The beautiful town of Springbrook is located in South East Queensland near the NSW border and just a short drive to the West of the Gold Coast.
We recently took a drive to Springbrook and were pleasantly surprised by what we found. The drive up to Springbrook from the Gold Coast is beautiful and picturesque but it is winding as you head up into the mountains.
Lunch at the Dancing Waters Cafe in Springbrook
We grabbed lunch at the Dancing Waters Cafe in Springbrook. The cafe is in a pink little cottage and the owner is super friendly. You can even book an upstairs room there as a B&B. The lunch was delicious as well, I opted for the pie as well as a spinach role. We ate on the patio out back in the sunshine. The great thing about Dancing Waters Cafe is that it is right near the Purlingbrook waterfall walk making it the perfect place to dine before or after your walk.
Hiking to Purlingbrook Falls
After lunch we started out on our walk to Purlingbrook Falls. It is an incredible loop walk down into a gorge through lush sub tropical forest and up to the falls then up the other side. We went to the left to begin with which meant we got a gorgeous view walking up towards the falls. The water falls are massive, just watch your footing if you try to walk up to take a photo as the rocks can be slippery. The toughest part of the walk is hiking back out of the canyon, but all up it is only 4-5km so it makes for a great afternoon hike with some really spectacular scenery.
Ice cream with the fairies
After the walk you may want to replace some of those lost calories. We stopped at the Fudge Shop in Springbrook. Not only do they have some great ice cream flavours, they have plenty of fudge options and a fairy garden! This place is a little kids dream.
The Natural Bridge
On another afternoon trip, we revisited Springbrook to explore the renowned Natural Bridge. The Natural Bridge is an incredible cave like natural structure surrounded by water fall amidst the beautiful Australian Bush. I am told if you visit the cave at night, you can even see glow worms. We didn’t see any glow worms this trip but were able to soak in the serenity and natural beauty of this amazing area.
Then it was time for the drive down the mountain and back to the Gold Coast. Along the way home we saw plenty of other cool places to eat and attractions that we will have to go back to, but that’s a story for another time.
