Written by Brooke Wilson
It’s that time of year again where you have the perfect excuse to spoil your loved ones, your significant other, your friends, or even yourself!
Treat yourself to a weekend away in the Gold Coast hinterland, where the lush mountain ranges play host to a dizzying array of activities.
The first stop on any hinterland journey must be the Mount Tamborine Coffee Plantation.
Coffee lovers rejoice, this property boasts organically grown and produced coffee beans to provide you with a fantastic cup of coffee. Stay a little while and enjoy your cup with a delectable brunch from their extensive menu.
Blueberry pancakes anyone? Hardcore enthusiasts can even take a tour of the plantation, learning of their ‘crop to cup’ process through a hands-on experience.
The next stop on your weekend getaway should be the Mount Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk.
A stunning way to see the rainforest, the walk consists of 1.5kms of trails, combining the forest floor trails with sweeping bridges snaking their way through the forest canopy.
The showstopper of this walk is the 40-metre cantilever bridge, rising a stunning 30 metres above the ground, giving you spectacular views of the rainforest and creek below.
For those searching for a more adrenaline inducing way to experience the rainforest, head over to the Tree Top Challenge, just north of the Mt Tamborine township.
Home to Australia’s largest zipline attraction and high ropes course, this one is not for the fainthearted.
Criss-crossing over the Cedar Creek Gorge, the course spans nine acres of adventure packed property, with the ziplines reaching speeds up to a whopping 70kms an hour!
A trip to the hinterland isn’t complete without some time spend at Mt Tamborine’s Gallery Walk.
The famous strip boasts over 70 specialty stores in one block, ranging from food to clothes to quirky handmade arts and crafts to galleries, and just about everything in between.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a romantic weekend getaway without a visit to one of the many breweries or wineries the region proudly boasts.
Choose from Fortitude Brewing Co. for the beer drinkers, Tamborine Mountain Distillery for liqueurs, vodka and schnapps, Cedar Creek Winery for wine – with the bonus of their own glow worm caves.
If you can’t choose, all three offers tours and tastings, so try them all out!
An absolute highlight though, is O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyard, a twenty-minute drive south of Mt Tamborine.
Here, not only do they offer wine tasting from their vineyard, but also a full lunch menu, picnic baskets, and is home to a host of friendly alpacas!
You can choose to feed these friendly guys, and even take them for a walk through the grounds. Food, wine, and alpacas – what’s not to love?