Staff Trip Report: The Magic of Australian Wildlife - Part 2 - O'Reilly's Rainforest Resort, Lamington National Park - by Stewart Oak

After our exhilarating experience at Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort, we had a brief overnight in Brisbane, before picking up our hire car, and making the very pleasant drive to Lamington National Park. Only about half an hour south of Brisbane, down the Pacific Highway, we turned inland and began to experience the Australian Wilderness with some stunning scenery.

As we got deeper into the National Park, we stopped when we spotted some wallabies on the road side. Nobody had told us to expect this, so it really was a great surprise.

When we arrived at O'Reilly's we were already in full 'Wildlife' mode. The sounds of the forest as we had driven in reached new highs when we parked up, and realised we were ready for a treat. The grounds of the beautifully manicured O'Reilly's were teaming with Wildlife, and from our balcony we could watch the Pademelon Wallabies enjoying the afternoon sun, as the ubiquitous Brush Turkeys roamed around looking for leftover food.

The rooms of O'Reilly's are both tastefully designed, comfortable, and perfect for feeling at one with the surrounding nature. It was tempting to just sit on the balcony and take it all in, but with the sunlight already fading, we wanted to explore. We immediately stumbled upon the 'bird feeding area', and before I knew what was happening I was surrounded by gorgeous Crimson Rosellas, and an Australian King Parrot.

Soon after this, we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and were amazed to see that we were being watched by the iconic, and aptly named, Regent Bower Bird. Lamington National Park is the only place you can find this Beauty!

An easy, short walk from the main reception area of O'Reilly's and you find the acclaimed Tree Tops Walk, where there's an opportunity to ascend right up into the canopy for a proper 'bird's eye' view. I didn't hesitate for a second, and it was worth the climb.

I would have stayed up there for ages, but there was soon as small queue forming at the foot of the tree, so reluctantly, and before I could see much in the way of the birdlife I had to come down. We thoroughly enjoyed the circular walk, and had already put the 'Birds of Lamington National Park' book to good use, spotting several of the resident species including Scrubwrens, and a Logrunner. Although we didn't capture them on camera, this picture gives a feeling of the atmosphere:After this walk, we tried out the 'Lost World Spa', and sat in the wonderfully appointed Jacuzzi watching the Rosellas and Wallabies, and listening to the mesmerising sounds of the forest. Back to the balcony, and the sunset was once again setting off the magnificent landscape in a distinctly Australian hue. At the crack of dawn the next day, we joined the superbly organised 'Explorer Programme' for the daily birding walk. Our bleary eyes were soon awoken in style, when right outside the meeting point, a small bowl of fruit was put out, and the Bowerbirds soon arrived en masse. The feeding followed strict hierarchical order, and it was really interesting to witness the pecking order of the Regent and Satin Bowerbirds, and the males and females respectively.

From the feed, we went to check out an actual Bower, to learn what gives these birds their moniker. I won't spoil it for you with a picture... but the story of how the males go about constructing their 'stage' in order to set themselves off most attractively to their potential partners is a true gem of the natural world. Moving on through the forest, we were entranced by the calls. We could hear the electrifying zaps of the Whipbirds, and strange sounds of Wonga Pigeons, and the Wompoo Fruit-Dove deep in the forest. Then we came across a sweet little Eastern Yellow Robin that came right close to the path:

We were hoping to see Albert's Lyrebird, and our excellent guide Jamie had picked out it's call a few times on the walk, but unfortunately that was as close as we came. Another highlight was when we saw the semi tame Great Eastern Whipbird which came very close to the path, and we heard it's shriek from right up close. Jamie said that we are only a very small portion of people that have visited Queensland's rainforest, to not only hear the characteristic call, but to see the surprisingly small creature that is responsible for it.

After a short break for Breakfast we joined the Discovery programme again, for the 3 hour morning walk to Moran's falls and back via the Wishing Tree. It was a very enjoyable stroll, and Jamie pointed out everything from the lairs of the trapdoor spiders to the legend of the wishing tree.

After our busy morning on foot, we had a relaxing afternoon around the room, and had some visitors to our balcony expecting us to perhaps leave some scraps? They didn't have any luck with us.

We enjoyed another spectacular sunset over drinks and a very nice meal at the Rainforest Bar, and headed off on our final excursion to see the Glow-worms. On the bank of the creek, they were there, like the sky on a clear night, twinkling away like distant stars. Strange to think that something as unglamorous as simple mosquito larvae are responsible for this phenomenon.

Early (yet again) the next morning, we sadly left the enchanting Lamington National Park, stopping again for Wallaby spotting on the way. When it came to the Kookaburra on the telegraph wire (which we had somehow not seen on this trip up until then), we just had time for a quick photo before we dropped off the car at Brisbane Airport (we used 'Thrifty' Car Hire). We were in good time for our Cathay Pacific flight back via Hong Kong.

All in all a trip of a life-time, and thoroughly re-kindled the love affair with Australian Wildlife.

You can visit O'Reilly's as part of our 'Queensland's Reef and Rainforest' tour, or ask one of our consultants for your own Tailor Made Australian Wildlife Tour.

Staff Trip Report: The Magic of Australian Wildlife - Part 1 - Sydney, Noosa, and Tangalooma Wild Dolphins - by Stewart Oak

Australia holds a special place in my heart, as it was there, on the East coast 8 years ago that I both met my wife, and simultaneously inflamed a passion for serious travel, that I have been expanding on ever since. My younger brother also arrived in Sydney 8 years ago, when I was first there, and he hasn't been back to live anywhere else ever since.

