Springtime Spectacular to the Carnival of Flowers and Beyond

This morning after breakfast and checking out, we’ll depart Brisbane by private coach and travel to the town of Rathdowney, located on the Logan River in one of greatest biodiversity zones in Australia, and a gateway to various National Parks such as Border Ranges National Park and Mount Barney National Park. We’ll have some time here for morning tea and a wander around before continuing on for a scenic drive through the heritage-listed Mount Barney National Park to Glengallan Homestead. Restored from ruin in 2001, this iconic house emerges from the ruins of the 1867 sandstone mansion as a unique heritage experience. You’ll get to experience the  Glengallan story from squattocracy to farmer settlement through an innovative interpretation that allows the place to tell its own story. We’ll have time to enjoy lunch at the café before continuing our journey to Warwick and our hotel for the night.  

Dinner this evening will be hosted at the hotel’s restaurant.

Overnight: The Coachman’s Inn, Warwick (B, L, D)

After a leisurely breakfast and checkout, we’ll transfer to the railway station for a special journey on Downs Explorer’s privately chartered steam-hauled train from Warwick to Toowoomba. This magnificent rail journey traverses the open plains of the Darling Downs, with the great dividing ranges to our east and the rich agricultural country to the west. As the train rises toward Toowoomba, we’ll pass quaint towns and villages like Nobby and Clifton, where we’ll pause for a light lunch.

Upon arrival in Toowoomba, we’ll meet our private coach and travel the short distance to the campus of the University of Southern Queensland to have a stroll through one of Australia’s largest and most traditionally designed Japanese gardens.  Known as Ju Raku En, meaning ‘to enjoy peace and longevity in a public place’, this spectacular garden features 230 species of Japanese and Australian native trees and plants. 

After checking into our hotel in the later afternoon, your evening is at leisure.  

Overnight: Country Gardens Motor Inn, Toowoomba (B, L) 

Today is the Carnival of Flowers but this morning after breakfast before the festivities commence, you’ll enjoy a quick visit to Picnic Point Lookout, one of Toowoomba’s most iconic and picturesque destinations. Perched on the edge of the Great Dividing Range, it offers stunning views of the Lockyer Valley and surrounding landscapes. After soaking up the views, we’ll return to town and take up our reserved seating area to watch the pageantry of the Grand Central Floral Parade. The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is an annual event that has been celebrated since 1950, making it Australia’s longest-running floral festival. The highlight of the carnival is the parade through Toowoomba’s CBD, featuring elaborately decorated floats, performers, and marching bands.

Afterwards enjoy some free time at Laurel Bank Park, one of the key locations featuring intricate floral designs and themed displays. There will be plenty of time to immerse yourself in the dazzling display and enjoy some lunch at leisure.

In the early afternoon we’ll visit another key location of the festival – the extensive Cobb+Co Museum with its excellent collection and stories, and heritage-listed Spring Bluff Railway Station, where the gardens will be ablaze with colour.

The rest of the day and evening is yours to enjoy the numerous attractions and features of The Carnival of Flowers at your leisure.  

Overnight: Country Gardens Motor Inn, Toowoomba (B)

This morning, we’ll enjoy a very special excursion on a private charter of the refurbished Downs Steam Silver Bullet RM2032, a rail motor that was formerly the Queensland Rail Commissioner’s Inspection Car. We’ll board our train at Toowoomba station and alight shortly after at the Downs Steam Tourist Railway and Museum in Drayton, for a special guided visit. This volunteer-run organisation is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the rich rail history of the Darling Downs region and houses a marvellous collection of restored steam and diesel locomotives, vintage carriages, and other rail-related artifacts. 

After our tour, we’ll reboard our train and continue to Pittsworth, a typical small community in the famous Darling Downs.  Here, we’ll stop for lunch at a local pub before continuing to Brookstead, the final destination of today’s railway journey. Here we’ll meet our private coach and transfer to Dalby. After checking into our accommodation you can enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening at leisure.

Overnight: Drovers Motor Inn, Dalby (B, L)

After breakfast and check out, we’ll board our private coach and head out past the villages of Kaimkillenbun and Mowbullan into the tree-clad escarpment of the Bunya Mountains National Park, part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site. Sitting more than 1,100 metres above sea level and offering sweeping views of the surrounding area, it is the home of the culturally significant Bunya Pine (Araucaria Bidwilli), the largest of the ancient native pine family.

We’ll pause briefly to visit the small mountain village at Dandabah where you join your tour leader for a short scenic bushwalk or simply explore the delights of the town before we continue our gentle drive through this impressive forest down the ranges to Kingaroy, originally home to the Wakka Wakka people before European settlement began in the late 19th century.  Known as the “Peanut Capital of Australia” due to its significant peanut-growing industry, the town combines agricultural heritage with modern amenities.  There’ll be free time here to explore the town and enjoy lunch at leisure in the shadow of the gigantic peanut silos. 

After lunch, we’ll continue toward today’s destination of Gympie. You’ll be able to settle back and relax on the coach and enjoy the ever-changing scenery between a few small stops we’ll make along the way, including Wondai, known for its friendly community, vibrant arts scene, and timber and agricultural heritage. We’ll take some time here to visit the Wondai Timber Industry Museum, which highlights the history of the timber industry, displaying tools, machinery, and artifacts that tell the story of the region’s forestry heritage.

