Springtime Spectacular to the Carnival of Flowers

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. Relive 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 late morning for a special journey on Southern Downs Steam Railway’s 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 short break.

Upon arrival in Toowoomba, we’ll transfer directly to our hotel and check in for some downtime before a late afternoon excursion to smell the roses at the beautifully laid-out Japanese Gardens ahead of arriving at the wonderful railway collection at Downs Steam Tourist Railway and Museum where our dinner will be laid on in style in the dining car.

Overnight: Oaks Toowoomba Hotel, Toowoomba (B, D)

This morning you’ll have the option to either join Southern Downs Steam Railway on another steam-hauled journey from Toowoomba to Wyreema, returning later in the afternoon; stay in town and explore the many beautiful gardens and attractions the Carnival of Flowers festival has to offer; or take a guided town tour, including a visit to the extensive Cobb+Co Museum with its excellent collection and stories, and Picnic Point, where the large park is ablaze with colour.

Your afternoon and evening is then free to enjoy the numerous attractions and features of The Carnival of Flowers at leisure.

Overnight: Oaks Toowoomba Hotel, Toowoomba (B)

This morning after breakfast and check out, we’ll travel north by private coach to Dalby, taking some time along the way to visit the interesting Australian Army Flying Museum in Oakey, where you’ll see firsthand how our pioneer military aviators took their aircraft to the edge of their capabilities and beyond, and follow their progression from the discovery of flight through to the technologically advanced military aircraft of today.

Continuing to Dalby, we’ll enjoy a delicious lunch at a local cafe before heading to the sprawling estate of Jimbour. This grand homestead was built by the Bell family in the mid-1870s and is one of the most opulent rural homesteads in the English style in Queensland. We’ll enjoy a guided tour of the house and grounds, which feature an extensive stand of Bunya Pines, and enjoy afternoon high tea and drinks.

We’ll return to Dalby in the late afternoon and enjoy dinner together at the local club.

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

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, sitting more than 1,100 metres above sea level and offering sweeping views of the surrounding area. The Bunya Pine, Araucaria Bidwilli, is the largest of the ancient native pine family and was a culturally significant tree for the local Aboriginal tribes. We’ll have a chance to find out more about the unique botany and heritage at the information centre before we take a gentle drive through this impressive forest and down the ranges to Kingaroy, where you’ll have free time in town to 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 on the coach and enjoy the ever-changing scenery between small stops we’ll make along the way, including Wondai, where we’ll visit the information centre and timber museum.

After settling into our accommodation with time to freshen up, we’ll enjoy dinner together at the hotel.

Overnight: Shady Rest Motel (or similar), 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.

Today we’ll explore the town by coach and stop for a visit at the Gympie Gold Mining and Historical Museum with its vast collection of artefacts and photographs. There’ll be some free time for lunch at leisure in the town centre, before we head to the Woodworks Museum to enjoy a wonderful  tour of the workshop and see the mills in action.

This evening we’ll relish dinner at the exquisite Kingston House Impressions restaurant nearby.

Overnight: Shady Rest Motel (or similar), Gympie (B, D)

This morning after breakfast and check you, we’ll gather for an iconic heritage rail experience on the famous Mary Valley Rattler. 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.

Our first stop in Maryborough is a most special one.  We’ll meet Robert Olds who runs a most unique engineering enterprise, which, amongst other things, has constructed wheels for the Queen’s royal coach.  Peter Olds, Robert’s father and an Australian treasure, still loves meeting our groups if he is feeling well enough – at 94 years old, we’ll forgive him if he can’t be there.  Peter   notes the wheels for the Queen’s coach as 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.

After this very special visit, we’ll head to our hotel and check-in. Your evening tonight is at leisure to maybe take a walk along the river or explore the various cafes and restaurants in Maryborough for dinner.

Overnight: Blue Shades Motel, Maryborough (B, L)

This morning after breakfast, we’ll visit the Maryborough City Whistle Stop, established for the sole purpose of preserving the city’s rich, local history of locomotive building and engineering, where volunteers maintain and operate the Mary Ann replica steam locomotive, manage Maryborough’s Railway Station Museum and work towards the preservation and restoration of the B15 steam locomotive #299.. The Mary Ann, built in 1873, was Queensland’s first locomotive and we’ll get to ride on a special run of this historic relic for a short distance down the track.

Your afternoon is free to forage some lunch and explore more of Maryborough. You might like to visit the Military and Colonial Museum, or roam the outstanding excellent heritage precinct, or visit the statue to Mary Poppins and the adjacent museum dedicated to its creator PL Travers, or wander through the Maryborough Markets, which only open on Thursdays.

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

Overnight: Blue Shades Motel, Maryborough (B, D)

This morning after breakfast, we’ll transfer to Maryborough Station for the Tilt Train journey back to Brisbane and the end of our tour.

Travelling across the fertile coastal plain past the Glasshouse mountains and into the suburbs of Brisbane, we’ll arrive at Roma Street Station at 2:50, where we’ll say goodbye until the next adventure beckons and we take to the rails once again. (B)