Never heard of the High Country Hamlets? Until about 9 months ago I hadn't either! It's a destination much closer to home than you might imagine! The High Country Hamlets are nestled 650 metres above the South East Queensland coastal plain high up on the Great Dividing Range, just north of Toowoomba.
The Hamlets are a series of small communities and Queensland's first micro-region specialising in high altitude produce and visitor experiences. Here is an awesome map of the region I found online.
The micro-region is often bathed in clouds and has something great to offer in whatever season you visit. Abundant, seasonal food crops are grown by small artisanal producers and creatively embraced by passionate local chefs and restaurants. There is plenty of relaxed, friendly, country accommodation, away from the rush and bustle of the city to choose from. You can look forward to wood fires in the Winter, quiet country walks in the National Parks or down laneways. Picnics by the lakes or a spectacular lookout.
We recently spent a couple of nights exploring the High Country Hamlets, here's what we got up to:
Day One
We had spent the morning in Goondiwindi and started the drive to Ravensbourne around lunchtime. The drive was just over three hours in total. If you are coming from Brisbane, the drive is around 2 hours.
Rosalie House Cellar Door Restaurant
Our first stop was at the Rosalie House Cellar Door Restaurant. We stopped in for Afternoon Tapas (a late lunch/early dinner for us). Rosalie House is in Lilyvale and located down a dirt road in what feels like the middle of nowhere.
The restaurant has an amazing view over the vineyard and the food was absolutely divine. We also got to spend some time with Shiraz the doggo, who was an 11/10 good boy.
Definitely put this place on your list but don't forget to book in advance as it is popular.
Check out Rosalie House here: https://www.rosaliehouse.com.au/
Where we stayed - "The Boathouse" Cloudlake Mountain Retreat
Cloudlake looked like an amazing place to stay, and we were really looking forward to it. We had booked for three nights and arrived late afternoon, just before sunset.
When we arrived, there was no one we could find to greet us/show us where to go. This is fine when you get a pre-arrival email/phone call prior to let you know where to go etc but is a bit offputting when you are not expecting it and in such a remote place. Neither of us had phone reception to call the hosts, but we eventually found the Boathouse and the keys were in the door, so we let ourselves in.
The boathouse is an amazing property in a beautiful part of the world that is starting to show a few little signs of its age. It is a big, open-plan cottage with a good-sized kitchen, big bathroom and even a loft bedroom if there are more than two people staying. It is really beautiful and has a lot of potential, but there is a but and it is a big one!
It was full of spider webs!!!! These were In literally every corner, crevice, rafter etc and it didn't take long for us to start seeing the spiders who called the webs home. Most of them were small daddy long legs, but there were also several Huntsmen crawling around and one of them was as big as my hand!
We decided to head to bed and deal with the spiders in the morning. We discovered that something had also gotten in and pooped on our bed! We were feeling pretty uneasy about staying the night but didn't really have a choice, so we crawled into (the very hard) bed and somehow drifted off to sleep.
We headed into town the next morning and called our host Rosemary to let her know about the spiders, she went to the cabin and removed a couple of the Huntsmen she could find, but when we returned there were still heaps of spiders inside, including the really big Huntsman. It had also rained, and a number of hairy caterpillars had managed to get in while we were out (the house doesn't seal properly).
When I let Rosemary know we were leaving early and the reasons why, I got an exceptionally rude response from her suggesting "I would be more comfortable in screened accommodation". Apparently, I was meant to assume that this place would be:
Unscreened
Absolutely teeming with creepy crawlies
That our hosts wouldn't see an issue with this
I have literally stayed in HUNDREDS of hotels, hostels, cabins, BnBs, tents etc and have never had an issue like this before. This property seems aimed at city people who want to get out to the country for a weekend break. Most city people I know absolutely hate spiders, so I am not sure how this place manages to stay in business.
If creepy crawlies don't bother you, then this would be a great place to stay, but if you are like us and they are nightmare fuel for you then there is plenty of other better options close by.
Check out Cloudlake retreat here: https://cloudlake.com/
Day Two:
Breakfast @ Kate's Corner
After surviving the night we decided to treat ourselves with baked goods!
Kate's corner is a pop up artisan bakery that serves breakfast and sells baked goods on Saturday mornings. We got some breakfast here and ate it around the fireplace, as it was pretty chilly. We grabbed some freshly baked sourdough bread and some tasty treats and hit the road. Everything was delicious, so if you are here on a Saturday morning definitely drop in and grab yourself some treats.
Check out Kate's Corner here: https://www.facebook.com/katescorner6/
Crows Nest Soft Drinks
The Crows Nest soft drink factory make soft drinks the old fashioned way and have done for almost 100 years. They have heaps of different flavours and sell both the premade soft drink and bottles the syrups these are made with.
