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Perched excessive within the World Heritage-listed Lamington Nationwide Park, O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat is greater than only a lodge. Surrounded by historic beech bushes, misty escarpments, and the soundtrack of whipbirds and waterfalls, that is the place you will discover uninterrupted serenity within the coronary heart of Queensland.
It’s elevated rainforest dwelling, fairly actually, as its well-known for its cover stroll and direct entry to the mountaineering trails of the nationwide park.
However whereas all of it sounds idyllic in your blue-lit display screen, what’s it truly like? This evaluate of O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, Lamington Nationwide Park sheds gentle on what units it aside from different motels within the space, and what it’s like to remain there.
In case you’re craving cool mountain air, log fires, and views that stretch throughout the Gold Coast hinterland on a transparent day, here’s a place the place time slows, cellphone reception fades, and the forest turns into your houses.
About O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat
The highway to the western fringe of the Australia World Heritage-Listed Lamington Nationwide Park is lengthy and windy, however on the finish of it, is the enduring O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat. Well-known for not solely its eco lodging choices, however the number of actions and points of interest you are able to do from its doorstep.
There’s truly a fantastic story behind the household run O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat. Three generations of O’Reilly relations have been welcoming individuals by way of its doorways. For over 90 years, this retreat has been their residence, and framed by probably the most lovely yard.
We met two generations within the breakfast room, and each had been very heat and pleasant chatting with all their visitors. Jack was even popping bread within the toaster for everybody.
In addition to opening their doorways to visitors, the O’Reilly household have carved their method into the historical past books. On the nineteenth of February 1937, when a Stinson airliner crashed into the Lamington Ranges killing 4 of the seven on board. A search failed to show up any wreckage, however decided to seek out the airplane, Bernard O’Reilly set out on foot to seek out it within the thick bush. He discovered it, together with two individuals nonetheless alive and in determined want of medical assist. They had been rescued and survived.
You’ll be able to comply with in his footsteps by following the 35km Stinson stroll path. In case you keep at O’Reilly’s, you possibly can go on a guided hike with one of many ancestors of Bernard O’Reilly to the crash website. Discuss a novel expertise?
O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat Overview: Lodging
We drove by way of the attractive sub-tropical rainforest and by in regards to the 73rd flip we had been over it and hoped that our vacation spot can be value it. When O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat appeared earlier than us, we had been so glad to see it.
And what? After our two-night keep at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat, I’d simply do that windy scenic drive once more – a number of instances!
Typically one of the best locations are hidden away to protect their sanctity, and that’s the way it felt at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat. The chaos of life can’t enter right here. There are simply historic forests, birdsong, potoroos and ease.
O’Reilly’s affords a spread of lodging choices from the standard allure of the retreat (formally the guesthouse) or the trendy self-contained villas, positioned 700m away from the primary constructing.
Eco-Villa
Up right here in Lamington Nationwide Park there are not any retailers or roads, solely a lodge, a Misplaced World Day Spa, and opulent eco-villas. And what lovely villas they’re. Fashionable, up to date, spacious, and self-contained and designed to soften into the Gondwana rainforest setting.
They’d all of the facilities you would wish for staying in a rainforest, however with the extra luxurious ironing boards, towels, and sizzling showers, plus the rooms had been air-conditioned. You even have a full kitchen with a fridge, espresso/tea makers, and an enormous island for making ready meals.
Every villa has all the security options to ease the minds of nervous vacationers, similar to a smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector, fireplace extinguisher, first support package, a safety system, and window guards. With all these security options, it felt safe.
You’ve received inexperienced mountain views from the balcony, or by way of the glass fold-back doorways if it’s somewhat chilly. However, don’t fear if there’s, the gasoline fire in your rainforest villa will heat you up.
Since we had been travelling as a household, we opted for one in all their mountain villas. Fortunately, it wasn’t too chilly for us to get pleasure from a spa bathtub on the balcony with a chilly glass of wine after some of the awe-inspiring days we had as a household on our Australian highway journey.
If you’re travelling with young children, you possibly can put in particular requests with the entrance desk employees for additional beds for 0-3-year-olds, that are small rollaway beds with extra mattress sheets. This does value a small extra charge.
