O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat — ColourfulLittleMoments

O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat is located in the World Heritage listed Lamington National Park with the first guesthouse being built in 1925, the first paying customer in 1926 and more builds and refurbishments along the way. This paying customer booked three nights in a Mountain View room, said to boast the best views in the retreat, with a plan for some hiking and R&R.

Day 1

The road leading to the retreat is long and winding with a few blind corners and one lane sections, so while some of the views were lovely on the way up I wasn’t game to have too much of a look, even if i wasn’t the driver! The room had all of the basics you would expect; shower, bed, bar fridge, hot water jug, etc. but no TV. That’s ok with me but beware if you are one of those that needs to fall asleep to TV or one that can’t live without. it. The rooms didn’t seem to have any sound-proofing so you can hear neighbours coming to and from, rolling luggage in and walking around. And if you’re trying to have an afternoon nap while the cleaners are next door then you can forget it! I think I might have been expecting a bit more of a fluffy robes feel with it being a ‘retreat’ but the balcony did have unobstructed views of the beautiful sunsets each night.

We decided to head out for a very short, late afternoon walk, maybe only 3km and accessible straight from the room, to fill in time until sunset and dinner. The first stop was Mick’s Tower - a climb to the top (18m) took you to the rainforest canopy. Then onto the Wishing Tree by which you need to cross a suspension bridge. The bridge isn’t high so should be fine even for those with a fear of heights.

Rocking the suspension bridge & blurring the photo. Because I’m 5.

Day 2

I woke early on the Saturday to a foggy morning, which I love! I’m not sure there’s much better than low hanging cloud or fog on the mountains.

I had pre-arranged for seats on the shuttle bus to transport us to Binna Burra to do the 21.4km Border Track walk. As part of the accommodation package the shuttle bus and packed lunch for the day was included. The Border Track connects the Binna Burra and Green Mountains (where O’Reilly’s is located) section of Lamington National Park and is a self-guided walk. The track is well marked and easy to follow and I would have felt quite comfortable doing the walk solo. I took a photo of the information board at Binna Burra which shows the mountains and lookouts I should pass on the walk to be comfortable I was on the right path and to keep track of my progress. There were 5 main landmarks i was on the lookout for.

Leading up to this weekend i had heard plenty of stories about the leeches and despite it being our drier season I had plenty of daymares leading up to the walk and had doused my shoes and legs in Bushman’s insect repellent. I’m pleased to report I had no run-ins with either leeches or ticks and i very quickly forgot all about them.

While the rainforest is lovely, and so nice to listen to the birds whipping away, some lengths of the walk are a little long and monotonous between lookouts. The last 5-7km were a challenge to get through for my poor feet. I think i can say goodbye to my friend, pinky toenail, yet again! Why is it that once you lose a nail it doesn’t seem to take much to lose it again? (Are there any experienced hikers that have some handy hints to provide more support to foot bones and to avoid the painful toenails???)

I would have to say my favourite lookout on the walk was Merino lookout. It is a slight detour from the Border Track and the path was pretty overgrown so it mustn’t be used much. Great views at 1128 meters but beware that it has no guard rails and is a sheer drop from the edge! There would be no coming back. A veer to the right just before the lookout has a nice shaded clearing where it’s a bit safer to sit and have a spot of lunch. (I’ll put a separate video of the Merino Lookout on the FB page but it still doesn’t do the views and drop off justice.)

As with a few hikes i’ve done, the sight of home base was a welcome relief to be able to take my shoes off, have a celebratory wine (or two) and have a nice warm shower!

Day 3

Explored some of the shorter walks today, linking them together to make it just over a 10km trip. Today was more up my alley with some fun and exploring and some beautiful views.

First up was the Tree Top walk which has a total of nine suspension bridges up to 16 meters above the ground and a fig tree lookout 30 meters up. I’m not generally afraid of heights and climbed up the 30 meters no problem. But. It was a very windy day and the tiny deck 30 meters up in the fig tree was swaying in the wind and my knees got a little shaky!

On to Moran’s Falls which was an easy walk downhill to the lookout over to the 80 meter waterfall. We followed the path around to the back of the waterfall and went off track a little to explore along the rocks and water to the top of the falls. There is a proper / safe lookout beside the waterfall that provides great views although i think i noticed a little too late (after my exploring ‘off-track’) the warning sign of ‘unstable cliff’. Oops!

We then followed the O’Reilly’s private property road looking for Moonlight Crag. The path we took included both dirt road and unmarked bush track. A wrong turn was taken (for a short while and may I add that it looked as though others had too as there was some form of a track there) but eventually the lookout was found. We clearly took the ‘bush-track’ to get there as the lookout provided a 3 tier wooden platform, some lighting set up and also, as we discovered later, a 4 wheel drive road that led right to the lookout. So, I suspect O’Reilly’s must provide a sunset tour to here. (I really need to do my research before going to a place!) But the view was fantastic! Well worth the walk, but I had no idea that the worst was yet to come.

From there we decided to head back along the Red Road and at the fork in the road took the option left, as option right finished with the Wishing Tree track which we had done on day 1. Wrong! The first part was really lovely, along a creek, past a very old wooden shack (the Slaughter House - built in 1953. Creepy or no?), and then came the hill. Very steep, not at all forgiving and by this time my toenails were screaming again so I was not a happy camper…… We eventually made it back to home camp, and as it is with any tired and grumpy child I rewarded myself with a burger and chips on the balcony of the O’Reilly’s Mountain Cafe.

Taken from the lookout beside Moran’s Falls

Sunday afternoon was meant to include a rewarding foot recovery treatment and massage at the Lost World Spa. But on trying to book in on the prior Monday I discovered that they were booked out until October. (Insert poor me face.) So instead, and after giving the toes a rest, a few cocktails at the O’Reilly’s bar was in order and then a red wine by the fire in the lounge. The lounge was my favourite room at the retreat and hardly anyone used it. It was like an old log cabin crossed with an old library. The fire was lit, surrounded by books, old photos and newpapers about the O’Reilly family history and the Stinson crash. If I go back again I will take some more time to look through it all.

Day 4 and check out day.

Just a very short walk today to Python Rock lookout on the way home. The walk is registered as 3.4km but if starting at O’Reilly’s it’s a little under 5km. This walk is super easy, nice and even the whole way. Perfect for a stretch of a couple of longer days. The view from Python Rock takes in Moran’s Falls to left and then over to Castle Crag which is another walk i’d like to check out another time.

And then it was time to buckle up and head back down the mountain.