We have always loved a good road trip – there is nothing better than enjoying each other’s company, while taking in the scenery and listening to great music. So for this year’s holiday, we decided to stay close to home and explore a little more of Queensland. Even better, I had no idea what the adventure would hold. Rob planned the entire trip and all I knew was that I needed to make sure to pack a pair of running shoes, a bathing suit, and one nice dress.
Our longest leg of the drive was Day 1, and it was also the least scenic. We took the main highway from Rockhampton all the way down to Brisbane, but the trip went quickly overall thanks to the nostalgia of familiar music from my old iPod Nano. The drive should be about 7 hours but with construction and traffic, it took us about 8 altogether. Needless to say, our first night was pretty low key. We enjoyed people watching at the markets and then a lovely dinner next to the river.
Day 2 started with more time along the canal in Southbank. Such a beautiful spot to enjoy morning coffee!
After breakfast, we walked to the Queensland Museum for the Walt Disney Magic of Animation exhibit which far surpassed any of our expectations. It was so amazing to see original sketches up close and read about the various influences that have shaped and changed Disney over the years.
And no trip to Southbank would be complete without lunch at Julius. After discovering this place on our last trip, I don’t think Rob will ever agree to a trip to Brisbane that doesn’t include a Julius pizza. It’s been the only restaurant we’ve come across in Australia where we’ve truly enjoyed the pizza.
We walked off lunch by wandering through one of Brisbane’s many parks. I am always taken by the Jacaranda trees here in Australia. This is a picture of a blue Jacaranda but they have vibrant red ones too. I’d love one in our yard if only they weren’t so messy!
And of course, no trip is complete without a Guinness from the local Irish pub!
After dinner, I found out the main reason why Rob had planned a stop in Brisbane for this road trip…he surprised me with tickets to see the Lumineers!! It was amazing to see live music again and the Lumineers put on a fantastic show.
On Day 3, it was back to the road. We drove a few hours further south to the Queensland-New South Wales border. We stopped for groceries along they way so I knew we were heading somewhere where we could cook for ourselves but I’ve never been this far south in Queensland so I wasn’t recognising any of locations on town and road signs. It didn’t help that Rob was making some random detours, though I didn’t complain when one of those stops was a winery (though the wine wasn’t very good).
After the winery, we ended up on this narrow, winding road up a mountain that just kept taking us up. The road was only one-car wide in many places and would have little dips to wait to let others pass. At one point, there was this cool little cul de sac that Rob couldn’t resist a picture of.
We ended up at a place called O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat which is famous for its endless hiking trails 930M above sea level in the mountains!
The cabin we stayed in was perfect. It was secluded and surrounded by trees and had a full kitchen so we could just take in the views and relax.
We woke up bright and early Friday morning to do a bird walking tour to try and learn a little more about the local wildlife before heading off hiking on our own. These Australian King Parrots and Crimson Rosellas come daily to snack on the crushed nuts the staff give out to feed them. A little robin also made friends on the walk.
After breakfast on our deck, we headed out hiking for few hours. It was so peaceful with beautiful scenery all around us.
Following our hike, we took advantage of the infinity pool on site and went for a swim. I then spoiled myself with a professional facial massage while Rob enjoyed a nap.
Day 5 included another day of hiking in the forest. This hike was about 4 hours and brought us down the mountain across beautiful little waterways and waterfalls.
There were of course more massive trees and I couldn’t get enough of all the twisting vines and branches. I think we both loved the fauna growing out of other trees the best though.
But of course, hiking down hill for 2 hours means hiking up for 2 hours so a beer on our beautiful deck felt glorious when we got back to our cabin. It also gave us a chance to do a little more bird watching. We made lots of friends when the cashews came out! We both loved this gorgeous Bower bird.
We also saw a few different types of fairy wrens and fantails and even a Catbird (yep, that’s its actual name and it sounds just like a cat!) but we didn’t manage pictures of those.
We hit the road again on Day 6 and started making our way back north. Rather than taking the main highway, Rob planned a route for the trip back to take us more inland which meant travelling on backroads through gorgeous farmlands. With all the rain we’ve had, everything was luscious and green which was beautiful to see. After about 4 hours, we ended up at a farm-stay, Barambah Farm, which is an active cattle farm. We had our own house which was surrounded by paddocks, barns, cattle, and horses.
The owner of the farm actually did her Masters in Waterloo and then her PhD in Pittsburgh before returning to Australia. So fascinating! She also owns one of the local wineries and gifted us a beautiful bottle of wine to enjoy with our dinner that night.
We made sure to enjoy some time outside at sunset to take in the sweeping landscape and horses just outside our window.
The next day, we went out to visit some of the local wineries in the region of Moffatdale. Most were small boutique wineries and some had really impressive wine. We liked the wine from Nuova Scuola Wines at Barambah Cellars the best. The owner and vintner was truly passionate about wine and took time to explain the different processes he used in making each of the wines. It was a great experience!
On Day 9, we travelled a little further north and closer to home, making a stop at a Canadian restaurant Mollydookers for lunch and the most delicious Caesar! After drinking makeshift Caesars made from Caesar Pleaser powder and V8 for over 4 years, this Caesar was absolutely delightful!
After lunch, we headed back towards the coast to Bargara. A walk on the beach and breathing in the sea air was exactly what we needed.
We then stayed overnight in Bundaberg. There’s a great little hotel right on the water that we like. It makes a perfect stopover to break up the drive back to Yeppoon.
Before walking over to the restaurant for dinner, we were taking in the views of the water from our hotel patio when we noticed the bats travelling through. We used to see this all the time in Yeppoon, but the bats have seemed to gone elsewhere lately. It’s impossible to capture the size and sheer volume of bats in a photo, but this video should give you a little bit of an idea of how impressive it is to see.
One of the main reasons Rob planned a stopover in Bundy on our way home was so we could go to a restaurant he’d discovered a few months ago. He said he liked it for the great service and amazing food but I think it’s because it was called Bert’s.
And just like that, it was time to head home and back to real life. Altogether we travelled a total of 1783km and made it through 375 songs on my iPod playlist.
I’m already looking forward to what our next road trip might hold!