Rainbow Rocks, Natural Bridge 1
The 'Natural Bridge' (or sometimes called 'Natural Arch') lies above
the Numinbah Valley, in the heart of the hinterland mountain range of
the Gold Coast, Queensland. A small river flows down from the
Springbrook Range then plunges through a giant hole that it has bored
through solid rock into a huge cavern inhabited by glow-worms before it
rushes out of the cave mouth and down to the valley below.
A series of rock pools break the river's progress where the rocks seem
to me to be little pieces of rainbow that fell from the sky as the
great creator spirit, the Rainbow Serpent, passed through carving out
the valleys and landforms. Perhaps I was also remembering being shown
many years ago some stripy rocks at Kununurra, in the north west of
Australia, by an old Aboriginal woman who told me the rocks were the
eggs of the Rainbow Serpent, used to make rain magic.
Oil on canvas. 24in x 24in (approx).
Back
Copyright (c) Helen Duley 2004