How to make the most of harvest season as a family in Southern Queensland Country

Sunflower Season (January to March)

If Harry Styles, Post Malone and Neil Diamond all made hit songs about sunflowers, you know they’re well worth a visit.

Luckily, there’s sunflowers aplenty lining the roads between Allora and Warwick, primed for photos during their blooming period - January to March.

Jam out to your favourite version of ‘sunflower’ on the two-hour drive from Brisbane and dress the kids in their favourite yellow outfit before stopping to take pictures against the sea of yellow.

Please be mindful not to climb any fences or enter any properties due to bio-security risks. We can assure you the view from the side of the road is enough to make jaws drop.

For the chance to get up and personal with the gorgeous flowers, enter the fields of Warraba Sunflower Farm in Cambooya or Ten Chain Farms in Flagstone Creek. Both farms offer $10 adult and $5 kids entry where you’ll have access to their sunflower maze, picnic areas, food trucks and live music during event times. Plus, you get to walk with your own bunch of sunshine.

Sorghum Season (February to March)

While we might save the sorghum taste testing for the prime beef found in Southern Queensland Country, driving past endless orange-washed sorghum fields is an experience not to be missed.

Embark on a scenic drive (plug Goomburra Road, Allora into the GPS) with the whole family and time your “I spy with my little eye…” with the start of the rustic orange fields for maximum wow-factor and praise from the kids.

Trust us, there’ll be no shortage of sorghum to spy. Did you know Southern Queensland Country produces upwards of one million tonnes of sorghum in a single season?

Pack a picnic lunch to enjoy field-side, sample local goodies from any of Allora’s tasty cafes, or nature-bathe with an afternoon snack and watch a brilliant orange sunset meet vibrant orange fields on your drive back to your accommodation for the night.

Apple Season (February to June)

Let’s play a game of two truths and one lie: Southern Queensland Country has an apple pie eating contest at their Apple Festival, Queensland produces over 20 thousand tonnes of apples per season, and our region holds a town called Applethorpe, where you can go apple picking.

Believe it or not, all are true! Every second year in March, Stanthorpe throws their Apple and Grape Harvest Festival, bringing apple themed activities, apple pie eating competitions, market stalls, entertainment and more to locals and over 60,000 visitors in attendance.

Missed the festival? Don’t stress, you can still pick your own bushel at Eastern Colour Farm in Applethorpe or Nicoletti Orchards, Poziers. Both family-owned farms offer picking experiences in the months of March to May, where guests can stroll amongst the trees, take photos with the apple blossoms and pick the perfect bunch. Don’t forget to call in advance to check the apples are ripe for picking.

To taste our juicy apples outside picking season, stop into the Granite Belt Farmers Markets held every Saturday to pick up a bottle of apple and ginger juice from Nicoletti Orchards, and browse the stalls for more goodies to fill the esky.

Cotton Season (March to April)

Fields of white aren’t reserved for the northern hemisphere’s snow season. Each autumn, you can see white fields that are almost indistinguishable from the fluffy clouds above as cotton crops burst into bright white, fluffy bloom along the highways towards Goondiwindi and Dalby.

To experience Southern Queensland Country cotton at its finest, point the bonnet towards Goondiwindi in the prime growing time of March to early April. Fun fact: Goondiwindi Region alone produces over 80,000 hectares of cotton each year.

Take a tour with the team at Goondiwindi Cotton, who’ll gladly lead you around their 2,500 acre working cotton farm ‘Alcheringa’ and show the process that sees cotton go from farm to fabric.

Don’t forget to pick up a souvenir at Goondiwindi Cotton’s on-site boutique store or treat yourself to their enticing online deals.

Truffle Season (June to August)

For those who like to get their hands dirty, take a treasure hunt for truffles in the harvesting months of June to August.

Situated in Ballandean in the Granite Belt is The Folly Truffles, Queensland's first commercial truffle farm, where visitors can experience a truffle hunt firsthand.

Outside of harvest season, the Egerton Family open their farm gates every weekend for tours and education around the history of truffle farming, the process of growing and harvesting truffles, and the culinary art of cooking with truffles.

But to catch the main attraction, block out June to August to join a truffle hunt, where you’ll follow specially trained truffle sniffer dogs in the search for the elusive fungi, before triumphantly digging up your own clump of truffle.

