Lamington national park, green mountains, o'reillys lodge, binna burra lodge

Lamington National Park: In the Green Behind the Gold
Natural Wanders…
exploring the natural world through writing

IN THE GREEN BEHIND THE GOLD
by Linda Lee Rathbun

Green mountains at Queensland's Lamington National Park is one of my favorite spots on earth. I could happily return there again and again, so drawn am I by the embracing mountains filled with wildlife. Other people also visit the region every year, some have been going there since the early 1900s, always staying at O'Reilly's Guesthouse. One man I met could remember going up the Stockyard Creek Track strapped to his father's back on a packhorse. In those days it was a two day trip from Brisbane by train and coach, then horseback - today it is a mere two hour drive on a twisting sealed road.
The original guesthouse has expanded and the rooms are large and comfortable with private facilities, but it is the wildlife that draws people to Lamington, and of course this has remained relatively unchanged over the decades. Some of the shyer creatures have retreated to the depths of the rainforest that surrounds the guesthouse; others have made peace with the intrusion. King parrots, crimson rosellas and regent bowerbirds of electrifying colors flock to the area. Pademelons, bandicoots, possums and sugargliders hang around the guesthouse and are made welcome by host Peter O'Reilly.
Perhaps the star of Green Mountains is the satin bowerbird, which builds a bower of thin sticks, then paints the walls with berry juice for decoration. To attract a female, he decorates the entrance to his den with an array of blue objects. When a female arrives and stands in his bower, he performs a little dance for her, picking up his blue treasures and singing to her. Lamington rings with the sounds of the riflebird, whipbird, catbird, noisy pita bird and Albert's lyrebird. At night, owls come out to hunt for prey, amongst them the tiny owlet-nightjar that poses like a miniature carving on the branch of a tree..
The flora at Lamington is also stunning and varied, changing dramatically at different elevations. In the valley below the guesthouse, jacaranda and silky oaks bloom in lavender and orange. Up the mountain road you pass through scrub and eucalypt forest, suddenly entering a tunnel of foliage with tree tops rising high above the subtropical rainforest.
Walks from O'Reilly's take you further up into the temperate rainforest and the Antarctic beech forest. From there you can gaze out on to the McPherson Ranges undulating in waves of green far into the distance. These forests contain many surprises: strangler fig trees, staghorn ferns, lichen, mosses, and mushrooms to name a few. There is not a square inch of space where something in not growing. On a pathway called Tree Top Walk, a swaying suspended bridge allows a birds-eye view of the forest. From the lookouts you can see flame trees in bloom, blazing like bonfires in the saturated greens of the rainforest canopy. Step softly through the forest and wonderful things reveal themselves. I once found a diamond python curled up like a loose spring sleeping in a small patch of sunshine, and a pair of yellow robins building a perfect nest. I was entranced by a small scrubwren continually returning to the hollow of a tree trunk to feed its three chicks, each peeping loudly with a gaping mouth the size of a child's fingertip. A pair of Boobook owls charmed me with their tenderness for each other as they snuggled under a fallen log like two love struck dolls. I have seen dragon lizards sleeping on trees, and once a tiny skink peered out from a hole in a moss covered log. I have stepped across rushing streams banked with flowering Helmholtzia lily and stood by pools watching the colorful Lamington spiny crayfish dart from hole to hole.
Returning from the forest to O'Reilly's Guesthouse is like coming home at the end of the day. Mary O'Reilly greets you with a smile, Karma O'Reilly sees you to your table, introducing you to the other guests as though everyone had been invited to a private dinner party. You are faced with one of life's most bewildering decisions: should you have cream or custard or both on your steamed pudding? Short of tucking you into bed and singing you a lullaby, the O'Reillys do everything to make sure you feel at home.
For those who prefer camping, Lamington National Park runs a camping ground at Green Mountains. The sites are set into a hill, offering a priceless view for only a few dollars a night. I have shared my muesli with birds here and watched marsupial mice madly chasing each other around a bush. I once weathered a thunderstorm that unleashed buckets of rain and cataclysmic thunder and lighting. I have watched sunsets scald the valley below and seen the sun come up over the trees, throwing great beams of light into the hills. On hot summer days I have escaped to the cool rainforest, seeking out waterfalls for relief. I have seen dingoes come to the edge of the trees, peering shyly at me while I ate dinner. There is a pond nearby that sings with the sounds of ecstatic frogs after a heavy rain.

At the southern end of Lamington National Park there is another lodge that attracts its own loyal and devoted guests. Binna Burra looks out over a deep valley of thick rainforest, and in the distance you can see the Pacific Ocean. Guest rooms are tucked into a slope of gum trees, clusters of timber cottages that, together, look like a rustic village. Binna Burra shares Lamington National Park with O'Reilly's and competes for guests--but always in the spirit of friendly cooperation. Both offer the same stunning rainforest. Both provide meals, guided walks and activities in a single tariff. Both will send you off on your own if you prefer solitude, arming you with walking maps and packed lunches. Both promote nature as their primary attraction.
Binna Burra also manages a camping ground and has tent-cabins for families to holiday in. I have camped here in the company of pademelons grazing at my door. I have also stayed in Binna Burra's charming little honeymoon cottage, sleeping to the sound of soft wind blowing through gum trees. In the evening, as the sun slips behind the mountains that fall in lavender scoops to the horizon, kookaburras and crimson rosellas glow as they forage for their evening meal. Possums come out later, nibbling on wedges of fruit and regarding you with soft eyes.
One of the nicest walks at Lamington is a full day trek from O'Reilly's to Binna Burra or back the other way. Each has a bus that picks up its guests at the end of the day and drives them home, or you can arrange to do the day walk and have the bus deliver your luggage so you can stay at your destination. O'Reilly's and Binna Burra also have bus services to and from Brisbane or Surfer's Paradise.

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