Switchbacks and Frying Foxes

The drive up to O’Reilly’s begins at the airport and winds through suburban highways traveling at a comfortable 100km an hour. You pass car dealerships, giant furniture stores, and even the occasional water park. And then you enter what we back home would call “the country”. This is where the lanes narrow from four to three, three to two, and before you know it all of the buildings fall away and you see a peaceful blur of green. This peaceful stretch lasts for a solid hour before you begin the accent to O’Reilly’s and Lamington National Park.

It is at this point in our entry that it is appropriate that we acknowledge our coach driver Mick. You see, the oneish lane “road” up to O’Reilly’s is narrow and the drops off the road are steep. There is often vegetation trying to reclaim what is rightfully its own. There are switchbacks; lots of switchbacks. Add in the rain and 29 noisy college students and you understand why Mick will always have a friend in me. It is also worth noting that unofficially about one in six men in Australia seem to be named Mick, something that didn’t get passed the writers of Crocodile Dundee.  You will find that Australian coach drivers are willing to share a wealth of valuable information. They know where everything (and I mean everything) is, they can name every kangaroo species, and they can explain crickett (as well as it can be explained). If you find yourself in Australia and need to know something, anything, find a coach driver. Mick drives a bus the way a top surgeon weilds a scalple. And he does so with the same general attitude of most Aussie’s. If Mick built a rocket that took a man to Mars he’d probably say “aw yeah. Nothing much to it really. Just found some ole liquid nitro laying around…”. You get the idea.

So up we went in search of a place originally land granted to the O’Reilly family in 1911. The drive from bottom to top takes about an hour in a coach. We cover about 20 miles during this time.

Finally we arrive at the top.  O’Reilly’s is like a lot of Australia; hard to describe. It’s both comfortable and rugged at the same time. The O’Reilly’s have been welcoming guests to this property since 1914. The trip from Brisbane used to take two days with good weather. You may wonder why anyone would want to take two days to come to a rainforest. Well the answer in my mind the answer is two-fold. The first reason is the obvious, to see the forest. The second reason is the hospitality. It was true then and it is certainly true today, this family run business knows how to treat its guests. Michael “Mick” O’Reilly still serves up the toast at breakfast, shares family stories on daily tours, and remembers each guests name (with the help of a trusty notepad he keeps in his shirt pocket) at 75 years young.

After settling into our rooms and filling up on delicious food we began to plan our activities. Some students headed out into the dark forest in search of the glow warms. Others managed to find the pool, hot tub, and sauna (I promise we are working them hard while they are here!) as the glow worm tour is limited to 20ish participants per evening to limit traffic on the trails and make for a more intimate experience.

The following morning began for many students with a 6:45am bird walk. Others chose to start the day after a hearty breakfast. Hikes and 4wd forest tours followed. Lunch was delicious and then it was off to the highlight of the day for many “The Flying Fox”. This activity involves strapping yourself into a ridiculous harness, launching yourself down a slippery wooden runway, and then dangling from said harness about 25 meters above the forest floor as you travel 180 meters down a cable at about 40 kph until you either drag your feet through the mud enough to slow yourself and disconnect OR smash into a large steel pole. First up was our fearless Andrew. Our trusty guide Matt gets him hooked up and then a large clap of thunder rumbles above us. Our guide informs us “this has never happened before” and after making a joke about “The Frying Fox” suggests we should wait a few minutes before we send Andrew down this lightening rod. Andrew and I agreed this was a good idea. After a reasonable amount of time Andrew was off and then the next and then the next. A good time was had by all and many fears were faced and conquered. Dinner and more glow worms followed.

It is important to mention that all of our activities from beginning of our time here to end involved rain. At times this was a light sprinkle and at times it was a driving, unforgiving downpour. Staying dry was not an option and mud has become a way of life. Our students have embraced this fully and with almost no complaints.

Dr. Hall will be writing soon about our eventful final two days at O’Reilly’s very soon and our students have written a very fun post as well. I do want to leave you with this thought. The people of Brisbane and much of the east coast of Australia have been devastated by flooding over the last several weeks. It is important to us that we thoughtfully acknowledge this as a group and contribute where we can.  More on this later.

(Pictures will be inserted when we get somewhere that doesn’t have a prehistoric internet connection).