We had decided to stay at Aaronlee Retreat rather than O'Reilly's because we wanted to visit both Binna Burra and the Green Mountain section of Lamington NP. Staying at Aaronlee should have meant we could decide one day to drive up to BB, and one day up to GM. The one day delay derailed those plans and we spent each day driving up to the Green Mountain section.
The Long and Winding Road - again
For those of you not familiar, Lamington National Park is World Heritage Rainforest just a little south and west of Brisbane, Australia. It's rugged country, and spectacularly beautiful. American troops used to train there during WWII, both for the tropical rainforest conditions and the extremely steep and rugged terrain.
Lamington National Park Road, starting from Canungra, is curve after curve of often one-lane, sometimes two-lanes (although that's a bit of a misnomer), for about 45 minutes up the mountain. I got to drive a medium size SUV up that road three days! Yay! After the first trip I was okay, but that first one was a white-knuckler for sure.
When my eyes weren't glued to the road, the drive included stunning views, lots of kangaroos--49 pretty-face kangaroos on one day--and a fascinating progression from eucalyptus forest to tropical rainforest.
4WD Excursions with Michael and Glen
Birders know about O'Reilly's, and that is of course why we are here (I keep forgetting some people won't know about these places. O'Reilly's is a mountain lodge perched at the top of the mountain in the Green Mountain section of Lamington National Park). It's a fabulous place to see a lot of great
birds.
But, Steve likes it too because when I don't want to bird with him, I can go on some of the excursions through O'Reilly's. I had emailed O'Reilly's before we left the US and had asked if I could still join the excursions even though we weren't staying there and they said yes (if I paid of course).
I did two of their 4wd excursions. I was lucky enough to have Michael O'Reilly (78 and still going strong) and Glen (can't remember his last name) on both outings. Glen's a real story teller, and of course Michael had been there from the beginning, so the trips were both fun and entertaining.
They pile you on, and the story telling begins. On the way out to wherever you are going that day, they stop and point out all manner of flora an fauna.
Some highlights:
Michael had earlier located a skin shed by a python, so we stopped at an overlook and he climbed down the rocky hillside to see if it was still there. And it was! Well over 2 meters, and in excellent shape. You could see the complete outline of the python's body, including its eyes and jaws.
White-necked Herons riding the thermals.
Rufous fantail
Australian Pippit - we watched for a good long time, trying to see where the momma bird was flying to/from. Eventually, Glen found the baby in a little cubby in the ground. It would have been so easy to step on! Then he found the nest.
Loads of butterflies - Black Jezebel, Australian Painted Lady
Billy Tea
After piling in and out of the caravan a few times, they bring you to a campsite area and serve you tea, telling stories all the while. Usually they throw some eucalyptus leaves on the fire, and it's very fragrant. Glen had swiped some pumpkin scones and he split those and grilled them over the fire.
We all then stood around drinking the tea, and eating grilled scones dripping with golden syrup or honey. Some of us (cough) dripped a little honey on ourselves.
The history, the stories, and the harmonica
The natural wonder of Lamington NP is just that, a wonder. But the history is pretty interesting as well. The O'Reilly family had their selection there and ran a dairy operation. Lamington NP was created, surrounding their private property. I'm thin on details, but there is some arrangement where they continue to run their business and own their private property, and the National Park offices and campground are right there. All the walking tracks that you can take are NP. The places we went on the outings were on private land.
Michael tells stories about growing up there, about being a young boy introduced to American soldiers. He gets a little side business going with the GIs where he brings them cream from the family dairy--until his father figures out that the receipts are matching up. There was an incident where he ate a little dynamite, thinking it is hidden lolly. There's more, of course, but you get the idea. A great storyteller, and just a really sweet guy.
You get the very strong sense that these two (Michael and Glen) are mischievous no matter their age, and the younger crew of O'Reilly's probably have a lot on their hands trying to keep them in line!
Glen is an accomplished musician, and pulls out his harmonic and plays for us. Danny Boy, played on the harmonica at the top of the mountain, will bring a tear to your eye.
The Views
It is impossible to describe the views from the lookout areas. The O'Reilly kids used to call it the Lost World. Mountains, vertical cliffs, lush foliage.
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