My little bit of paradise

The serenity and wonder of Cilento Bushland Conservation Reserve

With our regular columnist, local musician Dr Michael Whiticker

ALMOST every day I “take my exercise”, (isn’t that a wonderfully apposite expression) in Cilento Park – the rainforest, waterfall garden only a stone’s throw from my place of residence; and don’t I consider myself extremely lucky to have found this spot, in the middle of the suburbs of Nambour!

After finding my room for rent, oblivious to the existence of this reserve, I was surprised to be reminded that every part of one’s story – no matter how seemingly mundane, might offer a silver lining.

You just need to be sensitive to the wonders that can await you at every turn. There, music in the stillness. The subtle way music floats into a quiet space.

A bird calls and there is song. One doesn’t need to hear music, it is in nature.

But that’s another part of this story.

Today I want to share the physical space with you. Up the rise at the end of my road is this reserve, but it took me a week of sorting out life’s infinite perplexities before I could find enough headspace to venture up there.

The track through it was closed, but it made no effort to stop me – something was beckoning me to climb over that makeshift barrier and descend the newly formed, but comfortable bush track, into the depth of Cilento’s paradise.

Rainforest surrounded me as I ventured deeper but there, only 500 or so metres from the entry, was a waterfall and pool, the perfection of which still energises me months later.

An unexpected surprise of this discovery for me, is that the park seems largely unknown. I make my way there at different times of each and every day, and aside from the children’s playground at the top, I often won’t see anyone in my amble.

Naturally I continue to explore the space and now, some months later, have gone well beyond the track, but the basic walk in itself is both serene and exquisite, so if you are within cooee of this park, do drop by for a discovery.

The falls are accessible to a good majority of the population as the track is well made. It is a medium grade 15 minute exploration if you simply stroll in and out the other side, but I’d be surprised if you didn’t want to stay down there for some quiet time as it is tranquil as well as picturesque.

You are generally alone down there, so a quite meditative experience is there for the asking. If you can’t travel to Cilento that’s OK too. I am sure you will have your own beautiful, meditative space, and perhaps it is nothing like mine, but it is yours in your own special way.

Being in tune with it and coming back to it every day is what matters. It is there for you, even if it’s just a comfortable chair on the verandah…it offers you your way of being in touch with something mystical and greater than the ordinariness of much of what we do with our lives.

Next time perhaps… the music of this waterfall.

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