Coast to Hinterland Food and Wine Tour, Sunshine Coast, Australia

 With a whole week to just relax and enjoy Mooloolaba, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, I thought it would be fun to spend one day taking a food and wine tour out into the hinterland.  Collected from my hotel by a very friendly Dave, who was to be our guide for the day,  I was one of just five on the Coast to Hinterland Tour, we were a small friendly group.

 Our first stop was  at the very pleasant little town of Maleny  to enjoy a tasting of locally made chocolates. This was a little bit underwhelming to be honest.  It was basically just a chocolate shop but it did have an amazing array of different flavoured chocolates and we were invited to try a number of samples, some with uniquely Australian flavours, and we were  also given a slab of chocolate to keep.

From there we went to the Maleny Cheese factory.   After a short talk about the making of cheese and viewing the factory area where the cheeses were made we were given two large platters to share with a wide assortment of Maleny cheeses, breads, crackers, chutneys etc, all delicious, which we enjoyed with a welcome cup of coffee.  I highly recommend this place for the warmth of our welcome and the generosity of the cheese boards.

Well satisfied we continued on to the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve for a walk through tranquil native bush and to view spectacular views out towards the Glass House mountains and  the coast.  We were lucky, it was a beautiful day and we had very clear views and I always enjoy the serenity of the bush.

Cool, shady bush at the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve

View from Mary Cairncross of the Glass House Mountains

Then it was time for a wine tasting at Clouds Restaurant. We each received  generous pourings of 4 different wines and sat in a sunny courtyard enjoying the tasting, hearing about the different wines and chatting with our fellow passengers.  Pleasant indeed. 

The road to our lunch destination was very pretty, stopping at Gerrard's Lookout for panoramic views of the countryside, then on through rolling hills and finally down a steep bush lined road to Secrets on the Lake.  This is a pretty eccentric kind of place in a stunning location right on the edge of a lake. Within the restaurant there are numerous intricate wood carvings.  They are impressive.  Lunch here was absolutely superb.  The quality of the food was outstanding, befitting of a wine and food tour.  I had barramundi, asparagus, tomatoes with a potato mash for my main followed by orange creme brulee. Delicious.

View from Secrets on the Lake resort

My sublime lunch

One of many carvings in the restaurant  area

The owner of the lodge offered to show us one of the accommodation lodges.  The lodges are set high on poles and are accessed by long wooden walkways through the bush.  The lodge, like the restaurant, was eccentric with plenty of wooden carvings and an unusual layout, really not my style, but it had stunning views over the lake and I imagine would certainly be a very restful place to spend a few days.

Australian themed tiles in a lodge shower

The day was speeding by and by the time we got to the lovely village of Montville most of the shops and cafes were closing.  We did have time to take in the views towards Mooloolaba and as I had been to Montville on a couple of other occasions I wasn't too fazed.  A shame for the other passengers, though because Montville is charming and home to numerous independent crafty type shops.

The charming Camphor Cottage, Montville (Photo from Trip Advisor)

The view out over the rain forest from the platform at Mapleton Falls

Mapleton Falls cascading down into a deep ravine 

To round out the day we made our final stop at Mapelton Falls National Park to see the waterfall plunging 120 metres down into the deep Obi Obi Gorge. We viewed it from a platform hanging right out over the ravine.  I'm not usually afraid of heights but found this a bit stomach churning, nevertheless  I stood on the platform to take in the view of the rain forest and waterfall before scampering off to safer ground. 

Then it was back to Mooloolaba after a truly fantastic day.  I highly recommend this tour, it had a bit of everything and really showcased the lovely hinterland of the Sunshine Coast plus, as the tour's name states, provided delicious food and good wine. 

Great company for the day. Glass House Mountains behind us.

Disclaimer:  I have no association with Coast to Hinterland Tours.  I paid my own way and this is my unbiased opinion of the day.

Day trip to the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia

I really couldn't remember much about the Blue Mountains from my visit when I was aged 14  so with a day to spare in Sydney recently I decided to take a day trip out there and have another look. The day didn't start well, although it was all my own fault.  I had travelled from Perth to Sydney and had reset the time on my alarm incorrectly.  I was up and raring to go at what I thought was an ideal time so went to the hotel lobby to wait for my pick up.  I thought the night staff were looking at me strangely until I finally realised it was 4am and my pick up wasn't until  6!  Oh well, back to my room for a while. Right on the dot of 6am the BLUE MOUNTAIN TOURS bus arrived driven by a bright, bubbly, friendly driver/guide named Amy.  The day was looking up.  As the first aboard it meant a bit of a trip around Sydney to pick up other passengers but Amy kept us well entertained telling stories, playing popular Australian music and educating us all on Aussie slang. Our first stop was for breakfast of bacon and egg burgers and coffee at Cafe 2773 in the charming little country town of Glenbrook. 

 Well fortified  we set off to drive higher into the Blue Mountain range to see the iconic Three Sisters peaks. What a stunning and spectacular sight it is with bush, mountains, deep valleys, sandstone cliffs and standing proudly over them all, the Three Sisters. Apparently we were lucky to have a very clear view as mist and cloud were threatening.  We spent quite some time there admiring the panorama from all different vantage points before  reboarding the bus and heading the short distance to Scenic World to ride the world's steepest railway as recorded in the Guiness Book of Records. It drops 206 metres with an incline of 52 degrees. Originally built to take coal out of the mine in the valley below, it is a thrilling, if short, ride.

Just look at how steep the track is!

At the bottom we  enjoyed a gentle ramble along a bush walk while Amy described the mining history of the area, the vegetation and the various birds spotted along the way including colourful parrots and the rare lyre bird. I love the bush so was in my happy place although, as a New Zealander who doesn't have to worry about such things, I was on the alert for snakes and spiders.

A homage to the coal miners and horses of the valley

At the end of our stroll we boarded the Cableway to reach the top of the valley and then changed to the Skyway which took us across the Jamison Valley 270 metres below and past the Katoomba Falls tumbling down to the valley floor.  It was all thrillingly scenic.  Time for our pre-ordered and tasty lunches at The Bunker in the small town of Springwood.  This was a great opportunity to get to know, and chat with, my fellow travellers, who came from many different countries.

The Skyway crossing the Jamison Valley, Three sisters on the left 
 (photo from Trip Advisor)

The Katoomba Falls are around 200 metres high

After lunch we headed off to our final stop of the day, the Featherdale Wildlife Park. This is basically a small zoo and an excellent place to see many Australian birds and animals. Here you get a close up view of Tasmanian Devils, Quokkas, Dingos, Wombats, Cassowaries, Crocodiles, Emus and the very, very busy little Echidna that never stopped moving, plus many colourful Parakeets, Parrots, Kookaburras and other birds.   This is a great place to see the amazing variety of wildlife unique to Australia. 

A rare albino wallaby

Koala

A tree kangaroo, I never knew they existed

The busy little echidna

After a generous amount of time at the park we headed back to Sydney.  It had been a fantastic day, I enjoyed every minute of it and highly recommend BLUE MOUNTAIN TOURS. I'm pretty sure this is the only tour which includes both breakfast and lunch. 

 Disclaimer:  I have no association with Blue Mountain Tours and paid full price for the day...it was well worth it!