“The rescue of survivors of the Stinson plane crash 80 years ago was an iconic moment in Australian history, but the man behind the feat never felt he was a hero”

Damien Larkins, ABC News.

The Loss of the Stinson

Bernard O’Reilly believed he had seen the plane fly over his brother’s nearby farm. However, he was convinced it hadn’t crossed the border into NSW, so he searched on his own.  Making his trail through dense rainforest and up the steep terrain of the McPherson Range, relying solely on his bushman skills, he found the wreck two days after he set off and 8.4kms from the O’Reilly property.  The Stinson pilots and two passengers had died. Another survivor died going for help, leaving just two.  Of the two remaining survivors, one had a broken leg. The other was severely burnt from the fire that engulfed the plane when it crashed.

The Rescue

Bernard boiled the men a billy tea and gave them food before heading back down the mountain at night. He waded through creeks and hacked his way back down the mountain through the dense rainforest.  Thirteen hours later, he reached a farm where he was given a horse for the rest of the journey.  Arriving back, he organised a rescue party and doctor. Then led them back to the crash site and helped bring the survivors down on stretchers. Talk about a feat of endurance! 

A movie called ‘Riddle of the Stinson’ was made of the rescue starring Jack Thompson playing Bernard O’Reilly and the legend of the Stinson lives on with O’Reilly’s & The Stinson forever linked.

In the 1980s, the Australian Army removed much of the wreckage via helicopter. However, the skeletal remains of the aircraft are still there. This forms part of a hiking trail for very experienced and very fit bushwalkers.

Tree top walk

It was our last day at O’Reilly’s, so we headed off for the Tree Top Walk after breakfast. With Carole now on a walking stick instead of crutches.  A series of nine suspension bridges soaring up to 30 metres off the forest floor.  The walk is just across the road from reception and was the first of its kind in Australia.  The boardwalk through the rainforest leads to a fig tree, the start of the bridges.  It was drizzling, and the forest was shrouded in mist as we started. However, by the time we got back, the sun was shining.

We went for a massage and foot treatment at O’Reillys Lost World Day Spa in the afternoon- a fabulous treat.

Last night at O’Reilly’s

That evening, with Carole now off the crutches. We headed upstairs to the Rainforest Bar for our last happy hour and one and only sunset, followed by dinner and an early night.  We were off down the mountain to Springbrook National Park and the Gold Coast the following day.

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Byron Bay

We woke to beautiful sunshine. At around 5 am again. I had breakfast on the balcony and read for a while before heading off towards Byron Bay at around 8.00 am.  It’s only 90 mins from the Gold Coast, and we were there by about 9.30 am.  Arriving in Byron Bay, I couldn’t get over how busy it was. There were people out and about and heavy traffic everywhere.  Don’t people sleep in Queensland?  Heading up to the lighthouse, people out walking, pushing prams, jogging, I have never seen such activity at a lighthouse.  It was like it was the central meeting point for everyone in Byron Bay.  And it was only 9.30 am! 

Byron Bay Lighthouse

The lighthouse has around three car parks, each higher and closer to the lighthouse than the last. We drove up to the top one the parking attendant!? directed us to an empty spot. So we got out, donned hats, grabbed cameras and joined the throng to walk up to the lighthouse. The lighthouse itself is a beautiful little castle-like building at the base with battlements overlooking turquoise and blue sea.  We wandered around and down the other side to get shots from the lower vantage point. 

Crystal Castle

We stopped for morning tea from the lighthouse, then headed up into the hinterlands. Just 20 mins from Byron Bay is the Crystal Castle and Shambhala Gardens.  Entry is $25 and totally worth it.  A memorial gate to Tori Johnson is inside the gates, donated by his family.  Tori was tragically killed in the Lindt Cafe Siege in 2015. 

I would have liked more time here to take in some of the daily events… we missed the music of the plants as by the time we had walked around the gardens, it was quite warm, and we wanted a chair and cold drink 🙂

The Stupa

The gardens are quite large, and to be done properly, and you really need a full day here. We stopped at the Peace Stupa and availed ourselves of the umbrellas dotted around for protection from the rain or sun while we enjoyed the music emanating from the Stupa.

with our walk around finished. We enjoyed a delicious lunch in the cafe before enjoying some retail therapy in the crystal shop. From there, it was back to the car and back to the apartment.

Our last night on the balcony, we finally took some night shots of the city lights.  The next morning it was pouring with rain, and all the next week too, but we were home by then 🙂

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Whale Cruise

We left the apartment around 8.30 am (virtually mid-afternoon to a Queenslander) and headed to Seaworld, which was only about 13mins away.  Massive queue when we got there after queueing for about 20mins we found we were in the wrong queue and were sent to a smaller building for Whale watching/Seaworld tickets.  You can’t buy a combo ticket for that at Seaworld. You have to buy it from the Marina.  I know. It makes no sense to me either.  Queenslanders defy logic.  We wandered over, bought our tickets, and boarded the whale watching vessel.  Very nice, new, and comfy.

