Visiting Tamborine Mountain – Things to do

Visiting Tamborine Mountain and the Hinterlands is often on people’s to-do list when visiting Queensland, the activities on offer may surprise you. Let’s delve into what you could do on a visit to the area, from bushwalks, and waterfalls, to food, drinks and unique adventures the hinterland has it all.

Whenever someone talks about visiting Queensland, they speak of visiting theme parks and beaches and exploring the rainforests, particularly Tamborine Mountain. In this post, we will look a just a few things to get you dreaming and planning your next ascent up Tamborine Mountain. Yes, you will find stunning bushwalks to idyllic waterfalls and vistas. For those who want adrenalin with your nature, there are options for that. Then we will look at other activities on offer that will help you round off your visit.

Tamborine National Park

Queensland’s first’s national park, Thanks to the Witches fall was declared a national park in 1908. The park is also home to remnants of the Tweed Sheild Volcano. Tamborine is on the northern end; basalt columns, cliffs, rocky outcrops and waterfalls are a legacy of volcanic eruptions.

Reserves have been added over the years; there are now 14 sections of land. 6 areas with walks to explore are Cedar Creek, Joalah, The Knoll, MacDonald, Palm Grove and Witches Falls. Other areas include Lepidozamia Grove, Panorama Point, Pirralilla, Guanaba, North Tamborine, Corbould and Dunlop. Check the links below for access and restrictions for the 6 walking sections.

Here are the links to National Parks walking tracks and things to do 

Gallery Walk

The heart of Tamborine Mountain is the Gallery Walk home to around 70 stores on both sides of the road.

Food and Drinks

There’s famous fudge, chocolate, rock candy, local honey and so much more. We would not be giving a true walk along the gallery walk without mentioning the choice of cafes and restaurants. Now for those looking for some more liquid your choice is wide, drop by Tamborine Mountain Distillery, where you can sample and buy from a huge selection of award-winning liqueurs, vodka, gin, rum and schnapps or visit Castle Glen home of Table Wine, Fortified Wine and Sparkling Wine and  Traditional English style Liqueurs.

Here is a list of places to get food and drinks on the Gallery walk

CHOCOLATES ON GALLERY WALK

GRANNY MAC’S STORE – fudge

MUMMA DUCK’S – Tamborine Mountain Rock Candy

FUNNY HONEY – Local and Manuka Honey

WITCHES CHASE CHEESE COMPANY

THE BILTONG AND JERKY BROTHERS – Biltong, Jerky, Dried Meats

THE TREAT SHOP – Gourmet foods and Belgian chocolate

FUDGE HEAVEN – Fudge, Ice Cream

CINNAMON BUN CAFE – Donuts and more

Cafes and Restaurants

WILD PLUM KITCHEN – Cafe and Restaurant

MASALA SHANTI – Indian

THE GALLERY CAFE – Cafe and Art Gallery! 

THE MONKEY TREE – Restaurant, Cafe and Bar

THE TREEHOUSE CAFE – Coffee, Light Lunches

CAFE ON TAMBORINE – Light Meals and Refreshments

GEORGE’S PARAGON  – Greek Seafood

LE CHILE CAFE – Chilean

MOUNTAIN BURGER CAFE – Old School Burgers and Cakes

CAFE NAMOO – Coffee, Light meals

Drinks

HERITAGE ESTATE WINES

FORTITUDE BREWING COMPANY – Craft Beers, Pizza, Bistro

CASTLE GLEN AUSTRALIA – Liqueurs, Wines, Ports and Ciders

TAMBORINE TEA – A large range of delicious loose leaf teas

MT TAMBORINE VINEYARD & WINERY – Restaurant, Cellar Door

Shopping

 For the shoppers, you could spend hours wandering the boutiques, artisan stores, cuckoo clocks and more. As you make your way down the street don’t forget to drop in the speciality food and drinks shops along the walk. A range of boutiques, cottage arts and crafts and cafes create a bustling village vibe.

Stock up on locally grown beauty products, homewares and all sorts of delicious fresh from the farm produce is so easy as you wander this enchanting shopping street.

List of shops on Gallery Walk

JUNGLE INK TATTOO – Bespoke Tattoos

VILLAGE WITCH ALCHEMY – Bespoke Magickal Tools

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN – crystal specialist

THE HANDMADE COTTAGE – All Handmade Crafts and Gifts

MODERN CLASSIC – Jewellery, Paintings, Ceramics, Artefacts

WHISPERS FASHION HOUSE – fashion

GERMAN CUCKOO CLOCK NEST – clocks

THE GLASS STUDIO – Art in glass creations

ORGANIK TEMPLE – Treasures from Mother Earth

CLOTHING & COLLECTABLES – Ladies’ Fashion

HEART OF THE SOUL – Personal Growth, Wellness and Relaxation

TRIBAL ALIGNMENT – Clothing

BOHEMIAN FARMHOUSE – Herbal Remedies

THE LITTLE ROTUNDA POTTERY – Pottery Creations

JAKAMA DESIGNS – Homewares, Gifts, Accessories

WINDSWEPT & INTERESTING – An Emporium of Treasures

DANDELIONS3 – sustainable products

MATTHEW WEST JEWELLERY STUDIO

CAPANART GALLERY – Quality local and investment Art

BYGONE DAYS – THE ECLECTIC EMPORIUM

THE QUILLOW SHOP – Local handcraft 

WITCHSCENTS ORGANICS

SHAMANS OF THE TAO – Spiritual Healing Centre

CHARLIE AND ME – gift, homewares & fashion

MOUNTAIN HOUSE – Stylish Gifts and Homewares

MOUNT TAMBORINE BAZAAR – Exotic Perfumes and Gifts

A LITTLE LUNA MAGIC UP THE MOUNTAIN – Oils, Decor, Gifts, Crystals

DIDJERIDOO WEAR – Clothing

ZEBRASTONE DESIGNS – Connect to Mother Earth

SMELLBOUND SOY MELTS – soy wax melts

ANGELA’S PANTRY – World of Flavor

NARDOO LAVENDER – home and body products

 

I may have focussed on the famous Gallery Walk, but there are other places to explore as well.

