Exploring Lamington National Park, Novemebr 26, 2

TUESDAY – NOVEMBER 26, 2013

BOTTOM LINE:

O’Reilly’s Resort at Lamington National Park

BACK STORY:

We headed down the street early in search of somewhere to get a quick breakfast.  We had a full day scheduled and wanted an early start…plus we wanted to get out of the dive we were staying in! To our surprise we found a delightful, cheery little restaurant called Pizza Bar.  It was open for breakfast at 7am and for $9.00 we got two bacon/egg/avocado/tomato/ whole grain toasties with a cup of tea.  Scott was the 24-year-old owner and this was his second business.  He and his waitress served us, gave us touring tips and got us on our way fully satisfied.

Breakfast at Pizza Bar

As we were paying, they commented that they really liked my accent! What?

They didn’t think that Bruce had much of one!

Our outing was a drive up to O’Reily’s Resort in the Lamington National Park.  We had been told by a number of people that we should consider taking it in. 

We meandered through the hinterlands spotted with horses, cattle, wineries and farms.  The typical homes have a single hip roof that joins above the center of the house.  Chimneys are seldom seen and huge wrap around porches are popular.

Countryside Home (1)

 

Countryside Home (2)

People had fruit stands out on the roadside where fresh produce was available along with eggs.  Four avocados go for $2, which I considered a good price.

The road up to the top was twisty and at times one lane!  At one point the hairpin turn was so steep that a separate road was cut through the hill for one car to pass and rejoin the main road.  Luckily there were few cars coming the opposite way so with an extreme drop off, I straddled the center of the road.

Steep bend in road

 

One lane alternate road

The outlook on the way up was stunning and although a bit hazy the view was breathtaking.  The breeze was the only thing that cut the silence along with an occasional bird call.

O’reilly’s sat on top of the mountain, but within the National Park.  The family had been granted permission to live in the park with the condition that the four siblings build and live in four separate cabins.  The four met the condition by building all four cabins that shared a common wall in the center.  That later became the foundation for the current resort lodge.

View from lookout

After sharing a smoke salmon “toastie,” we joined a guided tour into the rain forest and then ventured off on our own to the sky walk.  On the way to the tour, we were attacked by an aggressive group of parrots that smelled food and wanted it from Bruce!

The Bird Man from Lamington

The tour guide, Glenn Trelfo has worked at the site for 32 years and shared new and different facts with us…like the female “trap door spider” that builds a circular nest with a hinged trap door over it.  At night she props the door open hoping to attract a male partner.  When he arrives and mates with her, she then devours him and the door closes.

Camouflaged circular spider nest

 

Tunnel spider trap door!

The sky walk was a wood slat suspended walkway high up in the tree canopy.  We felt like we were in an aviary having birds dart all around us.  Very cool!

Rain Forest Sky walk

 

Climbing the swaying sky walk

 

Golden Robin (1)

Golden Robin (2)

 

Hanging bird nest

Driving down the mountain took a lot less time that it did driving up.  Ever wonder why that is?  It went quickly for us because it was dusk and we began to see Wallaby’s coming out of their hiding and into the cattle grazing lands for their nightly meal.  What fun to see them in their natural habitat!  We did find out that any members of the kangaroo family can harm someone that they sense as a threat. We were told, they rock back on their thick tail, raise their large feet and arms and rock forward while kicking and punching…doing some serious damage!

Wallaby in the wild!

Driving back to the ocean, we headed for a light dinner at Zambrero, a fresh Mex café.  The owner of the chain of restaurants has graciously made a large contribution to the nonprofit organization Stop Hunger Now for which Bruce is involved.  We will be having dinner with him in Sydney in a couple of weeks.  The food was very good and $2 for every meal sold is being donated to the cause.