We’d heard about this birders’ paradise for so long, so we made the trek from Melbourne to South East Queensland via the Pacific Highway – and now we were set to arrive at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat…that was a big drive: would it be worth it?
On 30 September 2024, we marshalled our energies in the hamlet of Canungra, inland from the Gold Coast, and almost a base camp for the trek up the mountain to O’Reilly’s.
What better way to do that with a great pie and sauce – and coffee – at the Outpost Cafe (highly recommended!).
We had a slow and steady hour’s drive ahead of us, onwards and upwards on the mountain. Go Troopy (which didn’t miss a beat, of course)! Here’s our recording of the trip.
We were delighted to have king parrots and crimson rosellas on arrival – we’ve come to really appreciate these gorgeous birds in Victoria.
This was all very lovely but it wasn’t long before the real stars of the show turned up in force – the one and only regent bowerbird, the bird we had really come to see (we love all birds, but this is one of the only places we know of to see the regent bowerbird). Of course the male is the truly spectacular-looking partner…
While we very really delighted to see them up so close, we were a bit deflated to learn that this is because they are hand fed. It’s so much nicer to happen upon them in the wild.
There are excellent walks around the main area of the Retreat, and we did several. The old calf muscles knew they were alive because of the mountainous nature of the area, but paths were generally in good condition, although a storm had just been through so there was quite a bit of debris around.
We were really thrilled when we managed to find birds in the wild, and there was quite a variety.
A favourite moment was finding and filming the Australian Logrunner. Here’s a brief clip.
Another highlight was finding female bowerbirds feeding in the trees some distance from our home base.
We spent a day birding with a private guide, Rahul – he was excellent and very generous with his time, going all out to find as many species as he could. A very kind and knowledgeable man!
For accommodation, we opted for a villa which was well-appointed and comfortable, but just a bit too far from the dining facilities to walk to dinner.
We did have a meal in the restaurant one evening, and it was lovely, but otherwise we opted to cook at our digs: it got dark early-ish, and although it wasn’t that hot during the day, it certainly got nippy at night so we were quite happy to stay in.
Coffee and muffins for morning tea, Rosalie can attest, were very much appreciated at the cafe. Accommodation and meals were pricey, as you would expect in such a mountaintop location.
We stayed for four nights, and we thought that was about right for us. Here are some more glimpses of the wonderful birds we saw during our visit.
Have you been to O’Reilly’s? What was your experience?
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