AustraliaZooIsGreat

>Lamington Nat'l Park

This place is beautiful. You can stay at O'Reilly's in 5 star luctury. My GF and I spent 2 nights in a canopy suite. We had our own spa in the room. Cost about €300/night but it was worth it.

They have wild wallabies (or maybe small kangaroos - not sure)

I strongly recommend it! Also, because O'reily's is in the mountainside, they bost it's 5 degrees cooler than brisbane which can get quite warm ;-)

AustraliaZooIsGreat

http://www.oreillys.com.au/content/home.asp?

have a look at this. Gorgeous!

AustraliaZooIsGreat

Sorry didn't finish my list of animals before.

Wallaby/kangaroos
Brush tail possums
Bandicoots
Red Belly Black Snakes
Various Pythons
Various rain forrest birds
All very easy to spot. But the biggest reason to go there is the shear tranquility that the rainforest has to offer.

I know I sound like a brochure but lamington national park is my favourite place on earth.

AustraliaZooIsGreat

Oh and lung fish. We saw a fight between 3 lung fish in a teensy little pond. Was quite dry when I was there. There was also a water fall, though the drought had left only a trickle. You should find in oct that the water falls are flowing freely.

Just the thought of going back excites me =)

Shari

Wow! Thanks. I cannot wait to visit!

beemersgallore

Lungfish DO NOT live in or anywhere near Lamington National Park. They are ONLY EVER caught in the Burnett River and Mary River system which is a long way from Lamington. O'Rielly's is not 5 star and it does not cost 300 euros per night. I think that AZG has kissed the blarney stone or looked into a glass of Guinness too often.
Most or all of the Border Ranges in NSW/Qld are stacked with birds and beasts however for the most animals in the wild Carnarvon Gorge is the one or the Daintree/ Cape Trib areas.
The birds at O'Rielly's are not rain forest birds per se but are seen in everyone's backyard just about everywhere around that area. I have never seen a red bellied black snake there nor any pythons either. Yes it is nice and yes it is in the mountains but you can get that in a lot of other places which are not as costly and not as " one stop shop " place i,e, meaning that you can get around other places better.

AustraliaZooIsGreat

>Lungfish DO NOT live in or anywhere near Lamington National Park.

I suppose they could have been eals but i've never seen an eel leap out of the water before. So I assumed they were lung fish based on taht.

>O'Rielly's is not 5 star and it does not cost 300 euros per night.

um.. maybe you should look at the web site I posted for O'reilly's. There is a variety of accomodation types. I was recommending the conopy suite.

From the web site...
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One Bedroom Canopy Suites

Three suites adjoin the luxuriant rainforest canopy and offer twice the space of our Mountain View rooms.

A comfortable living area features recycled timber flooring, lounge chairs, audio system, library and bar. The suites have four large balconies with spectacular views of the rainforest foliage and western mountain ranges.

A spacious bedroom features a king-size four-poster bed, sofa and a warming fireplace. To top it all off the bathroom has a spa bath with views through a full-length picture window of the breathtaking mountain scenery. Put yourself in this picture!
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http://www.oreillys.com.au/content/s...=Accommodation


>I think that AZG has kissed the blarney stone or looked into a glass of Guinness too often.
I think you're very rude and have no idea what you're talking about.

AustraliaZooIsGreat

Here is the pricing schedule. As you can see a 1 bed canopy suite costs $480/night.

At today's exchange rate that is...
288.233 EUR

I'd say €300 is a pretty good estimate.

http://www.oreillys.com.au/content/s...p?name=Tariffs

AustraliaZooIsGreat

You've done real well there Beemers! LOL...

The Queensland Lungfish is normally found in still or slow flowing pools in river systems of south-eastern Queensland. It occurs naturally in the Burnett and Mary River systems although has been introduced into other rivers and reservoirs in south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales.

http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fi.../nforsteri.htm

AustraliaZooIsGreat

>I have never seen a red bellied black snake there nor any pythons either

I have and you cannot dispute they are not native to the area unless you'd like to further discredit yourself.

AustraliaZooIsGreat

Oh and while you're at it take a look at this...

http://www.oreillys.com.au/content/s...e=BirdWatching

Do you get lyrebirds, paradise riflebirds, rufous scrub birds in your back yard beemer?

AustraliaZooIsGreat

http://www.qmuseum.qld.gov.au/featur...s+porphyriacus

A map on this link clearly shows where in Australia you can find a red bellied black snake.

RalphR

Beemer: Been to my mother in law's place on the Gold Coast a hundred times and have never seen some of the birds I've seen at O'Reilly's. Rosellas, currawongs, and kookaburras yes, but not satin bower birds, regent bower birds and king parrots.

pat_woolford

Who on earth wants to wander around with red-bellied black snakes? When I was a kid on Sydney's northern beaches the school wouldn't let us go to the toilet without a teacher accompanying us because of the prevalence of these creatures, they're venomous and they'll bite when disturbed.

AustraliaZooIsGreat

>they're venomous and they'll bite when disturbed.

They're beautiful creatues but also a reminder that you must be careful and watch your step. You pretty much have to stand on one to be attacked. You can step over the top of them and keep walking if you see on on the trail. Just don't make any sudden moves. They don't consider human beings to be a food source.

Pythons on the other hand are not venemous.

AustraliaZooIsGreat

If in doubt take a guided tour.

beemersgallore

I am presently doing my PHD on the distribution and evolution of native birds and mammals in Austro/Asia and I spend some time at Fleay's Fauna reserve on the Gold Coast and more time up in the border ranges and local ranges behind the Gold Coast. I ate regularly at a restaurant in Mt Tamborine as I was spending time with the rangers there and every time I was there the Regent Bower bird was in for lunch as well. Further I am convinced too that everyone has a Satin Bower bird in their backyard up there and there are plenty of Lyre Birds in the National Parks ( unfortunately so too are there dingos ). One day I counted 37 King Parrots in just a little area in the botanical gardens over a period of 1 hour. All these activities are what I mean when I say that you do not have to pay and stay in any one place in the ranges because these birds are everywhere. Also if you take a drive from Beaudesert to Kyogle via the now all sealer road ( Lyons Road ) you will go through one of the most wonderful places where the bell birds are in full song. There are some really wonderful wild-life areas if you do that loop back to the Gold Coast from say Tamborine or Canungra where I was actually staying. By the way in Canungra you can see platypus in the streams if there is enough water. I will also put in a plug for the Canungra pub here - its a great overnighter and has good food! So, to answer the question as to whether I have these birds in my backyard then while I am here, yes I do!

momincv

Getting back to your original question...We stayed on Lizard Island with our 2 young adult children (18 & 21) for 4 nights. It was heaven. We shared a "family" room. Kids had their own room with twin beds, we had our own room with a king bed. We all shared the bathroom. Food was fantastic, the staff was superb, and the surroundings beautiful. The snokeling right off the beach in front of the resort is unbelievable: sea turtles and giant clams with florescent colors. We took one of their little boats over to the "blue lagoon" for one day where we had our own beach to ourselves. Lizard Island is a piece of heaven!

pat_woolford

Azg - I think everyone in Australia knows pythons aren't venomous. But where I live they can still reach 20feet in length - and mostly they crush their prey. However, they do have teeth, which are filthy -not a good idea to get too close to one.

Teresa

I have to say that I loved Kangaroo Island. We also stayed at www.the-lookout.com.au The hosts were the greatest and they were able to view a lot of animals. To see the pictures that I took http://jasonmanderson.com/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=24