Bordered Rustic - All over the place outside my veranda in Yungaburra.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
December 10, 11, 12 - LNP Part II
Miscellaneous bits about our time at LNP
Things that made me laugh
Things that made me laugh
- Sign on the road between Canungra and Lamington National Park Road - Horse Poo for Sale, $2.00/bag. But if you drive a little further there is a sign offering horse manure for free. So, is poo a grade better than manure? Why would you pay if you can get if for free? These are the things you ponder at 5 am while driving.
- 20 some pretty face kangaroos lounging about on what I like to call Pretty Face Bend, looking for all the world like Romans relaxing after a feast, or A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
- A pair of pretty face kangaroos boxing one morning as we came around the bend
- Double-crossing road--said best in the voice of James Cagney--why you dirty double-crossing road.
Scary stuff
- There is a treetop walk off one of the tracks. It is wooden, and creaky, and sways a bit. I had managed to walk it the last time we visited, but was too scared to look down. I told myself I wasn't afraid, and walked it again. Turns out telling yourself you are not afraid does not mean you are actually unafraid.
- A storm rolled in the afternoon of the 11th. We could see it coming so left to get down LNP road before it hit. I did NOT want to drive that road in the rain. It spit a little, but we made it down the mountain to Canungra, and stopped to look at a map for the next day's drive. Looked up, the wind started howling, we could see forked lightening up in the mountains, and the front bearing down. We still had a very winding, narrow road to get up to Aaronlee. The rain was fierce once it hit (we didnt' make it in front of it) and I couldn't figure out the windshield wipers on the rental car! So Steve had to hold it in place as I drove, very slowly, up the Mt Tamborine road. There is a section that is one lane, and a traffic signal cycles automatically every 5 minutes to let traffic through. That was one time I was happy to come to a stop so we could get the wipers working.
- Driving back up the mountain the next day playing dodge rock from all the rock falls resulting from the storm the night before--and hoping no one was coming the other way
Cool Bird Stuff
Bower Birds
Bower birds are amazing. For non-birders - bower birds build elaborate bowers to attract the females. They aren't nests, more of a boudoir. The Satin Bowerbird will decorate their bower with anything they can find in shades of blue--flowers, straws, bottlecaps, etc. The Great Bowerbird will decorate in shades of white, and the shape of the bower is completely different. Incredible to see.
There are always some Satin Bower Bird Bowers around O'Reilly's, and I saw pretty much all of them I think. One afternoon I was sitting at a picnic table located near one of them, and glanced up to see the male bringing in a blue straw and attending to his bower. I managed to sneak over and hang out and get a little video, and yes I will post it much later, after I have access to a PC.
There weren't as many Regent BowerBirds around this time, but finally some of the males showed up. We kept watching one of the females, and finally saw her pick up something and fly into a tree across the road? Nesting material? Food for a baby? Let's go look! And Steve was able to locate the nest. Very cool.
So, like I said, I think bowerbirds are really cool and there is this beautiful book about bowerbirds that I really wanted. It was published in Australia and I couldn't get it in the US. Somehow a discussion about this book came up on the 4WD tour. Conversation went like this:
Me: I really wanted that book.
Glen: How badly do you want the book?
Me: I really want the book.
Glen: I might have a line on the book.
So, it turns out that he had a photo in the book so they had given him one, and he was willing to sell it to me. The transaction is in process.
Lyrebirds, whipbirds, riflebirds
For our birding friends, I'll post Steve's list later when he can read it off to me.
Some notables for me though:
Very excited to see the female Albert's Lyrebird and her chick (a year old or so now, bit of a mama's boy and we got to see her feeding him.
The Riflebird! I got a very good look, got to see the brilliant blue.
Whipbird--Glen had really tamed this bird and it came when he showed up on his walks. Got great looks a them.
Stories people tell you
I had been talking on and off over the three days to a woman named Melissa, who was visiting from Brisbane. One time, she told me a dreamtime story, that goes something like this. There was a beautiful, colorful bird, and the bird sang beautifully. It was so beautiful, and its song was so sweet, that everyone praised the bird and the bird grew prideful.
Now only the black and white birds have sweet songs, and the colorful birds have horrible squawking songs.
We had to move on, and left Lamington National Park at about 2 on the 12th of December.
