Finally – it’s time to take a bit of vacation before the “Australian Adventure” comes to a close for us. We had been putting off a lot of things we had intended to do because “there’s always tomorrow” and we thought the assignment here might run longer than it did so – shame on us for that. But now, we’re in full vacation mode and have started to see and do a few things that “tourists” would be doing. In fact – we are tourists!
So – we decided to take a drive down to the border of Queensland and Victoria in an area called The Granite Belt for a few days. The drive was about 300 kilometers (through the beautiful sunflower fields shown above) to the town of Stanthorpe which is sort of the unofficial capital of the area and, after a bit of a late start because we were sorting out ongoing travel arrangements, finally made it to the
Azjure Studio Retreat around 5:00 PM. There are 3 of these cottages (opened in 2007) and the people that own them are Brisbane refugees, here to take a stab at their dream of a new and more relaxed career as resort accommodation owners. As you can see from the pictures, these were very eco-friendly and a bit “futuristic” in their design but were very quiet, comfortable and well appointed. We especially loved the fully automatic
Saeco coffee machine (we need one of those!). We had a belated 30th Anniversary dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant
(Anna’s) and were back “home” in time to enjoy the quiet surroundings of our cottage.
The main attraction of the
Granite Belt is wine related tourism. There are nearly 50 different wineries located in this region so we decided to tour a few of them on one of our days there. It is sort of the “off season” right now (but Stanthorpe was getting prepared for the upcoming
Apple & Grape Festival that kicks off in March) so we had a great tour, often we were the only people at the winery when we arrived and had the owners chatting with us about their vineyard, what sets their grapes apart from those around them and sharing a bit of their passion about wine making. It was great fun but something I would only want to do as part of a small group with a driver; it’s too easy to drink a bit more than you intended even though the tasting portions are tiny. We had a nice lunch, enjoyed the people w
e toured with (we were the token Americans in the group) but almost ended up missing dinner that evening because all of the “real” restaurants were closed when we showed up at 8:00 PM. Like I said, it’s the off-season! So, we found a pizza joint that was open later, ordered a takeaway pie and went home to enjoy a DVD before retiring for the evening. As a side note, we were fortunate to have a nice full moon while in the mountains and it rose right behind our unit, making for some awesome “moonrise” views.
As the name “Granite Belt” implies – there’s a lot of granite lying around this area and we decided to see some of it on a drive to a local lavender field. The drive itself was a bit of an adventure since our GPS decided to guide us on a very direct route that involved “two track” dirt roads through hills, creeks (where the water might actually be flowing over the road) and many, many cow pastures. We had a tense few moments (for Nancy) when we rounded a curve to find the road full of cows laying about – enjoying the sun. We made it to the lavender attraction (not that exciting - nice people but this is apparently the “off-season” for lavender too) and
then went on to the
Girraween National Park for a bit of a hike amongst the granite boulders that God has left strewn about in the hilltops. There are some crazy rock formations and we had a hike up “The Pyramid” but, I didn’t want to climb all the way to the top (because I was wearing sandals!) and had to physically restrain Nancy from continuing on. Since it was the end of the day and we were nearly the last people in the place, I didn’t want to get stranded there with a broken something / multiple somethings and end up on the evening news but this is an unfinished challenge for Nancy – and you know how she hates an unfinished challenge!
Thursday was our return back to Brisbane and we came back via a stop at
Surfer’s Paradise on the Gold Coast. After a nice lunch at the
Kooroomba Vineyard located on a beautiful mountaintop, we worked our way east towards the ocean and, once again, our friendly GPS decided it would be fun to route us over the
Tamborine Mountains to get there. There are more than a few steep grades, hairpin turns and “interesting” drivers on this route but it is beautiful (mostly a rainforest area) and we did finally make to Surfer’s before the sun went down. I think the last time I was in Surfer’s
Paradise was nearly 12 years ago and things have really changed. This area is full of high rise hotels and resort properties and is a real tourist magnet - and I don't necessarily mean that in a good way! So - we ended the day by packing for a flight out to Melbourne the next morning - and that will be "Part II" of this story (coming soon). Until then, here's a quick video of the climb up to (nearly the) top of "The Pyramid" at Girraween National Park
Finally – it’s time to take a bit of vacation before the “Australian Adventure” comes to a close for us. We had been putting off a lot of things we had intended to do because “there’s always tomorrow” and we thought the assignment here might run longer than it did so – shame on us for that. But now, we’re in full vacation mode and have started to see and do a few things that “tourists” would be doing. In fact – we are tourists!
