Belated report on the trip to Springbrook National Park (with a code blue Coda)

 This is a brief report on the trip Jim and I made to the Springbrook National Park yesterday (Dec 13). Jim hired a car and off we set with me as co-driver nusing Google Maps to inform of the distance to the next turning, and until we got into the wilderness, which lane to be in. I hope that it helped.

We stopped at what looked like and Old English tea garden type of place

Time for tea...

... and so we treated ourselves to a high tea savoury lunch

We then set off on the second leg of the trip to explore the national park and look at one of the many waterfalls in the area.

Driving (we didn't crash I dropped the phone at the end of the clip)

Purling Brook Falls

Just to prove I got there

Rooooot

A view without a room

Code blue Coda (Today Dec 14)

I woke this morning only to find that a wound on my left ankle ( the one I have no feeling in, so I had no idea there was a problem) consisting of two puncture marks had bled quite heavily in the night. Local opinion (being my daughter in Sydney) said "could be", when I asked 'Could that be a snake bite from my trip to Springbrook yesterday?', and that I should get it checked.  I mentioned it to the duty manager at the hotel after breakfast, the lovely Hayley, whose training  kicked in immediately and she organised transport for me to visit the local hospital (Robina hospital). I assumed she was going to send me off in an Uber

The Uber to get me to the local hospital - weird colour scheme.

Upon arrival at the hospital there was great excitement in the medical staff, at treating a possible snake bite obtained in the wild (the majority of snake bites treated in QLD hospitals are from pet snakes). Not all snakes are venomous and even non-venomous snakebites can thin the blood, which might have explained the heavy bleeding, so even though I was well, they followed procedure for a bite.

Anyway it turned out that the puncture wounds were caused by splinters from some foliage which I must have trodden on. There was palpable disappointment among the medics, so they gave me a tetanus shot, a script for some antibiotics in case the wound gets infected, and a pressure bandage for my ankle to manage the swelling and I was on my way, somewhat less of a celebrity than when I arrived. I did get a regular Uber back to my hotel, where I debriefed Hayley, but she was lovely, and said she was relieved, but could see the funny side...