Activities

We have looked at what the national parks offer earlier in the post, but what else can we do while visiting Tamborine Mountain?

Tamborine Mountain Visitor Information Centre –  Always a great place to start to get the most up to date info.

Take in the scenery on a drive – Take a drive leading a world of discoveries and making for a beautiful day out. Tamborine Mountain Drive 25km

The Tamborine Rainforest Skywalk – Walk among the treetops and past rock pools to the cantilever that stands 30 metres above the valley and offers breathtaking views. The walk takes about an hour.

 Tamborine Mountain Botanic Gardens –  A short trail to discover native and exotic species that call this region home. Finish your visit with a picnic beside the lake. over 11 hectares. Check out their website for more

Thunderbird Park – fossick in the world’s largest thunderegg mine. Whatever you find is yours as long as it fits in your bucket, so dig deep and see how many you can find.

 Treetop Challenge at Thunderbird Park. Hang from trees, climb the ladders, balance on bridges, navigate through suspended tunnels, all while relying on just a harness.

Tamborine Mountain Glow Worm Tours! During the tour, you experience the results of a conservation project. You are guided through our purpose-built cave, filled with thousands of glowing Glow Worms.

Visit the website for more info

Tamborine Mountain Coffee Plantation – A café, roastery and coffee plantation on Tamborine Mountain

 

Visit a Winery or two

Tamborine Mountain has 7 wineries offering whites, reds, sparkling, fortified, and more. Let’s not forget about beer from the Fortitude Brewery or liqueurs from Castle Glen Australia.

Here is the Tourism Tamborine Mountain map to help you plan your day.

Cedar Creek Vineyard and winery Experience great boutique wines and port at Cellar Door. website

Heritage Estate Wines – 21 grape varieties menu changes throughout the year.

Albert River Wines – offers a heritage venue that captures the grandeur of our colonial past. website

Witches Falls is a small, highly regarded winery.

Cauldron Estate and Distillery – produce unique Queensland inspired beverages, including Five To Five Gin range.

Mason Wines – A truly idyllic vineyard estate. Dedicated to producing top quality handcrafted wines with distinct regional characteristics.

Castle Glen Australia – stocking Liqueurs, Wines, Ports and Ciders – all produced on-site at the Summit QLD. Website

Fortitude Brewing Company – Craft Beers, Pizza, Bistro 

Our afternoon visiting Tamborine Mountain

During a trip to Queensland, we had some time free and found ourselves on this side of Brisbane, so we thought we would go find a waterfall and I wanted to go up Tamborine Mountain. On the highway was a sign for Curtis Falls so we put that in our GPS and headed that way.

As with everything about this unplanned trip we did not do much research, we just went with the flow. One thing we knew was our visit would be short as we had other plans that evening, but we were determined to make the most of this bit of us time.

Curtis Falls

Arriving at the car park of the park we headed into the canopy of the rainforest ready for a 30-minute return walk to Curtis Falls. We found the walk mostly easy, with a section of stairs we knew we would not enjoy coming back up, but it was short and worth the workout, on this grade 3 walk.

The Rainforest Lookout was a lovely place to get a view of the valley and just stop before descending to the valley floor and Curtis falls. The lookout was a youth project created in 1993. Well done guys.

The remaining 275 metres to the falls was a mix of stairs and winding paths. The last part of the walk helps build anticipation with babbling water caressing rocks and helping to create a magical moment before you arrive at Curtis Falls. The falls are lovely cascading over the cliff above. Curtis Falls is the only waterfall you can see from the base on Tamborine Mountain and it does not disappoint. The one thing that did surprise us was that there is a road above the falls, so expect traffic noises to be a part of your falls experience, but I would not make it a reason not to visit.

We did know this at the time but Curtis Falls is also home to a glow-worm colony and swimming is not allowed in the pool below the falls.

The walk back out was easy, we just took the stairs slowly. Once we exited from the canopy we took in the facilities at the car park, as well as toilets and

checked out a restaurant called the pavilion.

Gallery Walk

On our way to the falls we drove along the Gallery Walk, a quaint strip with cafes, restaurants and oozing with artisan shops to keep you browsing for hours. With our walk to Curtis Falls complete our next task was to find a Devonshire Tea, so we headed towards a cafe Phil had spied on the way to the falls. Unfortunately, the cafe was closed, with the hopes of a full Devonshire tea dashed we decided to find somewhere to get a quick drink before we headed to our evening out with some family.

We spent a quiet moment at the Monkey Tree cafe enjoying an iced coffee and iced chocolate before the drive back up to the Sunshine Coast.

Check out our video of our visit to Tamborine Mountain here.