What you can expect to see in Lamington National Park

Last updated 11 February 2021

Take a walk in Lamington National Park

Want to know what it’s like to walk through a rainforest reminiscent of the forests that covered the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana?

A strange noise breaks the gentle silence of the rainforest. Initially, my thoughts were it sounds like the cries of a baby, but then as it repeats, my brain likens it to that of a cat’s meow – but somewhat strangulated.

“That’s a green catbird,” explains our guide Kate Jones. As we continue walking the wailing intensifies.

“Maybe we’re getting closer to it?” she suggests.

I wonder what this bird looks like. Would a creature that makes such a bizarre sound also look unusual?

But no luck. The wailing stops. As with much of the wildlife native to this part of Lamington National Park, they’re rather shy and remain camouflaged from the human eye. But I manage to grab a quick recording on my phone.

Sitting at my desk in Brisbane writing up this story, I re-play the snatched 23 seconds. The catbird wailing, the rustle of leaves and the crunching of footsteps – immediately transports me back to that moment in Lamington National Park.

This was day one of our three-day Gold Coast Hinterland Traverse Walk a pack free guided walk with Life’s an Adventure. World Heritage-listed Lamington National Park is one of the last few remaining extensive areas of subtropical rainforest in the world. The park covers 22,000 hectares of unique wilderness and is home to more frog, bird and marsupial species than anywhere else in Australia.

Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to walk beneath the canopy of ancient trees and be at one with nature with all its strange sounds?

Gold Coast to Binna Burra

Day one 

We swap the coastal outlook of Broadbeach – the meet and greet point at Meriton Apartments – for the lush green of Lamington National Park. Our guides Kate (otherwise known as a Chief Experience Officer – or CEO) and Selina give a rundown about the morning before we jump into our mini-van and take the winding road to the plateau on the Binna Burra side of the National Park.

Before entering the Park, we scrub the bottom of our boots and lightly disinfect them at the pathogen control station (a requirement from Parks and Wildlife to discourage bringing any foreign weeds or harmful organisms into the National Park.) And line up for the obligatory team photo under the sign before commencing our walk into Lamington National Park.

The air is fresh and beams of sunlight dart through the overhead canopy sending dappled streaks of gold along the path. Our group of eight fans out in a single file. There are couples, friends and a few singletons (like me.) We break into a nice comfortable rhythm. Kate stops and points out a strangler fig. Many trees in the National Park are held prisoner by the giant encroaching arms of a strangler fig. Once they grow big enough, strangler figs prevent their host tree from growing wider. Like an uninvited guest, they compete for nutrients and overpower the host tree’s roots, eventually killing the host tree. They become the dominant tree, the hollow insides of the dead host tree are the perfect breeding ground for fauna – bats, birds, and other animals.

Such is the incredible power of nature over long periods – the one constant in this ancient landscape: time.

Kate guides us down past Ship’s Stern and along Dave’s Circuit. Eventually, we come out to a cliff edge overlooking the Numinbah valley. Not long after we pull up stumps for lunch – a delicious fresh wrap and muffin from the Flying Bean Café (our earlier pitstop at Beechmont.)

Exertion makes you hungry and this food tastes so good!

Followed by a hot coffee (or tea for me) prepared by Kate and her trusty little gas bottle, we are re-energised for the remainder of the afternoon’s walk.

We spend a pleasant evening at the historic and very special Binna Burra Lodge. I won’t go into lengths of how wonderful this Lodge was as it sadly no longer exists. Four weeks after staying there, the Lodge was destroyed in some early season bushfires that tore through sections of Lamington National Park ( I later wrote about that experience and the recovery.)

I was devastated about losing this historical part of Binna Burra (as were thousands of other Binna Burra Lodge guests) I wrote this post about Binna Burra Lodge.

Yes, they will re-build – but like everything, this will take time.

Day one step count 19,400  –  12 kilometres

The Border Track trail

Day two

Our route, the 21.4-kilometre Border Track, is one of the park’s oldest trails and the backbone of its walking track system, linking the Binna Burra and Green Mountain sections of Lamington National Park. It travels up to the McPherson Range’s temperate rainforests, with multiple outlooks south towards New South Wales, before descending through subtropical rainforest and into O’Reilly’s. Hikers typically complete the walk in six to seven hours. It can be walked from O’Reilly’s to Binna Burra or the direction we took, from Binna Burra to the Green Mountains of O’Reilly’s.

The first break of the morning is at Wanungara Lookout, a spectacular place to stop for a quick coffee/tea. Kate selected this sheltered spot to avoid the windy gusts that are picking up on the more exposed western side. A few groups pass by. They’ve been dropped at Binna Burra from O’Reilly’s and are making their way back to O’Reilly’s.

