I packed up most of our bags last night so we did not have too much to do this morning.
Checkout was not until 10:00am, but we thought we had best be on the road fairly early as we expected the highway to be busy heading north.
Again we enjoyed our BBQ breakfast, tidied the cottage and checked out with the promise to return.
I looked up the address of a carwash to give the car a quick washover as it was covered in little leaves and dust. I thought it would be good to wash it now as our carwash in Caloundra is always busy.
The address was at the bottom of the mountain, but no matter how often we went around the area it was meant to be, we could not find it đ
Giving up, I headed for the highway and home. Â The traffic from the Gold Coat north was not too bad. Â It got a bit heavier around Deagon/Bracken Ridge but was fine all the way home. Â Southbound from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane was its usual âcarparkâ
As expected, the carwash in Caloundra had long queues for all 4 bays and I was not going to wait.
We got home just after midday, unpacked, threw the dirty clothes in the washing machine and the holiday is over đ
Where to next???
PS. I managed to get the car washed on Wednesday morning when everybody was back to work.
After yesterdayâs issue with finding lunch we have made a booking for a 12:30 lunch at St Bernardâs Hotel đ
We again enjoyed our supplied breakfast and had decided to go to the Tamborine Mountain Heritage Centre  for a look around before lunch
The village was small but informative. Â It filled in the morning nicely.
I had seen in the village, a picture of St Bernardâs Hotel. Â It looked quite different to the current building, so a bit of a history dive showed me that the hotel is one of the oldest on the mountain. Originally built in 1881 it has been a favourite for a long time.
We headed to the hotel in plenty of time for our booking and were quite surprised when we were able to get a table even though we were early.
One of the attractions of the St Bernard Hotel is their two resident St Bernard dogs! They have their own little room off to the side of the main entrance. Â They are gorgeous dogs and HUGE. Â They are obviously quite at home in their area because they were mostly asleep the whole time we were there.
Another attraction is the amazing view over the valley to the east.
We had a lovey meal each. I had Lamb Rump and M had a Southern Chicken Burger. Â A glass of bubbly went down very nicely đ
After an enjoyable afternoon, we went make to the cottage via Witches Falls Winery ( again a recommendation) Â We were able to have a look around but they were not doing wine tastings at all đ
Back at the cottage and we had another spa, lit the fire and relaxed. Â We did not need dinner đ
Knowing that our breakfast is so big, we planned a quiet day today driving around to see the sights and perhaps have a late lunch.
âThe Best Laid Plansâ
Although we started the plan well it did not go totally to plan.
We had seen mention of âRotary Parkâ that is a good place to have a picnic in the evening  As it faces due west it would be a lovely place to watch the sunset.  We did not plan to do that as Mâs eyes donât cope well with bright sun, but we did find the park and have a look.
It certainly is a lovely view over the valley below. Â There were lots of people around and from this park the Paraglider’s launch themselves off the edge.
The plan was to have lunch at âSt Bernardâs Hotelâ. Â We should have guessed that it would be busy. We were told they did not have any tables free đ
We left St Bernards and thought we would try the âCauldronâDistilleryâ
as it was on my friendâs list of good places to go. Â They were also very busy and were told we could have a table but there would be a 30-45minute wait. Â We decided that was ok, but on looking at the menu we decided no.
We went back into Tamborine Village to the diner we have seen earlier. Â We were told there were tables available and to sit wherever we liked.
The menu here is typical âdiner fareâ – Pizzas, Burger etc. Â We chose a burger each and I went to order. Â I did not order however as I heard the cashier telling people in front of me that there as at least an HOURâs wait for food!!
We ended up calling into the IGA and buying a couple of easy meals to do in the microwave at the cottage.
Later in the afternoon we made sure to book a table at St Bernardâs for the next day đ
We woke after a lovely nights sleep. Â Our cottage has a breakfast hamper included every day and were looking forward to seeing if was as good as described. Â It was delivered on time at 7:30am and ..OMG The smell of a fresh warm loaf of bread was DEVINE!!
