What makes a weekend getaway worth it? One mum heads for the mountains.

Getting out of town for a weekend is sometimes not worth the effort.

You have to do the sums, manage the logistics – especially if you have kids in tow. It’s all about the fun-to-hassle ratio. That’s why, when it comes to camping in particular, I have a three night minimum rule. There’s as much effort expended in setting up and packing up for three nights as there is one. Also, no one sleeps much on the first night (too hot, too cold, too bumpy, too scary, I need to pee and it’s too hot, too cold, too scary out there).

Problem is, you don’t often get three consecutive nights to get away, so you just don’t go.

Except we did. Last weekend we went bush, in a luxury kind of way, and stayed at O’Reillys Rainforest Retreat in the Gold Coast Hinterland. It’s the sort of getaway that’s really popular with families like ours (school-age kids, outdoorsy, but not quite the Irwins) with the kind of luxuries that would make it a real break. (NOTE: Mothers Day is May 10. If you can’t get your act together in time, book a weekend and give her the printout in a card. Better than a box of Favourites.)

O’Reillys is about a two hour drive from Brisbane (if you’re flying from interstate, consider jetting into Coolangatta). The second hour of the drive is slow and winding but the views, for everyone but the driver – eyes on the road, babe – are spectacular.

O’Reillys is literally at the end of the road, in the heart of the World Heritage- listed Lamington National Park; a slice of pioneering history in the heart of the rainforest. There’s a number of room options, but we stayed in the Villas, stand-alone houses perched above or amongst the forest canopy. Ours had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a proper kitchen and massive deck complete with spa and barbecue.

But it’s not the accommodation that makes O’Reilly’s special – it’s what’s outside.

After dinner in the resort restaurant that first night we boarded a little 4WD bus (straight from the set of Jurassic Park). Guide Duncan took us on a short drive and a little walk through the bush to see glow worms in action. Even our 14 year old boy, who’s impressed by little unless it happens on You Tube or at the MCG, thought they were spectacular. And Duncan’s commentary was hilarious, ‘Yeah, they aren’t really worms, you know, they’re actually the larvae of a species of fly, but the ‘fly larvae tour’ wasn’t that popular with guests, so we changed it’. Good call, Duncan.

After the sort of sleep that comes after a great dinner and night air, my 12 year old daughter and I joined the guided bird walk (6.45am every day). Annabel is a birdy kid – can’t get enough of them – so this was heaven for her. And it was heaven for me to see how happy she was with a king parrot on her head. Better her than me. Then to breakfast. Sally, 8, is more into bacon than birds so she was happy too. O’Reillys has something for everyone.

Read more: Camping and other idiotic things the world does for fun.

There’s a spa too – you can only imagine what the O’Reilly womenfolk of a hundred years ago would make of this. Husband Jim and I spent three hours luxuriating – an experience so different to our normal junior hockey/AFL/netball run-around we still aren’t convinced it really happened.

The signature item at the Lost World Spa is the, ‘Vinotherapy Hot Tub’ in which you soak in hot water enlivened with half a bottle of red wine as you look across the valley. At first I thought ‘what a waste of wine,’ but as promised it felt and smelt great. After clay wraps, a spell in the sauna and massages, we were ready to find the kids, who’d had a top time exploring the bush around the resort.

The afternoon was action-packed. O’Reillys has built a 180 metre zipline to whiz the brave over the rainforest canopy. It’s brilliant fun and even Jim (generally so afraid of heights he doesn’t even like being tall) kept schlepping up the hill for one more go.

That night we ate in-Villa, barbecuing for ourselves. The resort can deliver everything you need – steaks, reef fish, crusty bread, salad and sauces – to your Villa. It’s the sort of thing that makes this a real break – you can, but there’s no need to bring your own food unless you want to.

On our final morning son and husb took the Segway tour for another perspective on the forest. They rode? Drove? To Moran Falls lookout while the girls and I got to know more birds.

The drive home from this kind of weekend is normally a let-down. We almost decided to skip the recommended stop (washing to be done, sandwiches to make), but we called in at Canungra Valley Vineyards for a picnic lunch beside the creek. It completed a great weekend. You can order a picnic hamper, borrow a rug and some cricket kit and spend a gorgeous hour or two on the soft lawns while the kids burn off leftover energy. Even if you can’t spare a weekend, this would make a brilliant day-trip for Mothers Day. Just be sure to pre-order your picnic basket.

Read more: The seven couples you meet in every birth class.

It was one of those weekends that I’d thought, too much to do, so hard to get away, but once we were there I said, ‘Why don’t we do this more often?’

What’s your favourite getaway spot?