16 - 19 September 2025
We have been to O'Reilly's a few times before and are always keen to return so it seemed like a good idea to book a stay while we were on our way south. The drive from Canungra is only 35km but the road is narrow and windy, so takes around an hour. Even though there is a campground, I would never want to tow the camper trailer up that road. Besides, it's so nice staying at the retreat.
We arrived in time for morning tea in the cafe, before getting ready for a walk. We knew we would not be able to check in until later so had plenty of time to fill in. We were stopped by a fellow birder who was on her own and keen for a chat, and also some company so she tagged along with us on the Border Track. We eventually parted ways and found a nice spot for our picnic lunch.
By the time we had packed everything up it was almost check-in time so, while Mick walked some more in one of his favourite birding spots, I went to check in. All the rooms have great views and this one was no exception. The bonus with this one was that parking was right outside our door. On our last couple of visits we have had to park quite a way from our room and cart all our gear up a flight of stairs.
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| Every room has a view |
Our package this time included the usual generous buffet breakfast, early morning bird walks, afternoon tea and manager's welcome (complete with a glass of sparkling wine) as well as a morning 4WD Tour. Last time the nocturnal tour had been included but it was not available this time.
We did some more walking and lots of photographing of birds and decided to have our evening meal in the bar. They do a fairly good pizza which we shared by the fire, with a couple of drinks. Dinner is also available in the restaurant, but the new buffet prices were beyond our budget. The bar is cosy and relaxed, so suits us.
Breakfast is the best buffet you will find anywhere (in our opinion anyway) and the service is friendly and efficient. We always take our time over a big breakfast, usually after Mick has been out on the early morning bird walk.
On our first morning we had to be ready for the 4WD tour at 9:00am. This tour takes you to many spots that are not otherwise accessible and includes lots of information about the history of the O'Reilly family and how the Retreat came to be. It was an interesting tour despite the lack of birding opportunities.
We spent the rest of our time walking along the many easy tracks, Mick photographing birds, me just enjoying being in the bush in this beautiful section of the ancient Gondwana rainforest. It truly is a special place. We sometimes wish we lived closer so we could visit more often.
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| There's always something interesting to see in the rainforest |
After our usual big breakfast, we packed up and went for one last walk along the Border Track, past the Mountain Gardens and Tree Top Walk, before setting off back down the mountain. Once we had collected the trailer, we started making our way back towards the coast and on into New South Wales.
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