The past few weeks have seen us very busy with some great road trips and of course with the fantastic weather a lot of boating. Click here for the full Stunning Stanthorpe Album
 |
| Toasting Marshmallows - Yumbo |
Todays blog though is all about Stanthorpe and its surrounding areas, which make for a great short break at this time of the year, the days are so glorious with the nights being just chilly enough to enjoy a fantastic fire in the late afternoon.
It's a place I have always wanted to go to because over the years people I have known to go there love it so much and I can understand why, it really is such a great place for a long weekend and you do feel a million miles away - very similar to the Italian and French country areas we have been to with plenty of different things to do, see and experience.
After scouring through websites, we decided to stay at Honeysuckle Cottages - taking my 81 year old Mum with us for her birthday, we wanted a 2 bedroom possie, plus why go and stay in a standard Motel , we wanted somewhere quaint and charming plus enjoy wood fires to ensure the break had all the trappings. Honeysuckle Cottages didn't disappoint it was fantastic, their website and booking services are also outstanding allowing you to pre-book dinner at their own Restaurant The Rocks, order cheese platters and wine tours so costs where kept under control.
 |
| A short break in the rest area |
The drive from the Goldy was great, even going through Cunninghams Gap seemed to be significantly better than it was years ago - the roads have been well upgraded in this area making the drive much more comfortable than in times past. With the rain etc the countryside was at its best with lush green grasses and autumn reds, yellows and oranges everywhere. Simply Stunning!
Taking our time to meander to Stanthorpe with some nice short coffee breaks in parks our cabin at Honeysuckle Cottages didn't disappoint - we even got a free bottle of wine for Mum's birthday. Then along came our breaky basket - we weren't anticipating this but WOW heaps of bacon, sausages, about 2 dozen egges, milk, juice and a basket of spreads - more than enough to keep our strengths up over the days. Its the small things like this that ensure guests have a great value for money time.
Being mid Friday afternoon by the time we got there and settled in we decided to hit the town and the museum to fill in the rest of the day before our dinner at the Rocks that night. Must say some fabulous clothes shops in town especially if you are looking for something special in the jumper/jacket area.
At this time of the year it does start to come in chilly by about 4 oclock, so off we went back to our snug cottage to partake in toasted marshmallows and smores at the fire place - yummy!
The Rocks Restaurant a short stroll on the property from our cuddly cabin and was fantastic with a lot of ambiance, good service and food well worth it and of course fully included through our booking. |
| First Wine Tasting at Symphony Hill Wines |
Next morning off we went on a full days winery tour of the region, with Filippo's Tours, good group of people and a great host in Tony for the day. We learnt a lot about the area, tasted fantastic wines everywhere we went, stopped at a few good specialty food shops (Mt Sterling Olives, Cheese Factory and a few others all with good sampling available) and of course a terrific lunch at Sheraz. There is no shortage of wineries in this area with some 50 odd of which we visited 7 so a full on day finishing up at around 5pm. There is plenty to do in this area - but be aware most places are not open during the week so it is really a long weekend town.
Having had the Town and Country experience, the Wine Touring we decided on Sunday to head to Girraween National Park for the bush experience. There are some great walks in this area some difficult right up to Bald Rock, and others that are not so onerous which is of course were the ones we did. The day was perfect for these nice easy bush walks and the views, scenery and landscapes where beautiful and refreshing.
 |
| Mum & Derek doing some Metal Detecting |
On the drive back from Girraween we detoured via Storm King Dam - yet another little treasure in this area with beautiful picnic areas, lovely water and generally just a great outlook for a nice afternoon tea.
I would highly recommend Stanthorpe for a weekend with a difference at this time of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment