We’ve spent the past week in and around Brisbane in part to catch-up with friends and colleagues but also to see more of the region. I’ve made many work trips to Brisbane over the past 12-years but I’ve never had the chance to get out and about and explore the countryside.

Our second, and coincidental, reason for visiting Brisbane is to try and get the repeating ‘Restricted Performance Mode’ issue with our Land Rover Discovery investigated and fixed before we head further north. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) have been doing the right thing in trying to get the issue resolved but it’s becoming a showstopper now and we can’t trust the car to head any further north, safely, where JLR dealerships will become fewer. So, the car is booked into JLR Springwood to see what they can find. Actually it has to be towed in. Land Rover Assistance requires the vehicle to be towed in order to authorise a loan car, a costly waste of money and time. But that is their process and we have to follow it.

The Scenic Rim

One of the trips we wanted to do while in the region is the Scenic Rim, a circular country drive taking in wineries, art galleries and produce growers as well as great views. The Rim is formed by the Great Dividing Range of mountains along the South East of Queensland and the North East of New South Wales. Situated an hour’s drive south of Brisbane, our drive takes in the townships of Peak Crossing, Boonah, Beaudesert and Tamborine Mountain.

Our first stop was supposed to be at the Flinders Peak Winery but it was a letdown. It’s not the easiest place to spot from the road and when you do find it it appears to be more of a B&B and cottage rental business. It’s only by following the narrow cottage access driveway towards a number of sheds and some parking signs that you get some idea that you haven’t stumbled onto someone’s farm. But even then there’s little obvious sign that this is a winery or even where the entrance is. It was only after we turned the car around and started to drive back to the driveway that we spotted any sign of activity, a couple of people in a narrow doorway with a couple of glasses of wine. Sorry guys but confusing access like this and poor signage just left us with a feeling of not being welcome.

We got back on to the main road and drove through further mixed, open countryside and dense forest. Certainly more rain has fallen here than Central New South Wales. Farm dams are full, grass is green and the trees look healthy.

A Boonah of a coffee

We were hoping for a good place to stop for a coffee and that happened to be at Flavours Cafe, a 103-year old cottage in the town of Boonah. The cottage is all that remains from a former office and butter factory. It was great to see large photographs of the buildings as they used to look during their productive years with cattle roaming in the fields at the front of the property and the once active train line. Now only the original office survives as the cafe  and the road now carves its way across the old cattle field.

Excellent coffee by the way and the first in Queensland that wasn’t just hot milk with little taste of coffee.

In the distance were some seriously impressive mountains forming the Main Range and Mount Barney National Parks but unfortunately just a little too far for our drive today. Instead we doubled-back and took the winding, and appropriately named, Boonah-Beaudesert Road to…well, Beaudesert. Finally a good, smooth road and wide too. One of our frustrations so far has been the difficulty of finding somewhere to pull-over to take a photograph but luck was on our side when we spotted a large group of dead trees half submerged in a lake – quite a site. And the reason the trees were in this state was the construction of the Wyaralong Dam flooding a large section of the valley where the Teviot Brook used to flow.

We had a brief stop at Beaudesert and checked the transmission and engine radiator temperatures as a reference for JLR when the car is not towing. All appeared normal but as expected without the van.

Our main objective today was to explore Tamborine Mountain, not just a mountain but a destination and township. ‘Tamborine’ is derived from the Aboriginal name for the Finger Lime that grows throughout the mountain range. The mountain was part of a huge shield volcano and sits on the northern end of one of the largest erosion calderas in the world.

The road from Beaudesert was in need of some work and it looked like some effort was being made to improve it with several stretches reduced to one lane with traffic lights. But the road leading up to Tamborine Mountain was something else, definitely not one for the caravan. This road was narrow, steep in many places with switch-backs, sweeping bends and huge trees hanging low over the road. This would be a great drive in a small sports car such as Catherine’s Audi.

Skywalk

Just off from one of the many sharp bends was the Rainforest Skywalk. We parked and wandered in to the cafe/shop for some lunch but a coach party had pretty much cleaned them out. The Rainforest Skywalk is an aerial platform installed among the tree tops but with little information available at the centre, or online, it was hard to know how long the walk was and if it was worthwhile. But the decider was the price, $19.95 each, which seemed excessive. If you haven’t experienced one of these elevated platforms, and curious what it is like up in the canopy of trees, then it is worthwhile… as long as you have a head for heights.

Gallery Walk

Driving a little further along the road and we arrived at the Tamborine Mountain Gallery Walk, a mix of craft and antique shops, cafes, cellar doors and an over representation of ‘alternative’ therapists. We enjoyed a very pleasant lunch at the Mount Tamborine Vineyard and Winery before having an explore of the shops. Unfortunately being a weekday most of the art galleries were closed despite the number of tourists wandering around.

Hang Glider Lookout

We heard a good lookout point was not too far away at a popular hang glider launch site and it certainly impressed with dramatic views out to the west and the distant mountains forming the western range of the Scenic Rim.

Sandy Creek

We were hoping to get a walk in today and we were heading in the right direction to the Knoll section of the mountain. The Sandy Creek track starts from a viewpoint looking out to the West but much of the view is obscured by trees.

The track heads gently downhill through dense forest that becomes darker the further you descend. Quite abruptly the vegetation changes to a spectacular dense palm forest with the ground littered with fallen palm branches brought down by recent storms. At this level the rocky creek is gradually exposed as the path leads towards the Cameron Falls Lookout.

We were in luck with the weather when a brief shower passed over giving us the true rain forest experience and continued until we reached the lookout. Although there was just a small flow of water at Cameron Falls, the view out to the West was amazing with distant showers being lit by the sun and the buildings of the Brisbane CBD visible on the horizon.

As happens so often at mountain lookouts, some of the best views are obscured by growing trees and this one, sadly, was no exception making photography a challenge.

It was at about this time that we heard the distant calls of Black Cockatoos, always a sign of rain on the way, which prompted our uphill return path to the car. I’ve had the privilege to walk some great tracks in spectacular locations around the world and to me, this is one of the best walks I’ve done.

And the call of the Black Cockatoos was correct, down came the rain just as we got back to the car.

Tomorrow we head further North.