Lamington National Park, Gold Coast
Date: 4 January 2013
Australia have tonnes of National Parks. The country takes pride on its landscape and natural beauty. For me, to visit an European country is to explore its history but to visit Australia is to marvel God's splendid creation. (This intro took me 10 minutes to write and if this was an SPM exam paper, I expect nothing less than an A)... ;-)
Anyways, this one-night trip to O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat was for the purpose of celebrating our 3rd year wedding anniversary. We wanted to make vacations like this as an annual event but last year's was super unmemorable, *not really, I remembered clearly we were excitedly going to garage sales*. So, after some intensive researches, I decided on a mountain holiday!
Apparently not intensive enough... We got lost - thanks GPS. Did you know that we were not suppose to search for "Lamington National Park"? The park is huge! So the nearest route from Toowoomba was through some unpaved dirt road suitable for 4WDs only, not for tiny 20-year-old cars! So for people reading this as a part of an intensive research, go to Canungra first, than look for the national park... You are welcome.
And... I did not expect the road to the top to be quite challenging... Really really narrow at some parts, a few one lanes so you have to be careful not to bump into cars from the opposite direction. Good luck and safe driving peeps. Once you get to the top, the view is just awesome!
Our first activity was bird feeding. These wild, colourful birds are so friendly and they even gave us a visit on our porch early in the morning! Lovely! There were many treks for bush walking, or as we say it in Malaysia, jungle trekking. But with a toddler, the only suitable one is the Tree Top Walk. This is similar to my experience on the Canopy Walk at Taman Negara but is waaaay shorter.
We enjoyed the pool which had a marvelous view of the mountains, and enjoyed the Jacuzzi more for its warmth!
Definitely a relaxing stay for us but the souvenirs were expensive and I prefer more variety on its fridge magnets.
Australia have tonnes of National Parks. The country takes pride on its landscape and natural beauty. For me, to visit an European country is to explore its history but to visit Australia is to marvel God's splendid creation. (This intro took me 10 minutes to write and if this was an SPM exam paper, I expect nothing less than an A)... ;-)
Anyways, this one-night trip to O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat was for the purpose of celebrating our 3rd year wedding anniversary. We wanted to make vacations like this as an annual event but last year's was super unmemorable, *not really, I remembered clearly we were excitedly going to garage sales*. So, after some intensive researches, I decided on a mountain holiday!
Apparently not intensive enough... We got lost - thanks GPS. Did you know that we were not suppose to search for "Lamington National Park"? The park is huge! So the nearest route from Toowoomba was through some unpaved dirt road suitable for 4WDs only, not for tiny 20-year-old cars! So for people reading this as a part of an intensive research, go to Canungra first, than look for the national park... You are welcome.
The sign specifically said: 4WD ONLY. Stubborn we were!
And... I did not expect the road to the top to be quite challenging... Really really narrow at some parts, a few one lanes so you have to be careful not to bump into cars from the opposite direction. Good luck and safe driving peeps. Once you get to the top, the view is just awesome!
Narrow road - On our way up!
YES! At last....!
Our first activity was bird feeding. These wild, colourful birds are so friendly and they even gave us a visit on our porch early in the morning! Lovely! There were many treks for bush walking, or as we say it in Malaysia, jungle trekking. But with a toddler, the only suitable one is the Tree Top Walk. This is similar to my experience on the Canopy Walk at Taman Negara but is waaaay shorter.
Good morning... Squawwkkk...! (Parrot??)
Tree Top Walk
A view from one of the look-out.
Atas ni takde pacat... Fuhh..!
We enjoyed the pool which had a marvelous view of the mountains, and enjoyed the Jacuzzi more for its warmth!
The pool is all ours!
Definitely a relaxing stay for us but the souvenirs were expensive and I prefer more variety on its fridge magnets.
On our way home - Stopped by an alpaca farm for some alpaca hugging moments!
Good-bye Lamington NP!
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