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Red-necked Pademelon
TRAVEL
ESTATE NEWS

Crimson Rosella
Elephants have been around in
their present interesting shape

for more or less 20 million
years. They have adapted to

living in deserts, in canopy
jungle, in savannahs and in

mountains – just like us.

Tawny
Frogmouth

Eastern grey kangaroo with joey

ue and I celebrated our bridges some 15 metres above ground
40th anniversary recently which enable one to observe birds in the Koala
in New Zealand and upper tree canopy. Along the tree top
Australia and visited the walk there is an observation deck 30m
Lamington National Park above ground that is accessed by means
with good friends Steven of two sturdy ladders and from which
Sand Wendy who now one has a great view of the surrounding
live on the Gold Coast, Queensland. The forest. Other interesting bird sightings
road to O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat in around O’Reilly’s included Superb
the Green Mountains area of Lamington and Red-backed Fairywren, numerous
climbs steeply, has a number of hairpin Honeyeaters i.e. White-eared, White-
bends and is so narrow in sections that naped and Lewin’s, Eastern Yellow Robin,

traffi c flow is one way only. Nevertheless Welcome Swallow and Brush Turkey.
the parlous drive is well worth the eff ort,
as at O’Reilly’s one can take a number of Other rare and endemic species that we

different walks through the forest and see saw on some of our walks through the
some of Australia’s endemic species. Lamington forest were Rainforest cool-
skink and Red-necked Pademelon, which
Almost immediately on entering the is a small and very shy forest-dwelling
forest we heard the calls of the various marsupial that is mainly nocturnal but as one of the Q150 icons of Queensland
forest birds including the unmistakable can sometimes be seen in daytime on the for its role as a natural attraction.
loud whip-like crack of the Eastern forest edges. Rock Wallaby were also seen
Whipbird and the harsh scolding notes of on the slopes as we drove back from the The Coombabah Conservation Area
the White-browed Scrubwren. O’Reilly’s park along the mountain road. in Gold Coast, Queensland protects
is an excellent spot to see many of the habitats that include coastal estuaries
parrot species native to Australia, and we Lamington National Park protects one of and mangroves, freshwater wetlands,
had good sightings of Australian King the most diverse areas of vegetation in flooded paperbark forests and eucalypt

Parrot, Crimson Rosella and Rainbow Australia and is one of the largest upland parkland. Apart from the 150 recorded
Lorikeet. subtropical rainforests in the world. Many bird species, Coombabah is one of the
of Lamington’s plants are found nowhere best places in Queensland to see koalas
There is also a very interesting tree top else and the park is also home to many and kangaroos in their natural habitat.
walk through the forest at O’Reilly’s rare and threatened animals. In 2009, the Together with Steve and Wendy, Sue
consisting of a number of suspension Lamington National Park was announced and I spent a morning in the Eastern

Kyalami Estates • CONNECT • Issue 1 • 2019 25