In addition they produce other mountain view rooms of various sizes, some with both a queen mattress, king mattress, or twin mattress. Some rooms have a twin trundle mattress to permit you some additional area in the course of the day.
Facilities at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat
O’Reilly’s will not be a flashy place and is thought for its quiet comforts, that are thoughtfully designed to deepen your reference to the rainforest.
The retreat’s facilities strike a cautious stability between ease of dwelling and immersing into the wilderness. These are the facilities that actually stood out to us…
The Rainforest Bar
We loved some glad hour cocktails in The Rainforest Bar. It wasn’t a transparent night time for us, however the sundown on the verandah overlooking the mountains with views that go on without end is spectacular (though it was additionally fairly good from our room within the spa!).
The Eating Room
For dinner, we dined within the eating room, which is open for a buffet breakfast and a gourmand a la carte dinner. The meals right here is phenomenal. The soup of the day was one of many tastiest soups I’ve ever had, and the pizzas are to die for.
You can even order room service from the eating room throughout restricted hours or eat on the retreat’s espresso store, O’Reilly’s Mountain Café and Present Store, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Go to dinner early if you wish to see the glow worm tour at 8pm within the night. We did discover service within the eating room and lunch cafe somewhat gradual.
Misplaced World Day Spa
In fact, O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat will not be all about journey and enjoyable, it’s additionally a spot for leisure and rejuvenation. Nicely, it’s a resort, in spite of everything!
We headed over to the Misplaced World Day Spa for a nourishing physique therapy. It affords wellness remedies similar to sizzling stone massages, facials, physique wraps, physique scrubs, and extra.
The onsite spa has seven therapy rooms together with particular rooms for {couples}. You can even have aromatherapy remedies and benefit from the sauna and infinity pool.
We opted for a easy leisure therapeutic massage which was 90-minutes of bliss! We then topped it off with a swim in 25-metre moist edge infinity lap pool, which has a separate kids’s space.
The spa is open Monday – Sunday from 9am – 5pm (6pm on Friday and Saturday), however hours differ on Tuesdays. You will have to examine with reception on instances if you’re planning your go to for a Tuesday as hours at all times change. The spa is just for ages 16+.
Swimming swimming pools
In case you’re travelling in the course of the heat summer time months, you’ll be happy to know that there are a number of out of doors swimming pools to chill off in. Beneath the Commentary Deck, you’ll discover some refreshing out of doors swimming pools, together with a kids’s pool for toddlers to splash round in.
Public areas
If you’re not planning on staying at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat and are simply fascinated with visiting for a day, you’ll discover there are many public areas the place you possibly can get pleasure from a picnic and loosen up within the jungle.
The general public areas are free to go to however there’s an extra cost to affix the guided walks and benefit from the points of interest and wildlife encounter reveals. There may be free wifi in all public areas and free self parking.
The way to get to O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat
O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat is positioned solely a two-hour scenic drive from Brisbane and 90 minutes west of the Gold Coast. It’s 86km away from Coolangatta Airport (about 1 hour 45 minutes drive).
Observe the indicators by way of Canungra to O’Reilly’s Plateau. This stretch of highway winds inland by way of rolling countryside earlier than climbing into rainforest, which might get fairly windy with a number of curves (as talked about earlier).
Word of warning – some navigation apps mistakenly direct in direction of Binna Burra, so to keep away from this, put Kidston Road, Canungra within the GPS as your vacation spot after which comply with the indicators up the mountain highway to O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat.
All visitors staying at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat can get pleasure from free parking.
What’s there to do at O Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat?
Nestled in Lamington Nationwide Park with the rainforest as a backdrop, you possibly can anticipate many wonderful points of interest that get you out of your room and exploring the outside.
Whether or not you’re seeking to stroll alongside historic strolling tracks, drift by way of the treetops on a zipper line, or be taught in regards to the area’s conservation historical past, there are various actions on provide that get you exploring the park’s pure world.
