Warm, Moist, Beautiful

An ocean of warm and moist air has been flooding over us for days now. This torrent of air has come in from the Pacific ocean, and when it collides with the mountains, it's forced to shed it's moisture in the form of rain. We are on the inland side of the mountains, so we don't get the bulk of the rain, but we do get to witness the awesome power of colliding air masses nearly every night and the resulting thunder and lightning shows are fantastic.

Being on the leeward side of the mountains in the state of Queensland, it is not as tropical as the coast ranges, but it is very green compared to Victoria. But as you gain just a few hundred feet in elevation, the plant life starts to change dramatically and the best way to experience this micro-climate change is to drive up to Mount Tamborine.

At the base of the mountain, the Eucalyptus begins to thicken, but the black scars of the bush fires are wrapped around every tree - reminding you that Australia is a land of cyclical drought and cleansing fire.

The road gets steeper and begins to twist and turn as we climb higher and suddenly the vegetation becomes deep green and palm trees, bamboo, and ferns appear - this is a tropical rain forest. It is as if I have been transported 5000 miles to the Hawaiian Islands - the plants from my childhood are growing here, plumeria, mango, lychee, banana, but also the many species of the ever adaptable Eucalyptus tree.

At the top of the Mountain is a small community that enjoys the much cooler temperatures, and also a really beautiful west facing launch. Tomorrow the weather is going to improve, I can't wait to fly over this spectacular landscape.