As the crow flies

Bloody Leeches

If you know me, then you know how much I love hiking. Especially when there are waterfalls to view. Well Kevin and I hired a car (a small little Hyundai Getz) and drove from Surfers Paradise up to a place called Springbrook National Park. This park was the ultimate waterfall hiking place. The first hike we did took us to this 100m (~350ft) waterfall over a vertical cliff into this rainforest gorge. We got a good view from the top, but the best view was when we hiked down to the bottom and walked behind the waterfall. It was a nice way to cool down.

The second hike we did also involved waterfalls, quite a few, like maybe 5. None were as impressive as the first waterfall, but were intriguing nonetheless.

During the hike there were these large black, shiny, fat lizards that would slither slowly into the bush just as you would walk by. Fortunately for us they weren't snakes. After our second hike Kevin noticed that his leg was bleeding in a couple places and knew that it was leech bites since he was with someone who had encountered them before. Later on when we took off our boots, sock was all bloody and Kevin's was as well. Some how the leeches had got into our shoes and taken a bite. The leech wasn't there any more but due to their saliva the blood does not clot properly and bleeds for an annoyingly long time. You don't even notice when they bite you. We cleansed our wounds in the saltwater as we went surfing. Probably not the best idea when there are tiger sharks around...but I think they do have shark nets.

posted by Aaron @ 9:27 PM