Springbrook National Park

Springbrook sits on the northern rim of the Tweed caldera, part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage area, and it holds three main sections. At Natural Bridge, a creek has worn through the roof of a basalt cave and falls into a chamber below, where a colony of glow worms lights the ceiling after dark, one of the accessible glow-worm sites in Australia. Purling Brook Falls drops around a hundred metres with a circuit track that passes behind the water. The Best of All Lookout, at the plateau edge, looks south into the caldera past a stand of Antarctic beech trees that are relics of a much colder climate.

What you actually see

• Natural Bridge - the waterfall through a cave roof with glow worms after dark.
• Purling Brook Falls - a hundred-metre drop with a circuit passing behind it.
• Best of All Lookout - the caldera view past ancient Antarctic beech.
• The rainforest tracks - Twin Falls, Warrie circuit and other routes.

When to go

April to November for drier walking; summer brings heavy rain, leeches and track closures. Glow worms need a dark night with no torches and are best in warmer months. Cloud often covers the plateau lookouts.

Honest expectations

Natural Bridge at night is extremely popular and the car park fills; torches and camera flashes harm the glow worms and are banned. Roads up the mountain are narrow and winding. Landslips have closed tracks for extended periods in recent years.

Nearby

Natural Bridge is on the Numinbah road; Tamborine Mountain lies north.