1. Flying Fox Zip Wire Expertise
We loved our time suspended 30 meters above the bottom as we zipped alongside a 180m cable over the rainforest. Backwards and forwards we went on the flying fox. Not simply Craig and I, however the entire household. Sure, it’s a second I’ll always remember. The ladies watched me as I set off first, zooming above the forest and waving to them down under.
They had been harnessed up simply in case, however I wasn’t anticipating a just-in-case. I hopped off on the finish able to tag Craig when Savannah piped up and stated, “I’m going to go on it, Mum.”
I appeared all the way down to my knees on the eyes making an attempt to peak out and above the helmet engulfing her head.
“You need to go Savannah. Are you positive? It’s very excessive up.”
“Sure. I need to go.”
She turned and walked off with Craig and Kalyra.
“I’ll come to get them if they modify their minds,” I shouted at Craig understanding that after they stood on the sting of the platform they’d hen out. It’s a good distance down from that vantage.
I watched from afar as a tiny speck walked onto the platform and received related. My coronary heart began racing and my breath caught in my throat.
“OMG she’s going!”
I screamed to the catcher behind me. She walked straight to the sting of the sloping platform holding Craig’s hand till he may maintain it no extra after which weeeeee off she flew.
I used to be surprised. She confronted worry head-on, my two and half-year-old, the youngest and smallest to tackle the flying fox at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat on the time. She went hovering by way of the air, 30 metres above the bushes holding on and looking out round.
Her spirit made my coronary heart soar with love and admiration. She was somewhat shell-shocked, however stated she had enjoyable. We sat and watched Kalyra get able to go. I may inform she was scared and, if her sister had not simply proven her the way it was finished, I’m positive she would have bailed. However she adopted in her footsteps and away she went. There was no silence from her, solely pure squeals of pleasure.
We needed to drag her away after her sixth go. She did get off and took the helmet off with a really agency, “no extra.” She does love to inform the story of the Flying Fox now and she or he at all times says how she was not afraid.
I used to be so tremendous pleased with my ladies for displaying such braveness regardless of their worry. I feel it taught them a lot about worry and the way we are able to transfer by way of it and nonetheless be alright.
Whenever you go to O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat soar on the flying fox! It should improve your Gold Coast household vacation reminiscences.
Birds of Prey Present
It wasn’t simply the flying fox that made it such a particular couple of days for us. We additionally loved a few wildlife reveals that the retreat places on for its visitors.
The Birds of Prey Present was a spotlight for the ladies. They cherished getting near wedge-tailed eagles, barn owls, and kites and studying all about their expertise as hunters and flyers.
Kalyra can now recognise these birds once we’re out and about and I really like how a lot she is studying due to experiences like this.
In case you’re a chicken lover then you’ll love popping out to O’Reilly’s Retreat. I don’t know a lot about birds besides that Australia has extra species than another nation. And I met loads of chicken lovers who had been recording every of those they’d seen in small black notebooks.
One couple from the States had seen over 350 on their five-month tour of Australia. They came to visit right here for chicken watching and O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat was one in all their first stops. The Lamington Nationwide Park is famend as one in all Australia’s premier birding areas with over 232 recorded species.
Early Morning Hen Watching Tour
I had risen early to affix the bird-watching tour, which was free to visitors staying on the retreat. I didn’t care a lot for seeing the birds, I simply wished an early morning stroll within the forest with none kids climbing throughout me.
I surprisingly loved myself on the chicken walks and cherished all of the birds. There are such a lot of of them and so fairly and their personalities are so totally different and cute.
I didn’t mark any off in my e book and I can’t keep in mind a lot of their names, however I loved their little beaks snatching walnuts from my fingers.
And I completely loved seeing the fervour the others in our group had for birds and the enjoyment on their faces when every new one flew on our path. Isn’t journey an exquisite portal for pursuing these issues that make our hearts sing?
Segway enjoyable at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat
Craig was in a position to break off and have his day trip later as soon as the solar had warmed up the mountains.
The ladies and I simply chilled in our rainforest villa with the mountain views, whereas he went cruising on the rainforest highway two-wheeled segway by way of the rainforest.
It was his first time on a segway, and while he stated it was somewhat bizarre at first, as soon as he received the texture of it after a 30-minute coaching session, it was easygoing. The 90-minute guided segway tour goes to the lookout level excessive of Moran’s Falls.