In the basket we unloaded, Bacon, Eggs (fresh from their own chooks!) German Sausages, 1/2 an Avodaco, Tomato, Mushrooms, Juice, the loaf of bread and a bowl of jam, honey, vegemite and peanut butter
M cooked us a lovely breakfast and we managed to not eat ALL the bread đ
Being Good Friday, we knew many places would be closed today, so the plan is to do a forest walk this morning.
We had seen that there are many walks close by our cottages, but on looking a bit deeper, many of them seem a bit long and/or steep for us to risk. It can be a little precarious hiking when you canât see well  đ
One of the brochures we had collected was for Skywalk and it was open today. Everything is only a short drive on the mountain and we arrived a few minutes after they opened. We had expected it to be busy, and we were glad there not too many people around early.
One bonus was they had a discount for using the Seniors card. đ There has to be some benefit in being âoldâ haha đ
Neither of us are particularly great with heights and I did not know how I would be. M said he is OK with heights now that he canât see the drop!!  As it turned out, the high railings made it fine and I did not get any vertigo at all.
We enjoyed a slow wander through the forest. The paths are really well maintained, with lots of sign posts along the way explaining the plants we could see and some history of the area.
Finishing the loop we arrived back at the entry way and were surprised how busy it now was. We were VERY happy we came early.
Heading back into the village we went on the hunt for lunch. Driving back up the Gallery Walk proved fruitless as there was no parking available.
We finally found parking for âBaileyâs Irish Pubâ.
We were very lucky as they were also very busy. We managed to secure a table for two, but we noticed many people being turned away because they were full.
The pub had decorated a tree for Easter. It was very cute đ
We had a very delicious meal of Lamb Stew with Soda bread for me and a Beef and Guinness pie for M.
Feeling very full, we headed back to the cottage and relaxed for the afternoon. Â (With another fire :). )
With the car packed, the plan for today is to pop into work and do a little paperwork before braving the highway to the Gold Coast and up the mountain to Tamborine.
Finishing what I needed to do, we were on the road by 8:30am. The nav maps told us our journey was 2 hours and 5 mins â We will see đ
Surprisingly, our trip was easy with not too much heavy traffic at all. We arrived at the cottages  just before 11:00am – way too early to check in, but it was good to meet the owners and have a chat.
We drove back through the village, and found the âGallery Walkâand walked the length of the shops browsing.
We bought some fudge from âGranny Maeâsâ and checked out some cafes and pubs that we may return to.
We stopped off at the IGA to pick up some groceries and then back to the cottage to check in.
Looking around the cottage we were very impressed. It was lovely.  A BIG King sized bed, set up on a raised floor two steps up from the living area.  a comfy leather coach, kitchenette with Fridge, Toaster, Kettle and Microwave. The fireplace is in the main living room as well. Off to the side is the bathroom with a huge double spa bath which is tucked into a glass roof and wall.
Unpacked and settled in for the evening, we had a lovely long soak in the spa( I had packed Epsom Salts), lit the fire ( because we can) Â watched some TV and fell into bed fairly early.
It really was not cold enough for a fire, but we lit it anyway, had all the door open and we did not roast đ
We do always try to get way at both Easter and Christmas and this year is no different.
After seeing a travel show a while ago highlighting the Scenic Rim and Tamborine Mountain.  We thought it looked like a good option.
Tamborine Mountain is roughly 2 hours from home (which we expect  to take longer thanks to Easter traffic.)
Google showed us lots of accommodation options and finally we settled on a âPrivate Rainforest Spa Cottageâ at   Witches Falls Cottages.
I also had a vague recollection that one of my friends had her partner surprise her with a weekend away to Tamborine Mountain recently. I spoke to her and YES they had been in the area last Easter.  She gave me a list of âmust seeâsâ
Armed with my list I hit Google to get a good idea of where everything is. I like having a loose planânot too structured, but enough to know whatâs nearby and where we might want to stop.
So thatâs our Easter! A few relaxing days in the mountains, surrounded by trees, good food, and hopefully some lovely cool days (Hopefully cool enough for a fire in the cottageâs fireplace)
Iâll be sharing our adventures as we go, so follow along if youâre curious to see what Tamborine Mountain has to offer.