Upon arrival in Gympie, we’ll go directly to our hotel to settle in and have some down time before enjoying dinner together at a local favourite. 

Overnight: Gympie Muster Inn, Gympie (B, D)

The town of Gympie was made famous in 1867 when James Nash discovered 72 ounces of gold in just six days at what was later to be called Nash’s Gully.  After gold was discovered, thousands of prospectors descended upon the town, prompting it to be affectionately referred to as “the town that saved Queensland from bankruptcy.”  The layout of Gympie is interesting – the gold rush’s rapid development led to streets that are in an irregular fashion. The first prospector settlements formed a double line of tents, which developed over time into Mary Street, now a picturesque shopping and café strip. The town is full of heritage-listed buildings, including the Gympie Railway Station. The railway from Maryborough was completed in 1881 and the North Coast railway linked Gympie to Brisbane in 1891.

This morning after breakfast at a nearby local cafe, we’ll head out to explore the town by coach, stopping for a visit at the Gympie Gold Mining and Historical Museum. Comprising over over 30 display areas in and around 15 major buildings, the Museum houses a vast collection of documentation, artifacts and photographs of life in Gympie dating from the discovery of gold in 1867 by James Nash to the recently closed operations of the Gympie Eldorado Goldmine.

The rest of the afternoon is free to have some lunch at leisure and explore the town or return to your accommodation for some rest and relaxation.  

This evening we’ll enjoy a convivial dinner together at a local restaurant, with a unique cooking experience.

Overnight: Gympie Muster Inn, Gympie (B, D)

This morning after breakfast and checkout, we’ll gather for an iconic heritage rail experience on the famous Mary Valley Rattler, a beautifully restored C17 steam train. This restored branch line will take you back to a time when rail travel was replacing horses as a means of transport, growing into a most valuable link to service the ever-increasing need for goods in the Gympie goldfields. 

Our journey starts at the historic Gympie Station, still the largest timber railway building in Queensland, before taking you through the upper reaches of the Mary River Valley. On our return, we’ll enjoy lunch at the station’s cafe before continuing on to Maryborough by private coach. 

Established in 1847, and situated on the Mary River, Maryborough is known for its rich heritage, stunning architecture, and cultural significance, often referred to as one of Queensland’s most charming regional cities. It is also famously the birthplace of P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins. The city retains its historical charm with many preserved 19th-century buildings and landmarks.

Upon arrival, we’ll head directly to our hotel, located in the heart of town, and check-in. Your evening tonight is at leisure – there are plenty of dining options outside our front door.

Overnight: McNevins Maryborough Motel, Maryborough (B, L)

This morning after breakfast, we’ll visit the wonderful Maryborough Railway Station Museum managed by the volunteer-run Maryborough City Whistle Stop Inc. established for the sole purpose of preserving the city’s rich, local history of locomotive building and engineering, including the iconic Mary Ann replica steam locomotive.  As well as managing the Museum and maintaining and operating the Mary Ann, these committed volunteers, are working tirelessly preserving and restoring the B15 steam locomotive #299. 

The Mary Ann, commissioned by Scottish timber pioneers William Pettigrew and William Sim, and built in 1873 by John Walker & Co. Ltd., was Queensland’s first steam train locomotive. Both Scottish timber pioneers had daughters named Mary Ann, so there was not much discussion required when choosing a name!  Interestingly, the original locomotive actually ran on 3’ 3” gauge railway line, instead of Queensland Rail’s narrow gauge 3’ 6” – many historians think that a mistake was made in the selection of the gauge.

We’ll have the privilege of our own private carriage on the Mary Ann Steam Train replica, built by local engineering firm, Olds Engineering in 1999, for the short journey winding through scenic gardens, historic monuments, and along the Mary River.

The remainder of the morning is free to explore more of Maryborough at your own pace and have some lunch at leisure. Wherever your interest lies, there’s no shortage of wonderful things to do – visit the Military and Colonial Museum, roam the outstanding excellent heritage precinct, pay homage at the life-sized statue of P.L. Travers and the adjacent museum dedicated to its creator P.L Travers, or wander through the Maryborough Markets, which only open on Thursdays.

We’ll reconvene in the afternoon for a very special experience – a visit to the more than 100 year-old firm of Olds Engineering, a most unique engineering enterprise which, amongst other significant projects like the Mary Ann replica and designing and patenting the Olds Elevator system, has constructed wheels for the Queen’s royal coach. We’ll have the honour of being shown around by the Managing Director Robert Olds. Robert’s father, 94 year-old Peter Olds, says the wheels for the Queen’s coach is one of his proudest achievements, along with building the replica of the Mary Ann, the first steam engine to be built in Queensland; and special care beds, one of which was donated to Pope John Paul II in the mid-1990s when he needed rehabilitation for a broken hip.  

This evening we’ll enjoy a farewell dinner with drinks at the hotel restaurant. 

Overnight: McNevins Maryborough , Maryborough (B, D)

This morning after a sleep in and a lazy breakfast, we’ll transfer to Maryborough Station to finish off our journey together on one of Queensland Rail’s flagship services, and Australia’s fastest train, the Tilt Train. Travelling across the fertile coastal plain past the Glasshouse mountains and into the suburbs of Brisbane, we’ll arrive at Roma Street Station just before 3.00pm where we’ll say goodbye until the next adventure beckons and we take to the rails once again. 

(B)