So – we decided to take a drive down to the border of Queensland and Victoria in an area called The Granite Belt for a few days. The drive was about 300 kilometers (through the beautiful sunflower fields shown above) to the town of Stanthorpe which is sort of the unofficial capital of the area and, after a bit of a late start because we were sorting out ongoing travel arrangements, finally made it to the Azjure Studio Retreat around 5:00 PM. There are 3 of these cottages (opened in 2007) and the people that own them are Brisbane refugees, here to take a stab at their dream of a new and more relaxed career as resort accommodation owners. As you can see from the pictures, these were very eco-friendly and a bit “futuristic” in their design but were very quiet, comfortable and well appointed. We especially loved the fully automatic Saeco coffee machine (we need one of those!). We had a belated 30th Anniversary dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant (Anna’s) and were back “home” in time to enjoy the quiet surroundings of our cottage.
The main attraction of the Granite Belt is wine related tourism. There are nearly 50 different wineries located in this region so we decided to tour a few of them on one of our days there. It is sort of the “off season” right now (but Stanthorpe was getting prepared for the upcoming Apple & Grape Festival that kicks off in March) so we had a great tour, often we were the only people at the winery when we arrived and had the owners chatting with us about their vineyard, what sets their grapes apart from those around them and sharing a bit of their passion about wine making. It was great fun but something I would only want to do as part of a small group with a driver; it’s too easy to drink a bit more than you intended even though the tasting portions are tiny. We had a nice lunch, enjoyed the people w
e toured with (we were the token Americans in the group) but almost ended up missing dinner that evening because all of the “real” restaurants were closed when we showed up at 8:00 PM. Like I said, it’s the off-season! So, we found a pizza joint that was open later, ordered a takeaway pie and went home to enjoy a DVD before retiring for the evening. As a side note, we were fortunate to have a nice full moon while in the mountains and it rose right behind our unit, making for some awesome “moonrise” views.
As the name “Granite Belt” implies – there’s a lot of granite lying around this area and we decided to see some of it on a drive to a local lavender field. The drive itself was a bit of an adventure since our GPS decided to guide us on a very direct route that involved “two track” dirt roads through hills, creeks (where the water might actually be flowing over the road) and many, many cow pastures. We had a tense few moments (for Nancy) when we rounded a curve to find the road full of cows laying about – enjoying the sun. We made it to the lavender attraction (not that exciting - nice people but this is apparently the “off-season” for lavender too) and 
then went on to the Girraween National Park for a bit of a hike amongst the granite boulders that God has left strewn about in the hilltops. There are some crazy rock formations and we had a hike up “The Pyramid” but, I didn’t want to climb all the way to the top (because I was wearing sandals!) and had to physically restrain Nancy from continuing on. Since it was the end of the day and we were nearly the last people in the place, I didn’t want to get stranded there with a broken something / multiple somethings and end up on the evening news but this is an unfinished challenge for Nancy – and you know how she hates an unfinished challenge!
Thursday was our return back to Brisbane and we came back via a stop at Surfer’s Paradise on the Gold Coast. After a nice lunch at the Kooroomba Vineyard located on a beautiful mountaintop, we worked our way east towards the ocean and, once again, our friendly GPS decided it would be fun to route us over the Tamborine Mountains to get there. There are more than a few steep grades, hairpin turns and “interesting” drivers on this route but it is beautiful (mostly a rainforest area) and we did finally make to Surfer’s before the sun went down. I think the last time I was in Surfer’s 
Paradise was nearly 12 years ago and things have really changed. This area is full of high rise hotels and resort properties and is a real tourist magnet - and I don't necessarily mean that in a good way! So - we ended the day by packing for a flight out to Melbourne the next morning - and that will be "Part II" of this story (coming soon). Until then, here's a quick video of the climb up to (nearly the) top of "The Pyramid" at Girraween National Park
2 comments:
Rick,
Now that I've seen an actual picture of you and Nancy standing next to and in the midst of massive granite, I can truly see that there is a difference. I promise to never "take you for granite" again!
Horrible pun I know, but how could I resist? (Besides, you know someone else would said that eventually!)
Wonderful pictures and a beautiful part of that country! With our never-ending winter continuing here that looks extra tasty. I sure hope this weekend with yet another "winter storm watch" is the last of it.
Looking forward to having you and Nancy back home!
Love and blessings-
Craig
Hey, there,
Are you sure you are in Australia? That rock looks suspiciously like Enchanted Rock in Texas, which Bruce and I climbed in November while visiting his son down there. I suppose all bare granite rock domes look alike, though. You are right - going up is tough on the legs and the lungs, but coming down it much scarier - nothing to grab if you start to lose it. Not recommended in tennis shoes, much less sandels. We made it to the top of Enchanted Rock (and back down unscathed) but we were prepped in hiking boots.
Sounds like you are enjoying your last days in Australia. It's too bad the end it coming so much sooner than what you were planning for, but hopefully you'll find some new adventures here at home.
Happy Travels.
Denise
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