How to do the Southern Queensland Country camping trail
Waking up to fresh air, birds chirping and the smoking charcoals of last night’s campfire – that’s what camping in the country is all about.
Distance: 40 Kilometres
Time: 5 Hours
At 1000 metres elevation, the air seems fresher, the sky more blue. Discover a landscape of dramatic beauty and diversity with 4 distinct seasons – log fires (and occasional snow) in winter, cool summer nights where you can escape the swelter of the coast.
The Granite Belt is not only the highest wine region in Australia, its unique terroir with its longer growing season and deep granitic gravels produces wines of elegance and complexity.
Follow the Granite Belt wine trail to discover a variety of cellar doors offering a personal and friendly wine experience, where you are likely to meet the vignerons and winemakers who grow the fruit or make the wine you are sampling.
The region also has a growing reputation as one of Australia’s top producers of alternative variety wines - known as Strange Birds. To be called an alternative, a variety must represent not more than 1% of the total bearing vines in Australia as defined by Wine Australia. Enjoyed in Europe for generations, these alternative varieties are now emerging as Australian favourites due to their ability to match perfectly with our food preferences.
STOP1
Cottonvale to Stanthorpe
Stradding the New England Highway at Cottonvale and Thulimbah, a range of providores offer speciality items, local produce and meals. Here you're in the thick of "apple country" - the only place with just the right climate and growing conditions for premium apple orchards. And of course it would not be the Granite Belt if there wasn't a winery or 5 nearby!
The Granite Belt Wine Trail drive from Cottonvale to Stanthorpe takes in 5 cellar doors.
Heritage Estate Winery - offering 13 Strange bird varieties including Sagrantino, Nero d-Avola, Savagnin, Frontenac Gris, Vermentino and Fiano
Summit Estate - Strange bird varieties include: malbec, marsanne, albarino, tannat, petit verdot, tempranillo and viognier
Boireann Winery - Strange bird varieties include: tannat, mourvedre, nebbiolo, sangiovese and barbera
Robert Channon Wines - Strange bird varieties include: verdelho and malbec
Queensland College of Wine Tourism - Strange bird varieties include: marsanne
STOP2
Stanthorpe to Glen Aplin
At the heart of the Granite Belt, Stanthorpe gives access to big sky panoramas, spectacular countryside dotted with precariously balancing prehistoric granite boulders and a generally cooler, temperate climate (there's even an occasional snow-fall)
Continue your Granite Belt Wine Trail, travelling through Stanthorpe (the heart of the Granite Belt) and via 4 boutique wineries and cellar doors.
The trail takes you past:
Casley Mount Hutton Winery - Strange bird varieties include: chenin blanc, viognier and verdelho
Ridgemill Estate - Strange bird varieties include: jacques, saperavi, tempranillo, verdelho, viognier and mourvedre
Savina Lane Wines - Strange bird varieties include: fiano, viognier, tempranillo and graciano
Jester Hill Wines - Strange bird varieties include petit verdot, sangiavese and roussanne
Ravenscroft Vineyard - Stangebird varietals includeTempranillo, Verdelho, Nero d'Avola, Pinotage
STOP3
Glen Aplin to Ballandean
Continuing South towards the Queensland border, you will pass through the small country town of Ballandean. Renowned for its picturesque setting and the Granite Belt's largest number of award winning winemakers.
It is in this area, just to the south of Stanthorpe, where Queensland's first commercially grown table grapes were harvested. Grapes have been grown in the Granite Belt since the 1870s, thanks predominantly to the arrival of Italian settlers. The first legally planted wine grapes were allegedly grown by the Puglisi family of Ballandean.
The trail takes you past:
Bungawara Wines - Strange bird varieties include: malbec
Granite Ridge Wines - Strange bird varieties include: petit verdot, tempranilllo and verdelho
Tobin Wines - Strange bird varieties include: tempranilllo and verdelho
Golden Grove Estate - Strange bird varieties include: babera, durif, malbec, mourvede, nero d'Avola. Tempranillo and vermentino
Ballandean Estate - Strange bird varieties include: fiano, malbec, durif, saperavi, sylvaner, viognier
STOP4
Ballandean (Eukey Rd)
Set along the railway line, Ballandean is home to some of the earliest Italian settlers. It is also home to the largest cluster of award-winning wineries on the Granite Belt. Heading East (along Eukey Rd) you will be able to find wineries on the stunning foot hills of Girraween National Park.
Don't miss Ballandean's little bit of Egypt - make sure you drive past the famous hand-made pyramid. The amazing Girraween National Park and rugged Sundown National Park are also only a short drive away.
The trail takes you past:
Just Red Wines - Strange bird varieties include: tannat
Hidden Creek Winery and Cafe - Strange bird varieties include: tempranillo, verdelho and viognier
Twisted Gum Wines
Symphony Hill Wines - Strange bird varieties include: petit verdot, tempranillo, viognier, petit manseng
Serrena Que Estate - Cortese, Garganega, Shiraz Nouveau, Barbera, Mencia/ Maturana blend
STOP5
Ballandean to Wyberba
A few minutes drive south from Ballandean, Wyberba is a small village alongside Girraween National Park. Try the strange bird varieties of wine available at the local wineries. Stay in Wyberba or camp in Girraween National Park to explore the park's huge granite boulders towering above open forests. Enjoy the wildflowers in spring, climb the pyramid for great views of Balancing Rock and immerse yourself in nature on more than 30 kilometres of walking trails.
The trail takes you past:
Pyramids Road Wines - Strange bird varieties include: Mourvèdre
Balancing Heart Vineyard - Strange Saperavi, Verdelho, Vermentino, Montpulciano
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