Just as we were heading out, we came across a mother and calf in the estuary, which is unusual, so the boat took on the task of herding them back out to sea.

Once out on, we went hunting for whales in earnest and had quite a successful day of sightings. Sadly, whales turned out to be as hard to shoot as birds. They’d be breaching and have a grand old time; the boat would race over, and nothing, nada. Whales gone. Then we’d see them off in the distance again and repeat the process.  Another pod would swim past us a few times as we floated there, waiting for the original show-offs to emerge.  Overall we saw three breachings and many tail flips. Quite a few mothers and calves. And a mother and calf being escorted by a ‘bodyguard’ whale. 

Seaworld

At the end of our cruise, we headed into Seaworld, grabbed lunch and went for a wander around.  The Dolphin and Seal shows were later in the afternoon. And by now, it was hot, and we’d had enough of lugging the massive lenses around, so we headed straight for the polar bear enclosure.

Seaworld had been on our list to visit once we heard that a baby polar bear had been born, and the timing of our holiday coincided with him going on display.  Unfortunately, I think he was asleep in the cave cause we only saw Mumma Bear, and she kept going back to the cave, possibly checking on the cub.  Who remained a no-show sigh  But we did see Mumma Bear. Seaworld is the only place in Australia that still has a polar bear display.

Passing the Dolphin enclosure on the way out, we added a few more tails to our day haul of Tails. It was now 30C in the shade, and we headed back to the car and our apartment for a shower and cold wines.

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It was back to civilisation (in the form of Queensland’s Gold Coast). After four days and nights up in the Hinterlands of Mt Tamborine, we finally arrived back in the hustle and bustle of the city.  We had booked an apartment on Queensland’s Gold Coast at Surfers Paradise between the sea and the Nerang River.  We quickly found that traffic in surfers is terrible!.  So many cars and people, and lights that take ages to change.  Drivers tooting each other at lights to move if you don’t take off quickly, lest they are stuck there for another ten years waiting for the lights to change. 

Carnival Rides

We checked into our apartment then headed over to Coles for supplies. It was only a 5 mins walk from the shops and restaurants, so the location was great.  We made our dinner and then sat on our balcony watching the world go by. Watching the rides (and screams) from the slingshot ride on the block opposite and the antics of the people in the apartment opposite 😉

That light trail up the centre is the little pod the people are in. it flings them up like a giant rubber band and back down and back up and back down no thanks 😀  The other ride with the long arm has a cabin of sorts at each end, and it spins in a circle while the cabin rotates and swivels around double. No thanks

After driving down from the mountain and wandering around Springbrook on what turned out to be a hot day, we both packed it in and were in bed by about 9.30 pm. Tuning out the noise and light of Queensland’s Gold Coast, we headed off to bed as we planned a day at SeaWorld and Whale Watching tomorrow

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We set off back down the winding, narrow road to Canungra and then diverted to Springbrook, arriving around 11 am.  The walk to the Natural Bridge is a loop. With the recommendation to do it in a clockwise direction or else you have a  lot of stairs coming back up, we were still worn out (and hot) by the time we got back up, but doing it clockwise was better. There were a lot of steps going down, and I would not have liked to do all those stairs in reverse!

Natural Bridge

By the time we got to the Natural Bridge at Springbrook National Park, the sun was high in the sky, and the rock opening was being hit but loads of sun.  It blew out the highlights even with five image HDR stack. We did find some interesting mushrooms growing on a log on the way back.

Fungi

Leaving the Natural Bridge, we turned left instead of right, and a few kms down the road came to the border. a quick photo stop before we turned around 🙂

Borders

We stopped for a quick lunch and then headed to the ‘Best Of All Lookout’, yep they really called it that.  The walk to the lookout was an easy 350 metres through the rainforest.

Goomahlara Falls

Our last stop before we headed down to Surfers Paradise was Goomahlara Falls.  It’s an easy 200m walk from the carpark that brings you to a little lookout with the waterfall off to the side, and you cant get to the bottom—crappy point of view for a photo.  Heading back to the carpark, Carole left the path, and we headed through the scrub to the stream. Goomahlara Falls, which made a much nicer shot 🙂

the edge of the rocks drops off to a sheer cliff, so this was as close as we went.  From here, we headed down to our apartment in Surfers for the next four nights. We had chosen one with a city view, and I was hoping to get some nice night shots and maybe a timelapse

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Moonlight Crag

We stopped at Moonlight Crag, but there was so much low cloud that we couldn’t see anything—we were completely socked in. The view over Lamington National Park is great when you can see it. Having no joy there, we continued to Luke’s Farm. This was lower down the mountain, so we were below the clouds. Now, the view was fabulous from here.

