O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat is located 2 hours drive from the heart of Brisbane in Lamington National Park but it feels like you are a world away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The O'Reilly family has been welcoming guests to their slice of paradise for almost 100 years and have something for everyone on their stunning property. The retreat welcomes day visitors and overnight guests all year round. We spent a long weekend there a few months ago and had a wonderful time. This is what we got up to:
Lunch on the way - O’Reilly’s vineyard / Mountview Alpaca Farm
Located about 45 minutes from O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat near Canungra is their vineyard, which is co-located with the Mountview Alpaca Farm. We booked an accommodation package that included a picnic pack for 2 on the way up.
Although the vineyards were exceptionally busy on the day we went (it was a public holiday) the staff had everything well under control and from parking the car, to picking up our lunch and finding a nice place to park our picnic blanket and bums beside the creek things went smoothly for us. The picnic pack was delicious and included crackers and cheese, bread rolls, meats, salads and a tasty relish as well as an ice cream each.
You can choose to walk an alpaca, just grab a bag of food to feed them over the fence or just watch them from a safe distance depending on what you prefer. If you do want to walk an alpaca, make sure you pre-book these as it is a pretty popular activity and you might miss out if you don't lock it in ahead of time.
You can check out the vineyards and pre-book your own picnic pack here;
You can check out the Alpaca farm and book your Alpaca experience here: https://www.mountviewfarm.com.au/
The drive to O'Reillys Rainforest Retreat
Once you leave the vineyard and continue up the road towards O'Reillys rainforest retreat the road becomes narrow and windy almost immediately and stays this way until you arrive. Be patient, stay alert and know that the drive is 100% worth it.
Reception / check in
We arrived a little before the check-in time of 2pm and our room wasn't quite ready yet. The reception staff were very friendly and showed us a map of the retreat and pointed out where everything was and helped us book our meal times and activities for the weekend. As soon as our room was ready they let us know and we went to check it out.
Check out the retreat here: https://oreillys.com.au/
Our room
There are many types of accommodation available at O'Reillys's from basic camping through to stunning villas and everything in between. We booked a "Mountain View Room" which was located close to the main building and very comfortable. I forgot to take photos of the room itself before we messed it up, but this is the view we had of the McPherson ranges from our balcony.
You can see all the types of accommodation available here:
Campground: https://oreillys.com.au/oreillys-campground/
The Birds of Prey show
One of the things that O'Reilly's is well known for is the birds of prey show that runs daily. The show runs for just under an hour and you will meet and hear about the different birds of prey that call O'Reillys home. We really enjoyed watching the show and seeing the birds fly around and show us what they could do.
Check out more about the bird show here: https://oreillys.com.au/activities/birds-prey/
Bar
After an enjoyable afternoon exploring the retreat, we headed to the bar, which is located above the reception area to enjoy a drink or three before dinner. We managed to get ourselves a prime spot up on the balcony and watched the sunset from here.
Dinner
We booked a package that included the room, breakfast and dinner in the dining room each day, some activities and the previously mentioned picnic at the vineyard. The retreat is very far from other dining options so unless you are planning to self cater then pre-booking the package that included your meals is the way to go. The restaurant offers a 3 course dinner and everything we had was fantastic, especially the wood fired pizzas.
Check out more about dining at O'Reilly's here:
Glow-worm Experience
After dinner, we had booked in for the glow worm tour. We boarded the bus and headed off with our group and tour guide to check it out. After a short drive, we walked about 1km into the rainforest to reach the glow-worm area. The ground is quite uneven and there are some narrow bits and it is very dark, so judge for yourself if this activity is going to be right for you and your family,
Once we reached the glow-worm area beside the creek, we sat down on the seats and the tour guide explained to us how this was one of the only open air glow worm areas in the world. At this stage, we turned off all the torches and let our eyes adjust, after a minute or so all the glow worms started glowing. Before long there were thousands of glowworms glowing all along the rock wall beside the creek and it looked like the night sky, it was really beautiful.
Once everyone had ooohhhed and ahhhed enough, we headed back throughthe rainforest to the buses and returned to the retreat.
Pro tip: Bring a torch and a warm jacket!
Check out the details about the tour here: https://oreillys.com.au/activities/glow-worm-experience/
Camp fire
There was a campfire set up by the time we returned from our tour, so we grabbed our marshmallows and found ourselves some sticks and enjoyed toasting marshmallows before heading off to bed.
Breakfast
The breakfast was really delicious. It used to be served buffet style, but due to COVID you now order off a menu and the staff bring it to you. You can order whatever you want/as much as you want and everything is absolutely delicious. My favourite was the homemade gourmet baked beans and the endless freshly squeezed orange juice!
The Lost World Day Spa
We had booked ourselves a bit of a treat and organised to have a couples massage, foot scrub and facial at the spa. On arrival, we were given robes to change into and we waited in the beautiful waiting room that had great views. We were then taken into the couple treatment room and pampered for the next 90 minutes. It started pouring with rain just as our treatment began and this made it even more relaxing. If you are looking for a great way to unwind or celebrating a special occasion then I can confirm that the spa treatments are 100% worth the price!
The swimming pool is located behind the spa, so if you are coming to the retreat in the warmer months then don't forget to pack your swimmers as the infinity pool looked absolutely divine.
No pics here as our phones were safely stashed in our lockers, but it looks exactly like the photos you see online!
Check out the spa and what specials are currently available here: https://oreillys.com.au/lost-world-day-spa/
"Best of O’Reillys“ Afternoon 4WD tour
There are many activities available at the retreat and the afternoon 4wd tour was next on our list. Our guide took us onto private property surrounding the retreat to show us some stunning views from areas only accessible by 4wd. It was really enjoyable and we would definitely recommend doing it while you are staying at the retreat.
Check out all the tours/activities available here: https://oreillys.com.au/rainforest-retreat-activities/
Walking tracks
One of the things O'Reilly's is famous for is the walking tracks that begin near the main building. There are over 320kms of tracks available. Make sure you check out the Treetop walk while you are here and if you are planning to do one of the longer walks, you can prebook a packed lunch to take with you (you need to book this the day before).
You can check out all the different walking trails on offer here: https://oreillys.com.au/walking-tracks-at-lamington-national-park/
There is heaps to do at O'Reilly's rainforest retreat and we would have needed another week there to fit everything on offer in. It doesn't matter if you are looking for a romantic escape, a family holiday or even a venue for a wedding or party O'Reillys is a great choice. If you are planning a visit, I would highly recommend booking one of the packages that include accommodation, dining and activities as this will make your holiday stress free and offer you better value than booking everything separately. We will definitely be back to check out the things we missed and hope that if you are planning a trip to O'Reillys you have a fantastic time.
Check out the current specials and package deals available here: https://oreillys.com.au/gold-coast-accommodation-specials-and-packages/
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