Nestled high in the gold coast hinterland is the beautiful World Heritage Lamington National Park.
Lying on the Qld and NSW border, it is approximately an hour's drive south from Brisbane to the western edge holding the now famous O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat. The O'Reilly family of bushrangers established the retreat in 1926. Bernard O'Reilly became famous for rescuing survivors from a small plane that crashed in the midst of a wild storm in the rainforest in 1937.
Image by Lady Alys (Wikimedia Commons)
Part of the scenic rim, the park's natural beauty, wildlife, ancient trees, waterfalls, walking tracks and mountain views are the many reasons that it was national heritage listed in 2007.
The beautiful and lush surroundings create the breathtaking bushwalks that wind through the rocky terrain and past its many stunning waterfalls. The most popular and worth the trip out is the tree-top walk, which includes an observatory deck that ascends up into the taller trees with a magnificent view through the valley that you won't forget easily.
(Wikimedia Commons)
For the more serious adventurer, they have an all-day track that can take about 6-8 hours and shows off five different waterfalls along with an enchanting thousand year old Antarctic beech forest. It would be a good idea to start early if you plan to conquer that walk in a day because it can start to get darker earlier in the dense forest.
Alternatively, you don't have to spend just the day out there. The O'Reilly's retreat provides guest rooms or a powered campsite and little cabins so you can enjoy more of the sights and sounds of the cool rainforest walks, along with the guesthouse retreat.
However long you do stay, it is definitely worth the winding drive up the scenic mountain side.
