It's Not Just a Jungle Up There

I saw an article in the November 4th newspaper of 'The Courier Mail' about the movie 'Jungle' being filmed on and around Tamborine Mountain in the Gold Coast hinterland of my home state of Queensland, Australia.

I read that newspaper article about two weeks after it was published, so I was worried that I had missed my chance to see the movie on the big screen, but luckily for me I just caught it before its cinema run ended.

I thought it was a good movie and even though I knew that most of it was filmed in my backyard, it still convinced me that the story was set in South America instead of Australia.

 Tamborine Mountain Botanic Gardens

"In the pursuit of self-discovery and authentic experiences, the Israeli backpacker, Yossi Ghinsberg, meets a cryptic Austrian geologist in La Paz, Bolivia, and captivated by his engrossing stories of lost tribes, uncharted adventures and even gold, decides to follow him, circa 1981. Without delay and accompanied by the good friends, Kevin, an American photographer, and Marcus, a Swiss teacher, they join an expedition led by their seasoned trail-leader, deep into the emerald and impenetrable Amazonian rainforest.

However, as the endless and inhospitable jungle separates the inexperienced team, before long, Yossi will find himself stranded in the depths of a nightmarish environment crawling with formidable and tireless adversaries. 

How can one escape this green maze?"

Yossi was born on Anzac Day, April 25

 Tamborine Mountain Botanic Gardens

'Jungle' is certainly no Harry Potter film, and it was certainly no walk in the park, but as I wrote in an older post of mine -
Who? The Angel of Death?
I did go for a walk in the botanical gardens on Mt. Tamborine and this post is going to be about that walk that I promised to write about.

The shop on the fig tree roundabout
 on Mt.Tamborine

The Botanical Gardens are through this
roundabout and down the hill

"The Gardens include a glorious lake as the centrepiece, a tranquil Japanese garden, a tropical rainforest walk and many other delights.
Bring a picnic, bring the children, take a stroll along the many walks and learn why the Tamborine Mountain Botanic Gardens are truly where Tropical meets Temperate."

The Mount Tamborine Botanical Gardens has a very Harry Potterish magical feel to it as you walk through and come across the owls just about everywhere you walk.

Hmm, what music could we contemplate on here?
Or maybe that should be Who with so many owls around the place.

Lilies?!

"Arum Lilies are spread by birds eating the seeds and then spreading them into new areas, which makes them a particularly damaging environmental weed because they can be spread into areas of pristine native vegetation."
Originally imported from South Africa as a garden plant, the sale of the Arum Lily has been banned in Western Australia since 2006.
But this has done little to slow its advance into wetlands and coastal beauty spots along the popular tourist strip.
If left uncontrolled, the lily tubers often expand into large masses, or mono-cultures, which smother all surrounding native vegetation."

Mental Syncs

Pictures of Lily?-)

Picture of Lily Sullivan as Amie from
'Jungle' reading about death?!

 Lily Sullivan as Amie from 'Jungle' 

You can probably see why a movie like 'Jungle'  can be filmed in this area now.

And while I didn't see any owls on my walk I did see a few cockatoos.

Schrödinger's Parrot and the "Nature" of "Reality"?

I was contemplating whether or not I should put the shots of the rose garden section that I passed on my walk that day, and then I heard on the news today that the lead singer of The Smithereens passed away and the only song I could remember them singing was 'Blood and Roses', so I've put those shots in.

I wonder why we hear a lot about Zen gardens, but never about Zen jungles?

"Classical zen gardens were created at temples of Zen Buddhism in Kyoto during the Muromachi period. They were intended to imitate the intimate essence of nature, not its actual appearance, and to serve as an aid to meditation about the true meaning of life."

Rock On(!) Tamborine Mountain?

A rock painted to look like a piano
ready to fall on your head?

It may not be quite a jungle up there on the mountain, but it's easy to lose yourself on the walk ... but in a good way.