Binna Burra for Easter 2012

On Easter Saturday we met Elaine at Binna Burra. She and a friend had stayed for two nights and did some long (7 hours!) bushwalks. We were to stay in the cabin for the next two nights.

It was like stepping back in time to Dirty Dancing's Kellerman's...without the dancing...but we did get a little bit dirty/muddy.

The drive was a little over 3 hours from home, we arrived just after 11am. The first thing we spotted was a koala asleep in the tree just outside our cabin and then Elaine and Carolyn took us for a tour of the lodge and it's amazing views.

Currawongs

After we said goodbye to Elaine and Carolyn, we walked up to the tea house for lunch then went on our first little bush walk, the 1.2km Rainforest Circuit at the Border Track.


Leaving the Tea House

  

The old gateway to the Lamington National Park

Look up

Brush turkey

Goanna

After we walked back to the lodge the kids played in the The Discovery Forest.

Then we went back to our cabin and a bit later we ventured out to take some more photos and the kids played darts.



Our cabin

 



Views to the Gold Coast

  



Hinze Dam

 

We saw the Dining Room for the first time when we got some afternoon tea.

Then it was back to the cabin for pre-dinner drinks. We did some more koala watching from our front verandah and then we rushed up to the Coomera Terrace to watch the sunset.



The tree fern at our front verandah



The Lodge

 

Dinner was at 6:30 and apparently they ring the bell for dinner and breakfast but we didn't hear it this night. It was a 3 course dinner of soup, meat and vegatables served from a bain marie and homemade desserts. The soup and desserts were lovely, the main...not so much. We sat at lovely big wooden tables with leather director chairs. The soup was brought to the tables in big cast iron pots. The dining room was stunning with views of the mountains and the Gold Coast.

The kids tried to get to sleep as fast as they could after dinner so the Easter Bunny could visit. At 6am Sunday morning I heard Isaac saying, "Ava! Ava! Wake up! The Easter Bunny has been!!" And down they came with their Easter Baskets full of goodies.

After a better-than-dinner breakfast back in the Dining Room, we headed off for our bush walk. This time we did the 2km Bellbird Lookout Circuit. We saw the flying fox clearing and ropes course. Then walked back up the mountain past the new Sky Lodges.

Pinky Bunny came on the walk with us



Daddy saying watch out for stinging nettles



Bellbird Lookout

Isaac is thrilled to be bush walking

He did enjoy the swing at the ropes course.

A huge goanna

Super Dad carrying Ava back up the mountain

The new Sky Lodges

Back up to the Lodge

After lunch of noodles in our cabin, we went back up to the lodge for a game of croquet and some bird watching. I was still trying to capture the satin bower bird. Then the kids had another play in the Discovery Forest and after that we followed the rope on the Senses Trail for the blind.

Satin Bower Bird

The bell they ring for breakfast and dinner

My favourite photo of the almost 300 that I took over the 3 days.

A bird on the rope on the Senses Trail



Lantana may be a pest, but it certainly has a pretty flower



When we got back I was thrilled to see the koala was also back. By now Rob had dubbed me the 'koala lover'. We had a little rest in our cabin then we went to the library, Ava borrowed two books, and then at 2pm there was an Easter Egg hunt in the garden. Isaac found 7 eggs, Ava found 4 and I took more photos!

The downstairs room

The stairs, that Isaac & Ava loved playing on

The kids in the room upstairs with their Easter treasures

The upstairs balcony

Upstairs, downstairs

The back verandah

A collection of memorabilia in the library

View from the library deck

The Coomera Terrace, the perfect place to watch the sunset

The Dining Room from the Coomera Terrace

Time for the Easter Egg Hunt!

After the hunt Rob went on the 5km Tullawallal Walk on his own. The map says it takes about 1 1/2 hours. He did it in 40 mins. The kids had another play in the playground while Rob was walking.

Later that afternoon I rushed back up to the terrace to snap the sunset which was magic.

Then it was time for dinner again. Rob stoked the fire in the Reception Lounge on the way through to the Dining Room.

Easter Sunday dinner was pretty much the same as the night before. Isaac had 3 slices of lemon on a plate for his dinner. Ava had chicken. I had vegetarian, as I did the night before. And Rob had fish. The kids were very happy with their bowls of jelly for dessert. After dinner we sat in front of the fire in the Reception Lounge. The kids played some games, and the little friend, Lillian whom they'd met in the playground, offered them some toasted marshmallows. A big group gathered in the lounge for the Night Walk with the guide and his spotlight. I thought it would be too late for the kids as it started at 8:30pm but Ava and Isaac were both really keen to do it, so we tagged along.

After a quick stop at our cabin to put on my walking shoes, we walked down past the car park, looking into the trees for some koalas or possums. We didn't see any of those but we did see pademelons in the grassy areas. The guide took the group down into one of the tracks to see the tree dwelling funnel web spider, but Ava and I went back to the cabin because she is very afraid of spiders. She went straight to sleep when we got back at 9pm, and Isaac went straight to sleep when he arrived back 15 minutes later.

On Monday morning after another lovely breakfast in the dining room with the best view in the world I went to take a photo of the satin bower bird's nest and got a surprise to find he was there in the nest! I should have snuck up on him. Then after one last game of darts...

...we packed up and headed off...back to the real world. It was so nice without TVs, computers or internet for a few days. It was a total getaway.