We have been focused on the more easterly (and closer) bits of the national parks that lie upon the border ranges. We decided to head over to the Green Mountain section of Lamington to see O'Reilly's Guest House and check out a new set of trails. So we headed out through Nerang, up through beautiful Beechmont (with great views of the coast) and braved the multiple sections of single-lane road that cling to the ridge leading to the Lamington Plateau.
There is a small office for the National park (which has been absorbed into the
Orielly's building
... hmmm). A great display of skulls, some random poisonous critters in jars of formaldehyde, great trays of beautiful mounted butterflies
, old surveying equipment - all the trappings of a proper small museum. - oh - and a warning aboutan escaped highly venomous funnel spider
someplace in the room!
O'Reilly's is an old in-holding in the National Park. A restaurant, the requisite gift shop, O'Reilly's "Lost World Spa" which "provides the Gold Coast region with a true destinational spa experience and is a valued addition to the Gold Coast tourism infrastructure." Here you can enjoy such delights as:
Vinotherapy Ritual 2.5 hours $295 per person
Begin your ritual gently with a warm steam to relax muscles and slow the mind before a
full body exfoliation to soften and smooth your skin. Continue your journey with a Red
Grape & Clay Infused Body Mask to firm and nourish whilst enjoying a deeply relaxing
scalp massage in your warm cocoon. Conclude your ritual with a warm, aromatic soak
in the tub, enhanced by The Lost Worlds signature Vinotherapy bath blend.
- Steam/shower
- Jojoba Body polish
- Vinotherapy Red Grape & Clay Infused body mask
- Scalp massage
- Bath
We headed for Toolona creek which drops into a deep river basin before climbing up past 14 waterfalls in a steep climb to an overlook on the rim of the caldera.
I have been studying phenomenology, or "lived experience" (Heidegger; Husseral) as an approach in some research but these Aussies have this down pat. As we drop
ped into Canungra creek we were confronted with this sign: If you are looking at the Empire state building or the Eiffel Tower and want to get to the top, would you take the stairs or the lift? If you said lift, this trail is not for you!" -- Now THAT is communicating lived experience. Being somewhat less than intimidated by the thought of a 1400' climb up out of the valley, we soldiered on.We were immediately rewarded by the sight of an Albert's Lyre Bird scratching in the dirt at the side of the trail. Unfortunately it was not amenable to photos and even my deft pursuit through the webs of entirely venomous spiders, over the burrows of even more venomous snakes, and acres of thorny (and probably poisonous!) undergrowth, did not get me within flash range of this beautiful bird... but at least Nancy can *actually* check it off her life list!
The jungle is an amazing place. As we left the lone family at Picnic Rock (an outcrop in the middle of the river) we also left all sounds and traces of people beyond the trail itself. We have noticed that on even medium length hikes we rarely see other people more than 3-4 km from the trail head. So the light filtering through the canopy, the raucous or melodious birds, the creaking trees as they rub together in the breeze, the trickling creeks, the frumious bandersnatch... we have it all to ourselves.
Just don't step on anything venomous....
The trail up wove back and forth across the creek.. long switchbacks which took us through multiple eco-zones with fantastic vegetation. We were warned by a sign at the creek not to worry about the blue shelled crayfish we might see tramping on the trail as they moved from 
one drainage to another, we heard lots of birds we never saw, we passed by, leapt rocks below, and peered over the lip, of many spouting waterfalls, sprays, drips, and assorted forms of water falling from on-high to down-below.
We passed through a dense stand of Antarctic Beech - great mossy, gnarled trunks that advance through time from the days of Gondwanaland. We finally reached the caldera rim where we heard multiple Lyre-birds - the damndest sounding birds - again they were all off in the deep growth but the video below captures a bit of the magic of their call. I could have stood there all day and listened. But the woods are dark and deep and there were miles to go before we sleep... We headed for Mt Bithongabel, where the map clearly shows an overlook. We ran into 2 campers (beautiful spot) who said - "Oh -that overlook isn't there any more!" What - it fell off? "No, it just became so overgrown there is no sightline off the rim!"But the afternoon sun was spectacular as we headed off along a section of the Border Track, weaving through dense mats of hanging moss, vines and the occasional highly venomous tree snake (never saw them but I *knew* they were there!) back to O'Reilly's (hmm - maybe I could go for that Vinotherapy Mask now! Or maybe the Reviving Salt Glow (a mere $119).
Nah - we packed it in and wended our way through the gathering gloom, where red is grey and yellow white. But we knew that little koalas in the road would not be an illusion. So it was slow...
Aussie Wine -Not Just for Drinking!
(info from the Lost World Spa website)
"Information on Vinotherapy
Vinotherapy involves using grape seed extracts which happen to contain some of
nature’s most powerful antioxidants. These antioxidants are fifty times the strength
of vitamin E and ten times the strength of vitamin C. The grape products are rich
in collagen and firm the skin and slow down the aging process. The infusion of the
extracts of grape will introduce healing properties and rejuvenate.
Products such as red grape extract, micronised vines, wine leaves, grape skins, yeasts,
grape seed oil, red wine or muscatel wine are used to stimulate the production of
collagen, combat free radicals and prevent the premature aging of the skin, as well as
improving blood circulation, stimulating the immune system and combating fatigue."
(nothing to see in this video - listen to the ONE bird making this noise!)
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