Hey Mr. Tamborine Man Play a Song for Me

As previously mentioned student life will be putting a serious damper on my traveling for at least the next year and a half (we won't even mention the looming student debt) So Chris and I have decided to scratch our proverbial travel itch in locales closer to home. So we are proud to introduce a little feature we will be calling "Travels in Southeast Queensland" until at least we can determine a more thrilling and creative name.

Our first adventure brought us to Mount Tamborine in the Gold Coast Hinterland. Now for two people who spent 9 months living in the Canadian Rockies we naturally greet any place here in Australia with the word 'Mount' in the name with a certain grain of skepticism. The 'mount' is actually more of a plateau about 600 metres above sea level.

About halfway up we stopped to check out Ceder Creek Falls. It was a more than leisurely 15 minutes walk along the creek to the falls which cascaded into a series of rock pools. Well maybe cascaded is a slight exageration. There is a serious drought here in Southeast Queensland at the moment. But they were still lovely and we had the area all to ourselves so it was a serene spot to soak up a few winter rays



As we continued to climb to the plateau the vegetation quickly changed from dray lowland Gum trees to thicker lush rainforest brimming with ferns and orchards.

We were delighted to discover that the area was ripe with wineries. At least a dozen all in the vicinity of the town of Mt. Tamborine. We chose Tamboire Estates winery at random and ventured in for a little tasty taste. For $4 AUD each we were able to sample seven of the wines. Our hostess was quite enthusiastic to share the wineries flavours. Often I had barely put my empty glass on the counter when she was topping me up with a new variety. Not sure if she was trying to turn over her tasters as quickly as possible or if she was mearely enthusiastic but someone should really tell the lady to sloooooow down.




Barren vines at Tamborine Estates and the signs point us in the right direction

After pounding back the samples we decided so food was necessary so we opted for a cozy pub lunch at the local. We opted for the patio in order to make the most of the sunny, crisp winter day but with the inside boasting wooden benches lined with cushions along side a stone fireplace it was certainly the type of place I would love to return to on a cool winter's night.




Trip Stats:
Tastings at the Tamborine Estate (inclusive of one tiny wine glass) - $7.00 AUD
Pub lunch - $34.00 AUD
Realizing there are gems waiting to be found practically in our backyard - Priceless