When my best friend Martin announced last year that he was to marry his girlfriend from Queensland, and that the wedding would be in Noosa, I knew we would be in for a treat. There are so many wonderful places in the world, that part of me does find it hard to go back to the same place, but Australia has so much to offer, and combining a chance to stay in Sydney with my brother, and be Best Man at the wedding in Noosa... with an opportunity to check out a couple of Wildlife Worldwide's Queensland hotspots... well this was to be a holiday of a lifetime!

I won't go into detail about Sydney, as the wildlife I experienced was mainly that which I encountered in the bars, especially on the stag drinks, or 'Bucks Party', as they call it down under. It all went very well, Bondi Beach is as beautiful as ever, and it was great to catch up with my Brother. We flew with Virgin Blue up from Sydney up to the Sunshine Coast airport (Maroochydore) and it was about a 25 minute drive to Noosa. The wedding in Noosa was perfect, and I even managed to do pretty well with my speech, which was a big relief. The actual ceremony was on a boat, and with a colourful sunset, and a Caribbean steel drum band aboard, it couldn't have been better.

Noosa, although a popular holiday hotspot amongst the Aussies, does have its own fair share of exciting wildlife... and I remember from my previous visit, walking for hours around the National Park in search of a wild Koala. After days of disappointment, I thought it was a local joke on the tourists that Koalas did indeed inhabit this forest, much as walking amongst the Eucalyptus trees, seeing the turquoise water, and glassy waves peeling into the shore is well worth the time spent there. So, you can imagine my delight, when this time, after a couple of hours of walking around arching our backs and looking up into the trees, we had just about given up, when we realised that we had walked straight past a lovely Koala sitting in a small tree right near the car park at the entrance to the Park!! We stood for ages watching as he posed for us. Brilliant.


After all the excitement of the wedding in Noosa, it was soon time for the 'work' part of the trip to begin, and it's a tough job, when it comes to sampling the products for Wildlife Worldwide, but someone has to do it! Our first stop was Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort, which we got to by driving the couple of hours down to Brisbane, and catching the organised shuttle ferry to Moreton Island. It was an enjoyable hour or so aboard the speedy catamaran, and we spotted a few dolphins in the distance which whetted our appetite. We checked into our beautiful room in the Kookaburra wing of this 4 star resort, but as we saw the colours of a spectacular sunset were transforming the skyline, we went straight for the beach.

The main Raison d'être for the Tangalooma resort is the Wild Dolphin feeding that occurs predictably every evening. The dolphins here have been subjected to rigorous scientific study, and everything possible has been done to make sure that they do not become too dependent on the interaction with the humans. The relationship with the resident dolphins began with serendipity, when fisherman on the jetty noticed that large groups of fish were attracted to the jetty lights, which in turn attracted the dolphins. In the early 90's one of the dolphins took a fish that was discarded by the fisherman, and so began the feeding link between man and dolphin.

The whole evening was organised extremely well. The dolphins arrived on cue (as they apparently do very predictably), and although there was something obviously contrived about the whole thing, it was a fascinating way to observe these wonderful mammals, and it was a delightful experience to offer a fish and feel their gentle intelligence from so close. No matter how sceptical you may be, the child in everyone would love this experience, as we did, I am sure.

The following day, things got even better. We started off the morning with a sand dune safari (Moreton is one of the largest sand Islands in the world), and this also involved some 'sand tobogganing'. In the 4WD vehicle there was an interesting and informative commentary about the Island's eco-systems, and wildlife.

After this, we had about an hour window before the next organised excursion, so we sped off to the Dive Centre, and hired some wetsuits and snorkel equipment to check out the 'artificial reefs' that had been created just offshore. I have never done 'wreck diving' (as offered by our sister company Dive Worldwide), and I am not a qualified diver, so being able to snorkel amongst these wrecks was an amazing opportunity to sample the adrenalin rush that I can now understand the wreck divers must get! There were loads of fish of all shapes, colours and sizes, and it was nothing short of breath-taking to watch them weave in and out of the 9 sunken ships in the dedicated marine wildlife site.

After returning our snorkel gear, we rushed over to the jetty to board our 'Eco-Explorer Cruise', which is advertised to feature viewing of Dugongs, Sea Turtles and Dolphins. After a short ride across to the part of the bay that is an allocated 'go slow' zone for boats, we came across a big group of Dugongs (sometimes known as Sea Cows) grazing serenely in the shallow waters. We cut the boat engine, and bobbed about with them for a long time. From the front they look a bit like a seal as they come up for air, but their rear fin is more like a small whale. We loved them.


After the high of the Dugongs, we then cruised around the bay a bit more, and soon spotted a huge Green Sea Turtle. The photos didn't really work, but it was great fun cruising along beside him. We were amazed at the speed he generated, probably trying to get away from our boat! Then, on the way back to the resort, we were joined by some of the resident dolphins. I have always heard stories of how they love to play in the wake of larger boats, and have been in many places where this is supposed to be observed without any luck. It was such a thrill when we had 4 or 5 of them all playing around the waves, and it somehow felt much more organic than the previous evening's show when they were just in it for the food. We managed to get a couple of pretty good pictures too!

Fully satisfied, we arrived back at the Tangalooma jetty, and with regret, had to board our return Catamaran to go back to Brisbane.

Although we do not currently feature Tangalooma in our Brochure and website, we will be more than happy to Tailor Make your Australia Wildlife Holiday to include this. It makes an excellent extension to our: Queensland's Reefs and Rainforests Wildlife Holiday.