Chasing Waterfalls in the Gold Coast hinterland

The Gold Coast is world famous for its fabulous beaches and surfing lifestyle. However, the hinterland area, inland from the coast, contains some beautiful waterfalls, forests, lookouts and charming mountain villages.  It’s also full of scenic drives.  We kept close to the coast and explored the Springbrook National Park and the following three waterfalls:  Natural Bridge, Purling Brook Falls and Twin Falls.  We did them all in one day, after leaving our apartment about 9am and getting about back at sunset, which is 5pm in the winter!

We were quite lucky to visit after the area had good dumps of rain in preceding weeks so the waterfalls had a fair bit of water – more than they normally would during July.  And during winter they weren’t too crowded with people, although it was school holidays.  But I believe in summer they get a lot more crowded.  So if you go in summer, be prepared for lots of other people trying to enjoy the falls too!

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There are also quite a few lookouts in the area.  We went to Canyon Lookout (my favourite) and the Best of All Lookout (perhaps a slight exaggeration) which was quite hazy when we were there.

So in no particular order, here are the three best waterfalls close to the Gold Coast:

Natural Bridge

This waterfall is the mostly easily accessible with just a short and easy 1 km return walk from the carpark and it has paved walkways all the way.  As the furthest distance from the Gold Coast of all three waterfalls, it is still just a 50 min drive from our apartment in Burleigh Heads.  This Natural Bridge waterfall is where the waterfall comes through a hole in the centre of a cave ceiling.  Definitely the most unique and possibly the most photogenic of the three waterfalls. If you visit at night on a tour you might see the bats, glow worms and fireflies in the cave!

Swimming in the creek and within the cave itself is prohibited.  So if it’s a swim you are after, perhaps one of the other waterfalls will be more to your liking.

Purling Brook Falls

Purling Brook Falls is closer to the Gold Coast than Natural Bridge and only about 35 mins from Natural Bridge.  If you love walking, these falls and Twin Falls will be a walking wonderland for you!

So, unlike Natural Bridge, visiting these 100m waterfalls will require proper footwear (unless you plan on just going to the lookout).  So no thongs (flip flops), street sandals or white sneakers.  Good walking shoes/boots are the go!  Allow time here for the 4km comfortable return walk to the bottom of the falls and you won’t be disappointed.  It’s really a beautiful walk through the forest with stunning views through the valleys – all the way to the skyscrapers on the coast.  Springbrook is full of sub-tropical rainforest and so on your walk you’ll see lots of ferns, vines, rock pools, moss and trees, of course. 

Once you get to the bottom there is the spectacular view of the falls and a swimming hole at the bottom. We had a rainbow running through the bottom of the falls the whole time we were there. It’s so easy to just sit there and watch the falls for quite a while.

From here you can take a small extension to your walk, and go down to the canyon floor.  Or do what we did and skip the extra walk and continue the loop back up to the top where you go over a pretty suspension bridge (with great views of the falls) and eventually across the top of the falls.  The trip back up is slightly harder of course than the easy walk down.  I do remember being passed by a women older than myself – never a good feeling!

Twin Falls

Only 10 mins drive from Purling Brook Falls and you are at Canyon lookout and the start of the walk to Twin Falls.  The lookout itself is fantastic and very photogenic.  It’s really a nature lover’s paradise here!  Again the 4 km return walk to the falls is almost as good as the final destination.  Very lush and green, with huge rock clefts that you walk through and more great views!  Twin falls allows you to walk behind the falls as part of the walking track.  And you can cool off in one of three rock pools at the bottom.

When we were coming back up the sun was getting a bit low, and the way the rays of sunlight were coming through the trees was actually something I hadn’t seen before.  I wasn’t able to capture the effect on camera but they looked very solid 3D rays.  Just topped of the day really! And then we had only a 45 min scenic drive home and waiting us was a beautiful sunset from our 6^th floor apartment. Days don’t get much better really!

So in summary: although we loved the coast of the Gold Coast and its fabulous beaches, our day chasing waterfalls in the Gold Coast hinterland was our favourite day of our week staying on the Gold Coast.

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Hope you’ve enjoyed this Travel Inspiration from an Empty Nester!

Useful Links

Natural Attractions and National Parks of the Gold Coast

Gold Coast Hinterland

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