I just saw a Cairns Birdwing!
I am so excited! I'm sitting on my veranda in Yungabarra, and darned if I didn't see this gigantic butterfly. It's as big as your hand, and strikingly beautiful. Here's a link:
http://www.trc.qld.gov.au/environment/cairns-birdwing-butterfly-fo
I'll never get a photo, so that's as good as it will get!
(the photo from the site)
http://www.trc.qld.gov.au/environment/cairns-birdwing-butterfly-fo
I'll never get a photo, so that's as good as it will get!
(the photo from the site)
December 10, 11, 12 - Lamington National Park - Part 1
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.
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.
Up at O'Reilly's in Lamington National Park
The birds are still completely unafraid of you at O'Reilly's in Lamington National Park. An open car door is just an invitation to visit.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Things you don't expect to see on your hotel bathroom wall
On the wall of our motel bathroom in Warwick Australia, this picture was hanging.
Christmas isn't Christmas without Bing everyone!
Christmas isn't Christmas without Bing everyone!
Saturday, December 14, 2013
December 9, 10, 11 - Aaronlee Retreat, Mt. Tamborine
We spent the nights of 9, 10, 11 at Aaronlee Retreat in Mt. Tamborine. After leaving Lone Pine, we made our way back to the Motorways and eventually to Pacific Hwy. Nice and smooth, then exited on 57 to the Mt Tamborine-Oxenford road for the long and winding trip up the mountain. The first of many long and winding roads I would drive the next several days. On the left side of the road. nuff said.
Thanks to my Australian pals on Fodors, I knew that Coles would have just about everything we would need for the next few nights, road tripping, and a prepaid phone. Google Maps had been my friend and we easily located the Coles at Oxenford/Reserve Road and our second encounter with Australian sticker shock began.
It doesn't matter how much we "knew" that it was expensive here. With the exception of the phone ($29.99!) it was a spendy shopping trip. But, we had water, fruit, sandwich makings, and the supplies for dinners the next three rooms as Aaronlee is self-catering.
Off we continued up the mountain. Aaronlee Retreat was a great place to start our stay. Ponies in the front paddock and an alpaca in the yard in front of our room. Kangaroos hopping about in the morning, and a kookaburra posing. The views off the grounds at the back were spectacular, and from the far corner you could see the buildings of the Gold Coast.
Breakfast provisions were stocked in the fridge, with an entire loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, and three packets of really good bacon.
Even better, they left a nice bottle of Chateau Haut Vivianne, Southeastern Australia 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon on the table. Upon arrival, I poured myself a glass and headed out back to sit on the swing and look at the mountains.
Wifi a challenge, with two places you could connect. One was at a white picnic table out back, and I hunched over it in the dark trying to get a good enough connection to activate the prepaid phone. Luckily online chat with Roman at Telstra and we got it going.
Aaronlee Retreat site: http://www.aaronleeretreat.com.au
Thanks to my Australian pals on Fodors, I knew that Coles would have just about everything we would need for the next few nights, road tripping, and a prepaid phone. Google Maps had been my friend and we easily located the Coles at Oxenford/Reserve Road and our second encounter with Australian sticker shock began.
It doesn't matter how much we "knew" that it was expensive here. With the exception of the phone ($29.99!) it was a spendy shopping trip. But, we had water, fruit, sandwich makings, and the supplies for dinners the next three rooms as Aaronlee is self-catering.
Off we continued up the mountain. Aaronlee Retreat was a great place to start our stay. Ponies in the front paddock and an alpaca in the yard in front of our room. Kangaroos hopping about in the morning, and a kookaburra posing. The views off the grounds at the back were spectacular, and from the far corner you could see the buildings of the Gold Coast.
Breakfast provisions were stocked in the fridge, with an entire loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, and three packets of really good bacon.
Even better, they left a nice bottle of Chateau Haut Vivianne, Southeastern Australia 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon on the table. Upon arrival, I poured myself a glass and headed out back to sit on the swing and look at the mountains.
Wifi a challenge, with two places you could connect. One was at a white picnic table out back, and I hunched over it in the dark trying to get a good enough connection to activate the prepaid phone. Luckily online chat with Roman at Telstra and we got it going.
Aaronlee Retreat site: http://www.aaronleeretreat.com.au
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