An hour later we stop for a re-fuelling lunch at Bithongabel lookout and attempt to shelter from the wind that is picking up in strength. From the edge of the lookout between the trees, I glimpse the pointy peak of Mt Warning, the remnants of an ancient shield volcano that erupted repeatedly 20-23 million years ago. This is just over halfway and we meet Selina and Lorraine who have walked in from O’Reilly’s side (Selina drove the bus from Binna Burra.)

We say hello to our missing two and press onwards.

The landscape and vegetation change throughout the walk. It feels surreal as we pass from shady rainforest to open areas with Antarctic Beech Trees. These mystical moss-covered giants range in age from 2000—5000 years. Wouldn’t they have many stories to tell if they could talk?!

As the track descends past these magnificent trees, fatigue settles in (around the 18-kilometre mark.) I continually check Strava for the distance, knowing that with each kilometre down there are only a few more to go.

I realised I hadn’t put in enough hill walks or long-distance hiking to get me ‘match-fit’ for this distance.

My knees and body were exhausted as I arrived at the boardwalk on the perimeter of the property. I made it to O’Reilly’s as the sun dipped behind the Scenic Rim escarpment. If it wasn’t for my walking poles and Selina’s chatter to distract my mind from the exhaustion my body felt, I wonder whether I would have made it to O’Reilly’s?

My lack of preparation aside there is no denying, this is a grand and historical walk. And it’s an achievement to say you have completed it. The delicious meal at O’Reilly’s restaurant (accompanied by their own wines) was enjoyed all the more, knowing the efforts we’d all put in on the Border Track.

Day two step count: 30,194 and 22.84 kilometres on Strava

From O’Reilly’s to a winery

Day three

Despite the body saying it wanted to stay in bed, I didn’t want to miss the early bird feeding at O’Reilly’s. We met outside the front entrance to O’Reilly’s reception at 6.30 am. Our large group followed the guide for the morning, Nick, who hails from New Zealand. He leads us around the boardwalk, reaching for bird food from his pockets to attract the native birds. How cool to see a Regents Bower Bird (had to be quick to get a pic) grab a sultana from Nick’s fingers. And a cheeky Eastern Whipbird was not shy as we wandered along the boardwalk.

I managed to squeeze in a filling buffet breakfast before Selina took our packs to load in the minibus. It was time for our final walk to Moran Falls. A shorter distance thankfully – only an eight- kilometre return walk. We climb a purpose-built tower for views over the treetops.

A special tree to the O’Reilly family is the ‘Wishing Tree.’  After walking through the giant exposed tree roots, Kate shares a story about Mary who works at O’Reilly’s. She is the granddaughter of Mick – one of eight O’Reilly boys (from two families) who arrived in the region in 1911 to begin dairy farms. Mary remembers coming to the tree as a child with her uncles and cousins. They were told they had to run around the tree seven times and then make a wish. But the kids would only make it to five or six circuits before they’d keel over from dizziness.

After seeing the Moran’s waterfall it’s time to head back to O’Reilly’s.

Life’s an Adventure tour offers a unique way of leaving O’Reilly’s.  A helicopter flight over the Gold Coast Hinterland was to deliver us to our last place for lunch – Sarabah Estate Vineyards. But mother nature intervened. The wind that whipped up the day before was considered too strong for the chopper to land and take off safely, so our planned fly-out was canceled.

To Plan B. We took the minibus down the windy mountain road, where we enjoyed a relaxing lunch at Sarabah Estate.

Day three-step count: 16,646

Why do the Life’s an Adventure walk?

The walk is adventurous but with a luxe overtone, appealing to the traveller looking to combine healthy outdoors hiking without curbing on luxury. Apart from my knees feeling they’d been through a SOLID workout this was an unforgettable hiking experience. A three-day getaway, walking in a heritage-listed region of Australia with a group of people who were there for the same reason.

To be completely immersed in nature – catlike calls and all.

My tips:

I am knee ‘challenged’ as a result of a ski incident a few years back in Japan and I seemed to be the one lagging behind, but I also stopped to take photos frequently. Life’s an Adventure takes the safety of their guests seriously and I was always ‘watched’ by Selina at the back of the group. Under her watchful eye, myself or Warwick, the other meanderer were not left behind! Policy apparently.

Regarding the Border Track: it is rocky and pockmarked with tree roots (it’s a rainforest so of course trees feature prominently) so running shoes are not recommended. Life’s an Adventure supply a three-page packing list and I suggest you don’t stray from what they recommend. And make sure you have your walking boots broken in – this type of continuous walking requires healthy feet the next day. Blisters do not heal overnight!

I admit I was challenged with the uneven ground and the never-ending tree roots. They meant I had to really focus on where each step was going. My group was mostly older than me – late 50s with some in their 60s. So don’t think whinging about my knees means the walk is not doable.

Like anything that involves activity – it’s all in the prior preparation.

Getting there

O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat is 90 minutes west of the Gold Coast and two hours southwest of Brisbane.

*Disclaimer: The writer was hosted on this trip by Life’s an Adventure. All opinions expressed are her own.