the show.

Click on this link to read all about Seaworld.
http://seaworld.myfun.com.au/

With some good street landscaping and plenty of excellent cafes and restaurants just across the road from the main beach, Kingscliff is also becoming a foodie destination. In the heart of good farming and fishing regions, the fresh produce is not all headed to city markets, and locals and visitors enjoy the emerging regional cuisine. There are also plenty of shaded areas for family picnics.

Kingscliff is also an easy drive to the Gold Coast and the theme parks, as well as the natural beauty of Mount Warning and the World Heritage National Parks nearby. Pleasure and fishing cruises are available along the Tweed River, and river and beach fishing is another popular pastime. Surfers and swimmers enjoy the beautiful beaches which originally attracted the early settlers, who used the area for holiday recreation from their nearby farms.

The rich volcanic soils of the surrounding Cudgen and Tweed Valley areas were the first areas farmed in the region, and today the land is still fairly intensively farmed, with new crops such as exotic tropical fruits taking over from the early dairying and cane of the region. The enormous variety of tropical fruits suited to the area can be seen growing at the nearby Tropical Fruit World.

and fishing regions, the fresh produce is not all headed to city markets, and locals and visitors enjoy the emerging regional cuisine. There are also plenty of shaded areas for family picnics.

Kingscliff is also an easy drive to the Gold Coast and the theme parks, as well as the natural beauty of Mount Warning and the World Heritage National Parks nearby. Pleasure and fishing cruises are available along the Tweed River, and river and beach fishing is another popular pastime. Surfers and swimmers enjoy the beautiful beaches which originally attracted the early settlers, who used the area for holiday recreation from their nearby farms.

The rich volcanic soils of the surrounding Cudgen and Tweed Valley areas were the first areas farmed in the region, and today the land is still fairly intensively farmed, with new crops such as exotic tropical fruits taking over from the early dairying and cane of the region. The enormous variety of tropical fruits suited to the area can be seen growing at the nearby Tropical Fruit World.