From there we went to the ranger station and got some advice to do the lake 22 hike because there we several waterfalls along the path leading to the lake. Since it was getting late we all agreed that we would hike to the first waterfall we found and then head back. Only going so far was a good thing since we literally found a water “fall”. Tawni and I decided to climb under the bridge and across the rocks so that Bryan could get a picture of us in front of the falls. It started out as a good idea until I tried to follow Tawni only to find out I was about three inches too short and would have to find another route. Then once we got onto the rock in front of the falls I slipped and landed in a puddle. Fortunately, for everyone else, Bryan got a picture of the fall and Tawni trying to help me back up. Unfortunately, my pants were soaked for the hike back and the ride home.

Later that evening Tawni and I stayed up until midnight making the most delicious brownies. They were layered with brownie on the bottom, white chocolate caramel on top of that, then dark chocolate ganache, and candied pecans to top it off. They ended up being super delicious when we finally ate them on Sunday morning. We always have tons of fun when Tawni comes to visit so we are looking forward to our next adventure.

After breakfast we drove across Kangaroo Valley to Dietmar and Elizabeth’s house. We had coffee and tea on their back patio before we left for our hike. We also spotted a wedge tail eagle.

Dietmar took us on a 1.8 km trail through the bush, that lead to a high point on some rocks, overlooking a dam. The sites were absolutely beautiful.

Since we missed seeing Fitzroy Falls on our first go around Zeph took us back there to view the magnificent falls. The waterfall is 81m (266 ft) high. They have many platforms along a path where you can view the falls. The first platform we went to was about 30 feet from the falls and at the very top. This made me very nervous so I only went out on the platform long enough to take a picture then went back to the safety of solid ground. Then we walked along the path to two other platforms to get different views of the falls. Along the way they had informational native animal signs. We learned about a Lyre bird. It’s a sort of Australian mocking bird that is amazing at mocking different animals and sounds. They are known to make a loud chainsaw noise.

After dinner we went looking for wombats. We were very lucky and saw several. Zephyr even got us so close to one we could almost touch it. They were so cute I wanted to take one home with me but I couldn’t figure out how to get it through customs if I was actually able to catch one.

After we left the park we stopped at the Millaa Millaa lookout. It was a high point overlooking the beautiful tablelands. Bryan took a bunch of pictures and stitched them together to make one long panoramic picture of the view we enjoyed. The view was absolutely incredible.

Next we drove around the waterfall circuit where we saw Millaa Millaa Falls, Zillie Falls, and Ellinjaa falls. Around the circuit we saw many bush turkeys.

Then we drove to Yungaburra where we ate lunch and saw the famous curtain fig tree. At the fig tree we learned how a seed is deposited in the host tree’s crown. Once the seed germinates it starts to grow roots to the ground and roots that encircle the host tree. The roots eventually strangle the host tree and cause it to die. In the case of the fig tree we saw the host tree actually fell over onto another tree and the fig tree then grew vertical roots down to the ground forming a curtain like affect with the roots. It was such an amazing site to see. Also in Yungaburra we walked along the Peterson Creek walking circuit. At the beginning of the path we walked along a very shaky bridge. On one side of the bridge there was even a sign saying that no more than 10 people should be on the bridge at one time because it wouldn’t hold the weight. On the other side of the bridge Bryan found a huge spider. Then we walked down the path and saw many lizards, butterflies, dragonflies, and birds. At the end of the path there was a platypus viewing platform; however, there were no platypuses to be found there. On the way back along the trail I spotted a baby platypus playing in the water. I called Bryan over to see it and within 30 seconds the platypus spotted us and swam away. Apparently it is very rare to spot a platypus in the wild because we talked to people who had lived in Australia their whole live and have never seen one in the wild. So, we felt very lucky to have seen one. Unfortunately, we only saw it for a short time so we weren’t able to capture a picture of it.

In the late afternoon we went to Lake Barrine and walked along a rainforest trail. We really enjoyed seeing all the flora and fauna that was native to the area. The trees in that area were so unique and grew in strange ways. By chance Bryan spotted a lizard hiding in a log. I couldn’t believe the way it just sat there and let us come close to take pictures. After we finished the trail we were exhaustd and went back to Palm Cove.