The Tree High Stroll at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat
On our first afternoon, we took the stunning Tree High Boardwalk by way of a cover of flowering and fruiting vine-covered bushes. The Tree High Stroll was the primary of its form in Australia, is 180 meters in size, and is made up of 9 suspension bridges, with a lot of the walkway being 15 meters above the bottom. It’s additionally free to do the Tree High Stroll, one of many few free issues to do in O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat.
There have been ladders going up a Strangler Fig tree to an remark deck 30 metres above the bottom. The views of the Lamington Nationwide Park out to NSW and Mt Warning had been gorgeous. The Gold Coast Hinterland is one thing particular.
I ought to have realized then Kalyra would have finished the flying fox as she scrambled up the tree along with her daddy to have a look. Savannah wished to do the identical, however fearful Mummy pulled her again ( I’ve a slight ladder phobia).
Bush walks in Lamington Nationwide Park
The Lamington Nationwide Park incorporates over 160 km of graded strolling tracks and an analogous distance of strolling trails that result in lookouts waterfalls and a few of Queensland’s most vital wilderness.
O’Reilly’s provide guided walks or you possibly can set out on foot your self on any of the paths that fit your fancy. There may be the enjoyable creek crossings to Moran’s Fall, a preferred strolling observe from O’Reilly’s.
The Border Monitor is a well-liked full-day hike between Inexperienced Mountains and Binna Burra. Boasting gorgeous surroundings and spectacular views, the Border observe is the spine of the nationwide park and a part of the longer Gold Coast Hinterland Nice Stroll
Glow Worm Tour
We needed to scoff down desserts and the ladies needed to depart ice-cream of their bowls (tragedy I do know!!), nevertheless it was value it although because the glow worm tour was actually superior, and one of many primary actions you are able to do at O’Reilly’s.
Once more, one other expertise the place my ladies soak up the magic of the world they stay in.
Our information stored us entertained as we walked by way of the bush by torchlight to the Glow Worm Grotto. A whole bunch of them sat on the rock wall on the fringe of the creek, luring bugs into their residence utilizing their bioluminescent taillight.
It was actually spectacular, and our information was very informative, and humorous, in regards to the lifetime of a glow worm. We additionally noticed many bandicoots alongside the stroll – the primary I’d ever seen within the wild.
You’ll be able to take a look at extra adventures within the Gold Coast Hinterland at Binna Burra right here and Springbrook Nationwide Park right here.
Canungra Valley Vineyards
O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat additionally has its personal winery, which is positioned exterior of Canungra on Lamington Nationwide Park Highway. Right here you possibly can get pleasure from wine tasting (in fact) and stroll across the winery grounds. You’ll even discover an alpaca farm right here!
You can even benefit from the winery’s scrumptious meals, which is thought for its pizza and cheese boards. In addition they provide picnic baskets full of some scrumptious cheeses and wines, which is right for many who neglect to pack their very own picnic!
Test-In/Test-Out Expertise
Credit score Andy Macpherson Studio & Side Structure
It was tremendous straightforward to examine out and in of O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat. You merely want to indicate them your reserving affirmation, the bank card or debit card you used to make your reserving, and your passport.
The entrance desk is open daily between 7am and 9pm, so should you plan to reach after 9pm you could inform the employees prematurely. They require a money deposit for incidental prices, however you get this again once you take a look at.
The decision: would we advocate O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat?
General, we’d extremely advocate O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat for anybody who loves nature and prefers a spot of wilderness over polished luxurious. You’ll be able to’t get a greater setting in Queensland for rainforest lovers. It’s location on the doorstep of Lamington Nationwide Park is unbeatable.
Whereas the journey to get right here requires somewhat effort, and probably some movement illness tablets (there are plenty of curves), it’s exactly that remoteness that offers it an enduring enchantment.
For walkers, wildlife lovers and anybody craving a real rainforest escape, O’Reilly’s is one in all southeast Queensland’s most rewarding stays.
Gold Coast Journey Suggestions
Pondering of spending time on The Gold Coast? Then these guides could provide help to plan your Gold Coast household vacation:
