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   The road switchbacks up to a breathtaking view of mountains, valleys, and ocean!  Then, abruptly, you go from ecalyptus trees and dried grassland into rainforest!
    Chris drove up a little side "road" to a lookout point on top of a hill.  The road wound up and completely around the top of the hill where a park had been neatly mown.  In the middle of the park, at the very top of the hill, stood a gazebo.  From this point, you could see in all directions.  There is a picture of dad and I at this point on the photo pages.  We were in "the bush" and beyond the farthest mountains behind us, you can see "the outback".  Brisbane and the ocean were visible from this spot too.  If it wasn't already a park, without power, without water, I'd still want my hut here.  I could haul the rest up from "town".  :)
   O.M.G!  Just inside the rainforest, a HUGE snake was crawling across the road!  All the cars stopped because this bugger was 6 ft+ long and as big around as my leg!  Tanya said it was a "carpet snake" or a python.  (No, she corrected me, NOT a boa constrictor.  S*$%!  IT WAS A BIG D&*% SNAKE!.  WHO GIVES A HOOT WHAT KIND!!!!!)  She said we were "lucky" because she had never seen one in the wild before.  YEAH!  Woo-Hoo! NOT!!!
     Ok, in my rational mind, I am glad we saw one in the wild.  In the place where my fears live, NO F-ing way!
     There were about 15 cars stopped behind us and they had 4 or 5 orientals in each one and they ALL got out and went up to the snake.
     We left after the thing was off the road.  If one of those small people get too close, the snake could quit hunting for awhile.
    Wow, left out a lot of my thoughts there!  I know it isn't polite, and I apologize to any of my oriental friends or people who read this, I mean no disrespect or offense....but all I could think was, if that snake eats one of those chinese people, it will be hungry in 15 minutes.  The rest of them better head for their cars before that 15 minutes is up or it will be back for a few snacks.  It could eat 10 or 12 before it gets full.
      My irreverent mind began composing the headlines:  "Accidental encounter with python results in numerous Occidental losses on 'road' to O'Rielly's".  (I KNOW!  NOT NICE, but you have to admit, it IS funny!)
     I COULD NOT BELIEVE MY DAD WAS TRYING TO GET ME TO COME LOOK AT THAT THING UP CLOSE!  Those of you that know him, know I get my extreme fear of snakes from my VERY IRISH father!  I love him, but I think he has gone MENTAL.
     Tanya and Mike switched cars here.  After we were on the "road" again, Tanya told me that her brother said he ran over a snake on the way up to the lookout we had just left and wondered if Mike and I had seen it when we ran over it too!  (RAN over it!???  NO!  I DIDN'T SEE THAT!  I nearly fainted at this point.  Dad is walking up on a BIG snake....on purpose!  We ran over another one, and I DIDN'T even SEE it!.... (eyes rolling back in head)  You can bet your sweet patootee I was watching the ground from that point ON! 
   We had lunch at O'Riely's.  The food was good and the view was spectacular!
    We ordered from a counter and stepped out to picnic tables on the veranda.  The view was of the outback, same as the picture from the lookout.  The air was clean and crisp.  The "fast" food was not like the junk we eat here.  It was freshly cooked and not preprocessed.  Funny how we are so used to processed food here, even in restaurants that are supposed to be "fresh".  Uncle Ted was RIGHT! You have not eaten a good piece of beef until you come to Australia.. 
   We bought food for the birds and went up the hill to the plaza/patio.  There were parrots of all colors eating out of people's hands!  There were also wild bush turkeys that were bold as brass.  Eryn is terrified of the turkeys.
    The turkeys were black with red and yellow markings around their eyes and beaks.  They run everywhere.  No walking, just running.  If they think you have any food, they will charge you at full speed, run right up on your feet and try to get at the food in your hands.  It is pretty intimidating for adults, much less a child.  If you have been around chickens and domestic turkeys, then you know how to handle an over-agressive bird.  Just use your feet to let them know that there is a danger zone around you and they could become a feathered football if they get too close.  A swift kick will do the trick.  :)
     The parrots seemed to like dad's hat and landed on it to see what he had in his hands.  He put some food up in the top and they used his hat for a bird feeder.  Pretty spectacular and beautiful to see.
   After feeding the birds, we walked through the forest on a nice, raised walkway.  Soon we came to a suspension bridge that makes a big loop.  There is a tree at the far side of the loop with two small platforms and ladders up.
    This loop was a series of suspension bridges about 20 to 30 feet or more above the forest floor.  There were platforms between the suspended sections and it gave you a good aerial view of the forest floor, plants, and animals.. 
     The trees are not dense, or large, but their tops touch so there is space under the canopy of their leaves that makes you feel like you are in a huge sports stadium with trees holding up the roof.  Almost every tree has vines growing up the trunk and twisting through the canopy.  It is very, very serene (if you forget about the snakes.  Not BLOODY likely.)
     There is a large platform for waiting your turn, at the base of a big tree.  It will hold about 10 people and still allow others to pass and continue their stroll along the rest of the suspension bridges.  There are a series of ladders attached to the tree that you can climb up.  At the top of the first LONG ladder, is a platform that holds three or four people.  From there, there is another ladder up to a second, smaller platform that will hold one or two people.  None of the ladders have any safety features.  If you slip through, you won't hit anything until you hit the forest floor.  Trust me, it is SCARY.
   I waited in line and climbed up with Eryn, Tanya, and Aidan.  What a VIEW!   200+ miles I bet!
    I couldn't believe that we took the kids up there!  But, they were fearless, even if I was terrified they would fall through those ladder rungs. 
     You have to SEE the view to appreciate how awesome this experience was.  Words just can't give you any sense of the extreme beauty of this land. 
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