Matt made a fire and started boiling the billy. Morning tea was billy tea or coffee and damper with butter, delicious!

The Noisy Miners are well used to people calling in with damper, and they didn’t take long to turn up and start waiting for crumbs. With morning tea done, Matt drove us back to O’Reilly’s.

Birds of Prey Show

In the afternoon, the skies cleared, and the sun appeared. With Carole still on crutches, we headed over to the Birds of Prey show, parking as close as I could for her; she still had to hobble along a gravel path. The show was only about 30 minutes but quite good, with the bird handler very informative and full of humour.

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“I realized something on the ride. I realized if I wait until I’m not scared to try new things, then I’ll never get to try them at all.”

Marie Sexton, Between Sinners and Saints

The walk to the falls was pretty and not too arduous. But we were on a tight schedule as Rob, our guide, had to be back to ferry a heap of guests up to Moonlight Crag for a wedding. Therefore our pace was much faster than we usually do at a waterfall with lots of steps. 

Back up the top, it was off on the Segways again back to O’Reillys.  All went well until about 10ft from the end when Carole came off the Segway. No significant damage, but the knee swelled up over the afternoon, and she was on crutches the following day. We took it quiet for the rest of the afternoon and relaxed in our room before heading down to the dining room for dinner and drinks.

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“Four years after the arrival of the O’Reilly family in 1911 Lamington National Park was declared, effectively isolating the O’Reillys from the outside world. While Lamington wasn’t Queensland’s first national park it is the most significant, and was regularly referred to as ‘Queensland’s National Park”

https://oreillys.com.au/lamington-national-park/

A free upgrade saw us heading off in a lovely little Mitsubishi ASX instead of the Toyota Carolla.  Not that it helped with luggage storage … we had two large suitcases and two rolling camera suitcases, and the big suitcases held more camera gear!  Gone are the days of travelling light.

Canungra

The first stop was O’Reillys Vineyards, Canungra, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch before a wine tasting and bought some wines to take with us.  There was apparently platypus breeding in the creek, but with the skies getting darker and a storm predicted and 34 kms of very, very winding road up the mountain ahead of us, we decided to push on.  It was good that we did, as while Qld doesn’t believe it needs daylight, saying it would really help!  Daylight is around 4.30 am every morning, but it’s dark by 6 pm. 

Goat Track of a Road

Road crews were working on the road repairing damage from Cyclone Debbie. This made some sections narrower than they were already, and it was one lane all the way up.  Not one lane each way… one lane in total!  there were lots of little turnouts to pull over into, but a couple of times, we came around a blind corner with another car coming towards us…. a wine was definitely called for by the time we arrived. (we found out later the road was an old logging track they covered with bitumen!)

O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat is a village-like retreat high up the mountain in Lamington National Park, with a dining room, bar, cafe, discovery centre, church, mini-mart, gift shop, and accommodation options from self-contained through to guesthouse or camping. 

Birds Galore

We had decided to stay in the mountain view rooms with a little back deck overlooking the mountains in the distance.  It turned out to be an excellent choice as each morning and evening, we had such a myriad of birds in the trees around our room that we quickly bought some rice crackers at the mini-mart to attract them closer.

That night we strolled down to O’Reilly’s dining room… amazing food with massive portions…. not really overpriced for what you got, but geez.. our lamb share platter for two could have fed four; we did our best but still left half…. mind you we still made room for the pavlova even if we had to share that too 🙂

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Ellinjaa Falls

Ellinjaa is on the waterfall circuit in the Atherton Tablelands of FNQ, yep, taking you past several waterfalls. From the car park to the falls’ base, it’s a 20-minute walk through a lush rainforest that’s not too strenuous. Unfortunately, it’s promoted on many sites as excellent for swimming. So you could have swimmers in your shot on a hot day. The viewing platform is in front of steel grates which works great for water runoff but not for tripods. However, with a bit of careful positioning, it can be overcome.

It’s also touted as a swimming hole. But it’s not hard to get from the viewing platform to the side of the pool for a different perspective.

Josephine Falls

Josephine Falls, 75kms south of Cairns, is on the Josephine Creek and in Wooroonooran National Park, FNQ. It’s a beautiful 700m walk in through rainforest and then down a set of steps to the base of the falls. Again, it’s known as a swimming hole. You aren’t allowed up to the top of the falls, as people have been seriously injured or killed sliding down. However, the young and invincible still do it.

Milla Milla Falls

Also on the waterfall circuit on tablelands is Milla Milla. It’s only about 10 ft from the lower car park to the falls(which on these grounds alone moved it to the top of my list). The water tumbles over the top and drops 18 metres over volcanic basalt into a pool at the bottom that is again promoted for swimming. On my first trip there, I was lucky to come across a couple of lovely german girls doing hair flicks. The second time also struck people in the pool but not as photogenic. It was a long wait till we got a break from no one in the pool, allowing us to run off a couple of quick shots.

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