Logo
Prev
search
Print
addthis
Rotate
Help
Next
Contents
All Pages
Browse Issues
Home
'
The Road Ahead : August 2016
Contents
TRAVEL QUEENSLAND TAKE THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED SOUTH AND WEST OF TOOWOOMBA FOR SOME GREAT TIMES. STORY JOHN WRIGHT IMAGES TOURISM QUEENSLAND A TRIP TO THE COUNTRY uDAY1 Ipswich to Texas (302km) via the Cunningham and New England highways to Allora, back on the Cunningham to Inglewood, and then south to the border. Overnight Texas. u HIGHLIGHTS Allora: A pretty town with an impressive built heritage, it was part of the 19th century squatter and pastoralist expansion. The Frog and Swallow Café on Herbert Street has great coffee, local produce and home-made preserves. Heritage sites include the former Australian Joint Stock Bank (associated with author and one-time resident P.L. Travers, who created Mary Poppins). Inglewood: Stop at Coolmunda Olives for a tasty platter lunch or buy some of the local product and talk with visionary owner Gesine Owen. Children’s play area. Ph: 4652 4161 to book lunch. Texas Rabbit Factory: Have a cuppa and a biscuit with volunteer Sally Ridgway and learn how rabbits saved the town during the Great Depression. A great historical facility. Open Tuesday and Saturday mornings or by appointment. Ph: 4653 1106. Stockman Hotel: A distinctive bush hotel run by community-minded, no-nonsense publican Helen Rush, who won the 2015 QHA Hotelier of the Year Award. Good food and cold beer at fair prices. Popular with touring motorcyclists, among other travellers. Ph: 4653 1310. YABBYRACING INVOLVES quite a bit of science. Betting on them, not to mention training and getting them going, is serious stuff. You’ll discover this if you head to Moonie, on the western Darling Downs, towards the end of November for the town’s hilarious annual races. Hundreds of visitors from southern Queensland turn up for the event, and some make a packet. Most don’t, but they all have an experience to remember. This is good news for Moonie, which started the races a decade ago to draw tourists. It’s part of the story in the bush – making travellers want to stay longer – and small communities will go to a lot of trouble to make sure it happens. Here are some other things to tempt you along the road less travelled south and west of Toowoomba, in a region tourism marketers call Southern Queensland Country. You’ll find superb coffee and great food, and eat fresh local olives for lunch; you will learn how rabbits saved a town; you can fish for yellow belly and tour a cotton farm. You can visit a remarkable vintage vehicle museum, as well as a famous botanic garden and, on the way, you can enjoy great mountain views and stay at award-winning bush pubs. Youcandoallthisinfivedaysona circuit out of Ipswich that takes in Allora, Inglewood, Texas, Goondiwindi, Moonie, Glenmorgan, Dalby and Nobby. Much of southern Queensland’s early settlement and agricultural history began here, along with the Aussie battler legend. Here’s one itinerary with my ‘must-dos’ listed for each day of the trip. RACQLIVING.COM.AU 42 THE ROAD AHEAD AUG/SEP 2016 The Allora area is known for its sunflowers, in bloom November to February. 34_35_42_43_AUG_SEPT_2016_TRAVEL copy.indd 42 13/07/2016 08:31
Links
Archive
June July 2016
Navigation
Previous Page
Next Page