If you’re looking to enjoy truffles all year round, head to the Truffle Discovery Centre in Stanthorpe. Here you can delight in truffle tasting, learn about truffle hunts and shop for all-things truffle related including tempting truffle oils and cheeses, and sweeter condiments such as watermelon and raspberry jams, whiskey marmalades, and truffle honeys.

Wheat Season (September to October)

Golden hour takes on a new meaning in wheat season for Southern Queensland Country, where the only thing more stunning than the sunsets are the golden tipped wheat fields.

Set the kid’s screen-free period of the drive to coincide with the wheat fields spanning through Toowoomba Region from mid-September to October.

Stop into Burrow in Toowoomba to stretch the legs and paws (yes, Burrow is a pet friendly cafe) and grab a wheat-based savoury or sweet delight to complete the experience.

As Burrow is only open for breakfast and lunch from Tuesday to Sunday, we recommend you take your scenic drive, stay the night in our region’s many charming accommodation options, and wake up early for ample time to savour our local produce the following day.

Strawberries Season (October to May)

October to May sees two things in Southern Queensland Country: good weather and great strawberries. With mild temperatures creating perfect growing conditions for strawberries, there’s no better time for an agricultural outing with a side of sweetness.

To pick your own punnet, plug Ashbern Farms into maps, where the whole family can enjoy these fruits fresh from the field. Time your trip with the growing season of October to May, where the Ashbern Farms open their gates for you to pick your own strawberries for as little or as long as you like. Entry to the farm is free, but your freshly picked punnet will be priced on weight.

For a double fruity experience, head to Eastern Colour Farm in Applethorpe. This family-owned farm offers both apples and strawberries for picking pleasure, ticking two items off the fruit salad checklist. Pick your own fruits on weekends run from March to May, with strawberry picking priced per kilo.

Lavender Season (November to January)

Sick of smelling lavender handwash and not the real thing? It’s time to escape the concrete jungle and bring the family back to nature’s finest in the lavender fields of Leven K Lavender Farm, found three and a half hours drive from Brisbane.

Catch the best of purple flower season between mid-November and mid-December, where the kids can roam the rows and rows of purple lavender, while you sit back to take in the sights and scents.

Bookings are essential, so call ahead and chat with the friendly team to confirm the lavender is wearing its vibrant purple before you arrive.

The fun doesn’t have to end when you leave, take a little flower power with you from their gift shop in the form of culinary lavender, care boxes, perfume blends or lavender oil all produced on the farm.

Sweeping fields of lavender can also be found at Windy Acres Farm just 10 minutes outside Toowoomba, where the fields are almost indistinguishable from the lavender fields of France.

Learn about the family-owned farm from the Volhand Family, wander between the fields of sweet scented lavender, then peruse their shop of assorted aromatic soaps, scents, candies, sugar scrubs, herbal teas and more on the way out.

Watermelon Season (December to February)

Dial the novelty and sweetness levels up to 10 during watermelon season and head for Chinchilla, the melon capital of Australia.

Why novelty? When you’re not munching on a locally grown melon (fun fact: Chinchilla produces 25% of Australia’s watermelons), we bet you’ll be snapping a family selfie with the Chinchilla giant watermelon statue at the entrance to town.

The highlight of melon growing season (December to February) comes with the bi-annual melon festival, which is where the whole town and over 20,000 visitors don their melon helmets to celebrate this sweet fruit.

Time your trip westward with the melon festival to give the kids a juicy experience of a lifetime, meet the locals and fully immerse yourself in Australia’s agricultural scene.

Grape Season (December to March)

With such fine wines originating in Southern Queensland Country, it comes as no surprise that our grapes are wonderfully sweet too. With more than 50 vineyards alone in the Granite Belt wine region, vines with large plump grapes aren’t hard to encounter.

The best hands on experience is found in March in the form of the Stanthorpe Apple and Grape Harvest Festival. This bi-annual festival has been ‘crushing it’ serving produce, delicious dishes and endless entertainment since 1966.

Immerse yourself in the festival and try your hand (or foot) at grape crushing, then taste the fruits of your labour in the food and wine fiesta, and Banquetto Italiano.

The festival also accounts for the underage attendees - they’ll have their fair share of buzz from watching the Grand Parade dance through the centre of Stanthorpe, hopping on the steam train, browsing market stalls and kicking back to fireworks displays in the evening. With all the festival action, it’s easy to forget to grab your own bunch of perfectly ripe grapes, so stock up early to have a healthy snack at the ready through the whole festival.