Boutique hotels
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Spicers Canopy
- Style
- Back to nature
- Setting
- Mountain high
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Spicers Peak Lodge
- Style
- Luxe modern chalet
- Setting
- Peak plateau
Scenic Rim Overview
Queensland
- Countryside
- Walking trails, waterways and wineries
- Country life
- Quaint towns and quiet rustic surrounds
South-east Queensland’s Scenic Rim boasts sultry subtropical rainforests, dramatic escarpments and an arc of lofty peaks perfect for romantic picnics, jaw-dropping treks or just soaking up from your spa bath with a glass of the good stuff.
Visitors have long been heading for the hills an hour's drive south of Brisbane, drawn to the natural beauty of this World Heritage-listed rainforest, the first-rate food and, more recently, the award-winning tipples in the up-and-coming Granite Belt wine region. The semi-circlular chain of mountains that wrap around the verdant valley heartland extending from Brisbane to Tamborine Mountain were once active volcanoes. Thankfully, the Scenic Rim is now much more stable and serene, but the rich alluvial soils have left a lasting legacy; fertile conditions for grape-growing, delicious local produce and Australia’s most accessible rainforest.
Suitably Scenic Rim
Natural beauty has always been the Scenic Rim’s biggest draw card, with no fewer than eight National Parks – including Main Range and Lamington – ensuring that the surrounding rainforest is still as pristine as it was when travel pioneers such as Arthur Groom were first drawn to the area decades ago. The towering eucalypt trees and trickling waterways are best explored via the extensive walking trails that thread through the forests or admire them from above in a hot-air balloon.
Local Knowledge
- Taxis
- Boonah Taxis (+61 (0)7 5463 4611) services the Scenic Rim region, however you'll probably need your own wheels to tour off-the-beaten track cellar doors.
- Tipping culture
- Tipping isn’t mandatory in Australia, however for stand-out service feel free to leave a 10 per cent tip.
- Siesta and fiesta
- Local shops and banks open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday; many stores also ply their trade from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays. Cafés start serving breakfast around 8am and close around 4pm. Restaurants generally dish up lunch from noon to 3pm, and dinner from 6pm to 9pm. Most wineries welcome visitors from 10am to 5pm.
- Packing tips
- Pack binoculars and a sturdy pair of walking shoes for exploring the Main Range National Park and Lake Moogerah, but leave room in your bag for a few bottles of shiraz and verdelho to take home.
- Recommended reads
- Australian author and conservationist Arthur Groom was an avid admirer of the Scenic Rim and a keen agitator for its protection. His 1949 book One Mountain After Another embodies his passion for the ravishing beauty of this peak-packed rural hinterland. For a more recent read, check out pocket-sized tomes Wild Guide to the Scenic Rim and Heritage Guide to the Scenic Rim by Greg Czechura, available from local visitor information centres.
- Cuisine
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- Regional specialities
- The abundance of farm-fresh produce in the Scenic Rim attracts creative chefs and foodies, with tastebud-tingling rhubarb, avocados, beans and broccoli, as well as deli delights such as coffee, cheese, honey and olives. Dishes at local eateries are contemporary yet unpretentious – the folk here are canny enough to let beautiful ingredients speak for themselves. Bourgeoning Granite Belt wineries, boutique breweries and the award-winning Tamborine Mountain Distillery ensure tasty tipples, too.
- Currency
- Australian dollars (AU$).
- Time zone
- +10 (there's no daylight savings in Queensland).
- Dialling codes
- Country code: 61; Queensland: (0)7 (drop the zero if dialling from outside Australia).
- Do go/don't go
- Brisbane locals often head for the hills of the Scenic Rim to escape the sticky summer heat in the city during December and January. This is also the time when little 'uns will be on school holidays. To dodge the crowds (and the kids) plan a trip during the milder autumn months of March and April or opt for a spring break in September or October when festivals and regional events ensure there's plenty to see and do.
Don't go home without...
devoting at least a day to sampling the cab savs and shiraz on offer at all the cellar doors. The Scenic Rim wine trail (www www.visitscenicrim.com.au) threads from one end of the region to the other, with nine wineries strung along the way. By stopping at a few you’ll get to try some of the premium tipples that are making a name for the Scenic Rim as a respectable niche wine region and also see some spectacular scenery en route.
