The Darling of Darling Downs

I once lived in Cairns QLD for 18 months and spent so much of my time working, that as I packed up to leave I realised I had not really experienced everything Cairns had to offer. So when I moved to Toowoomba QLD in 2013 I made it my mission to discover everything I could about this beautiful piece of Australia.
One of my favourite places to visit is Crows Nest National Park. A breath taking 50 minute drive North of Toowoomba. When you enter the town of Crows Nest you turn right at the police station and follow this road for around 10 minutes until you see the sign for Crows Nest national park. Over a cattle grid you will find a car park with plenty of parks and a drop toilet. Something to take note of if you don’t like camping toilets. There are public toilets, shops and fuel back in the town of Crows Nest.
From the entrance of the national park you are given two options. The first is Koonin Lookout, an uphill 2km climb to a beautiful lookout where you can have a bird’s eye view over the Valley of Diamonds. The other loop is around the cascades and Kauyoo and Bottlebrush pools. On my first trip to Crows Nest Falls I headed up to Koonin Lookout, It was late summer and as I reached the summit I noticed a storm approaching. It was incredible to see a might Queensland storm rolling in from such a vantage point. On that trip I skipped the pools and headed to the safety of my car to ride out the storm.
The next chance I got to head out to Crows Nest Falls I headed straight for the pools. I was advised by locals to wear swimmers and bring a towel and I can see why! As I turned down the Kauyoo path, I found large granite boulders to climb over and when I reached the bottom I found a picturesque pool, lined with trees. After a brief swim I decided to venture back up the boulders and over to bottlebrush pool. This one has granite steps the entire way down. I beautiful ledge to sit on or sunbake on and more clear fresh water to swim in.
After I had, had enough relaxing I continued the loop which joins up to the Koonin lookout and you can view Crows Nest Falls from here. As I stood here and took in all the beautiful things South East Queensland has to offer I felt truly blessed to live in such a place and have the opportunity to experience all this beauty.