We have a Soda Stream machine at home, so we bought 7 bottles of syrup to try all the interesting flavours. Everything is delicious, but my favourite is Mandarin and Noel's favourite is Blue Lemonade.
Check out Crows Nest soft drinks here: https://www.cnsd.com.au/
Lake Cressbrook
We decided to check out Lake Cressbrook as the pictures looked really nice and we had a couple of hours to kill until the distillery opened. There are a number of kangaroos that call the lake home, but they stay away from the visitor area.
We met some really friendly birds and shared some of our delicious bakery treats with them. The lake is really well equipped with picnic benches, BBQ's and public toilets and you could easily spend half a day here.
Check out Lake Cressbrook here: https://www.tr.qld.gov.au/facilities-recreation/sport-recreation/lakes-dams/1976-lake-cressbrook
Pechey Distilling Co
Our next stop was at the Pechey Distilling Co.
We arrived right at opening time and we were lucky we did, as it was a really popular spot. We managed to be in the first tasting group, and by the time we finished there were several people waiting.
The distillery is most well known for their gin, but they also make a vodka and a white rum, that isn't technically allowed to be called a rum for some reason. I didn't rate it, but Noel enjoyed it and we left with a bottle of their gin.
Check out Pechey Distilling Co here: https://www.pecheydistilling.com/
The Chocolate Cottage Highfields
After a quick drive to Highfields, our first stop was at the Chocolate Cottage to stock up on delicious handmade chocolates. We were just here to grab some of their choccies, but there is a full cafe and you could get breakfast or lunch here also.
Check out the Chocolate Cottage here: https://www.chocolatecottage.com.au/
Lunch @ The Cafe at Abbie Lane
Just down the road from the Chocolate Cottage is the Cafe at Abbie Lane. We were pretty hungry by this stage and grabbed a late lunch here, before heading back to Cloudlake and its many creepy 8 legged residents.
Check out the Cafe at Abbie Lane here: https://www.facebook.com/thecafeatabbielane/
Side note - there is a Woolworths in Highfields if you need to stock up on anything if you are staying on one of the more remote spots.
Dinner @ The Curly Carrot
If I told you the best restaurant in town was smack bang in the middle of the caravan park, would you believe me? Well, believe it, because The Curly Carrot is a fantastic spot to have breakfast, lunch and/or dinner and it sits within the Crows Nest Tourist Park.
The food here was absolutely delicious and the service was fantastic. Make sure you book ahead as it is a super popular spot and regularly books out. They also do take away (try their pizzas) if you do miss out on a dine-in space.
Check out The Curly Carrot here: https://www.facebook.com/Thecurlycarrotrestaurant/
Day Three
Breakfast @ The Curly Carrot
We enjoyed our dinner so much that we came back for breakfast the next morning! Again, service was top notch and the food was incredible!
Cars & Coffee & Sunday Market @ Crows Nest Tourist Park
We were back in Crows Nest this morning to check out the Cars & Coffee event and Sunday market that happens once a month.
Although the event technically starts at 8 am, some of the cars have a long way to travel, so a lot of them arrive closer to 9 am. I am not really into cars, but they were fun to look at for a while. It gets really busy by about 10 am.
My tip would be to arrive around 8.30 am, so you can get a car park and grab breakfast at The Curly Carrot first. By the time you finish your brekkie, most of the cars should have arrived.
Check out Cars & Coffee Crows Nest here: https://www.facebook.com/CarsandcoffeeCrowsNest/
Bunnyconnellen Olive Grove/ Emeraude Pop up
Bunnyconnellen is an event venue that sometimes hosts public events, usually on long weekends or as part of local festivals. It is an olive grove and the grounds are absolutely stunning.
We were lucky enough to be visiting on a long weekend and Bunnyconnellen were hosting a lunchtime picnic, with food being made available by pop up restaurant Emeraude.
Emeraude, run by chef Amanda (who I met and who was lovely) used to be a stand-alone restaurant in Hampton. She now does pop up catering and private events and her food is worth planning a trip around - it's seriously that good!
Check out Bunnyconnellen here: https://www.bunnyconnellen.com.au/
Check out Emeraude here: https://www.facebook.com/emeraudehampton
After thoroughly enjoying our treats we headed back to Cloudlake to pack up (after checking all our stuff very carefully for spiders). The drive home was about 2 hours, making the High Country Hamlets a perfect spot for a weekend away. We will definitely be back in the future, although we will stay somewhere else!
Interested in checking out the High Country Hamlets for yourself?
Check out this website to see what's on when: https://www.highcountryhamlets.com.au/
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