11 Things to Do in Ballandean, Queensland
Ballandean is a tiny little village, just south of Stanthorpe in the Granite Belt Wine Region of Southern Queensland. The village is renowned as the home of Ballandean Estate Wines and well over a dozen other popular wineries… but that’s not all there is to do around Ballandean.
1. Spot the Ballandean Pyramid
Yep… there is an actual pyramid and it’s just sitting there in a paddock waiting for you to drive or cycle to see it. Find the Ballandean Pyramid just a few kilometres outside of Ballandean. …MORE ABOUT THE PYRAMID + DIRECTIONS
Photo credit: Tim Bond Photography
2. Visit a Truffle Farm
French Black Perigord Truffles are grown right here in Ballandean – apparently it’s just the right climate and soil conditions to grow them. Visit Queensland’s first commercial truffiere and meet the farming family behind this small business as they welcome you on a tour of the truffiere! Bookings are essential. …LEARN MORE ABOUT VISITING THE FOLLY TRUFFLES
3. Tasting at a Winery… or Twelve!
The name Ballandean Estate is synonymous with the village of Ballandean… and rightly so, since the Puglisi family of Ballandean Estate were pioneers of the Queensland wine industry and opened the region’s first cellar door. Decades on, the wine experience of Ballandean Estate continues to be legendary, but also been joined by a dozen more wineries… actually a couple of dozen within a short drive.
…VIEW GRANITE BELT WINERIES + MAP
…FIND A WINE TOUR
Pictured below: Golden Grove Estate
4. Meet the Maker at Anna’s Candles
Outside it’s a charming, rustic old shed… inside Anna works her magic to hand-make soy candles and mix oil for diffusers at this quaint cottage business in Ballandean. Step inside and you’ll meet Anna herself, who usually has candles or oils she is creating, right there behind the counter in the store. Stop in and be charmed by the scents and the love that goes into creating these quality products.
Location: 10 Curr Road, Ballandean QLD
5. Wonder at the Beautiful Soap + Eco Store
Washpool Skin Wellness is one of those stores that envelopes you before you enter… the beauty of this store is apparent even before you walk in the door. Melissa Thomas started creating her own soap and skin products to provide the healthiest options for her family and the environment. Everyone around her loved the products too and now a huge range of Washpool soap, skin wellness and eco products are developed, created, bottled, packaged and labelled all on site at the Ballandean store.
Location: 16 Bents Road, Ballandean QLD
6. Little Drive to the Chocolate Cottage!
Cute country country + boutique chocolate factory = perfection! A range of hand-made chocolates are created onsite at this cute little cottage and once you’ve chosen from the fascinating shaped and flavoured range, order a coffee, tea or hot chocolate and settle in to enjoy your treats on the cottage verandah. Seating overlooks the picture perfect cottage garden, complete with ducks and chooks, making this spot an adorable and delicious destination.
Location: Wisteria Cottage, 2117 Pyramids Road, Wyberba QLD
10 minutes drive from Ballandean
7. Walking and Boulder Hopping in Girraween National Park
All the granite wonders and more than a dozen walking tracks of Girraween National Park are less than 15 minutes drive from Ballandean. If time is short, The Granite Arch walk is an easy grade walking loop that can be completed easily in 30 minutes and the reward is the spectacular Granite Arch pictured below (plus a fascinating creek landscape and many more boulders along the way).
…VIEW THE GIRRAWEEN DISCOVERY GUIDE FOR WALKS INFORMATION
8. Not far to a Cuppa on the Railway Station Platform
Drive 12 minutes to the nearby little village of Wallangarra, which sits right on the Queensland / New South Wales border. From the Queensland side, reach the impressive Wallangarra Railway Cafe, where both sides of the station platform and inside in the railway refreshment room offers lovely country dining to opportunity for a quick cuppa. Also inside the station building enter the free museum with history about the railway line and Wallangarra.
Location: Wallangarra Railway Station, Rockwell Street, Wallangarra QLD
9. Take a Bicycle Tour
The country roads around Ballandean are moderately easy riding, with low undulating hills and lots of scenic vistas to see between stopping at the sights and cellar doors along the way. Hire a bike for a self guided bicycle tour with Granite Belt Bicycle Tours & Hire and they take care of the heavy lifting (picking up your wine and product purchases along the way and giving you a lift back at the end of the day). …MORE ABOUT BICYCLE HIRE / TOURS AROUND BALLANDEAN
Ballandean
10. A Saucy, Delicious Stop Nearby
The tastes of Granite Belt grown fruits and vegetables come together in a ‘saucy’ delicious, jam-lovers paradise at Jamworks Gourmet Foods Cafe & Larder. Just 10 minutes up the road from Ballandean (towards Stanthorpe) the larder is full at Jamworks, with more than 100 jams, sauces and other condiments to taste on the menu or purchase in store.
Location: 7 Townsend Road, Glen Aplin QLD
11. Sunset Wine Tasting + Pizza
If it’s 5pm Friday, Saturday or Sunday night… time to cue the sunset over the vineyard at Balancing Heart Vineyard and sit back for relaxed wine tastings and wood-fired pizza!
Location: 221 Old Wallangarra Road, Wyberba via Ballandean
10 minutes drive south of Ballandean
