Awesome Day Out with Dad

Outdoors with Dad – Ballandean to Wallangarra

Get outdoors with dad and explore new places together in the Southern Queensland countryside.  The Granite Belt is a playground of granite rocks dotted with the food & wine delights of Queensland’s premier wine region. Here’s some inspiration for a day out with dad…

Finding Australia’s Pyramid

Credit: @emjay_1991

Australia’s answer to Egypt’s pyramids is hidden away in Southern Queensland’s wine country!  Sure at 17.5m tall it’s a fair deal smaller than the Egyptian ones, but heck, it’s also a fair bit easier and cheaper to get to!!  Find this cool spot and capture a fun family snap.

WARNING: Some dad’s won’t be able to resist the urge of posing for a pic ‘holding up the pyramid’ in an  ‘Incredible Hulk’ cross ‘Mr Universe” moment.

Location: Jacobsens Road, Ballandean 

More about the Ballandean Pyramid & driving to this location. 

The Balancing Boulders of Girraween

credit @saltysummits

The balancing boulders of Girraween National Park are WOW!

Plan a 2 hour hike to the summit of ‘The Pyramid’ (pictured above), or do the shorter 30 minute, more easy going Granite Arch walk (pictured below).  We’ve got all the details you need to know about doing this location here in our ‘How to Balancing Rock’ blog.

WARNING: The urge for a dad hero photo at this location is not only likely, it’s an unstoppable force in the face of giant boulders which all bid those who come near to ‘hold them up’.

Location: Girraween National Park, Pyramids Road, Wyberba

photo credit: @the.wandering.bulls

Meet Some New Mates

credit @trangkostas Still Wild Love Photography

Stop in at Girraween Estate and meet winemaker Steven Messiter (pictured above).  He is hands on with everything from tending the vines, through to harvest, crafting the wines, bottling them and he’s in the cellar door to pour your glass too.  Ask him about his wines or his astrophotography hobby and your dad will have found a new mate for life.

Girraween Estate Open: 10am – 5pm Saturday and Sunday at 41 Hickling Lane, Wyberba

Now on to meet Steve’s mates – his next door neighbours…!

Drop in on David Broadbent at Balancing Rock Wines – right next-door to Girraween Estate!  David was once a visitor on the Granite Belt himself, camping out under the stars and enjoying Granite Belt wines.  Now he owns his own vineyard and serves up his ‘Campfire White’ and ‘Campfire Red’ wines, inspired by the nights he once spent on camping trips to the Granite Belt.

Balancing Rock Wines Open: 10am – 4pm Friday to Monday at 221 Old Wallangarra Road
Wyberba

Driving in to Girraween National Park you’ll drive right past Warren Smith’s little piece of wine paradise, so stop in to taste his wines at Pyramids Road Wines on your way in or out of the National Park.   Together with his wife Sue they celebrated 20 years at Pyramids Road Wines in 2019 – making them one of the longer established wineries on the Granite Belt.

You certainly won’t forget the beard or the winemaker behind the beard.  Like his neighbours Steve and David, Warren is a great bloke to meet and always willing to share tales from the vineyard and his years of learnings as a winemaker.

Pyramids Road Wines Open: 10am – 4.30pm 7 Days at 25 Wyberba Lane, off Pyramids Road

photo credit @trangkostas Still Wild Love Photography

Eat on the Railway Platform

For breakfast, brunch, lunch or afternoon tea, don’t spoil the gorgeous day and head indoors!!  Dine right on the railway station platform, with views towards the Girraween National Park mountains at the lovely Wallangarra Railway Cafe.

This historic railway station is a really interesting spot, being the place where travellers once had to change trains from the standard gauge of NSW to Queensland’s narrow gauge. Note the differing architecture of the platform façades, as one side of the platform reflects the NSW standard design for railways of that era (with a scallion roof), the other Queensland’s design (with a bullnose roof).  You can even stand on the platform with one foot in NSW and the other in Queensland.

They are open 7 days, 7am to 5pm and their menu is such a dad pleaser, with awesome burgers, local craft beer, great coffee and big breakfasts.  Their servings are generous and there are lots of options.

Location: Rockwell St, Wallangarra