MoyJos | Travelling MoyJos

A Long Weekend in Toowoomba

by MoyJos | Oct 6, 2026 | Queensland, Toowoomba

For the King’s birthday long weekend, we decided to venture a little further than Brisbane city and take a trip to Toowoomba. It has been a little while since we have been to Toowoomba so a three day break sounded like a good idea.

The annual attraction of Toowoomba is the carnival of flowers and I was pleased to see that the long weekend was the final weekend of the displays

M and I had tried to go to Toowoomba to see the flowers many years ago, but arrived the weekend after the show only to find most of the beds had been pulled out completely ready to start for the next season.
We joked that the place looked like freshly dug graveyards.

I chose an apartment hotel in the centre of Toowoomba‘s CBD that we had stayed at before.

I made reservations for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
I knew it was quite a large one bedroom apartment with a full kitchen, had decent parking, and was in the center of everything. we planned on taking the car fridge with us for this trip and taking some food from home.

Although the apartments themselves did not have a restaurant in the building, the Burke and Wills Hotel was just next-door and they had a buffet breakfast and a good dinner menu.

Modern apartment building with balconies and cars in the parking lot at dusk

Modern apartment living area with dining table, chairs, and kitchen

Modern bathroom with bathtub, shower, toilet, and vanity sink

Modern hotel lobby with reception desk, chandelier, and elevator

Modern pub interior with high tables, bar stools, and dining areas.

Buffet breakfast spread with chafing dishes, cereals, fruits, and pastries

Friday

After doing the boys wages and sorting them out, we managed to get on the road just after 10:30.

We took the inland route through Beerwah Peachester, and onto Kilcoy.

We planned on stopping at Kilcoy for a late lunch as we thought we would have dinner at the Burke at Will’s when we got to Toowoomba.

Driving into Kilcoy, I could see the bakery, but it was on of the other side of the road and I must admit I kind of got lost and couldn’t work out how to get to said bakery.

We decided to stop at the Exchange Hotel as I was sure they would have sandwiches of some sort on their lunch menu.

While they did not have sandwiches, we settled on a hamburger for M and I chose a steak sandwich which I pulled apart (because it was on inch thick bread) and had basically steak and salad for lunch.

While in the queue to order our lunches, a young man in front of me, who was probably a local as he greeted the girl behind the counter by name, said “just the 700 thanks”.
Looking at the menu we had noticed one of the options was indeed a 700g rump!!!! How on earth did he eat all that?

Back on the road and our next stop was to be Esk.

Driving along, we could see there had been fairly recent fires and we remembered the last time we came up this way we were following fires as well.

We stopped for a pitstop in Esk, and continued up the range towards Highfields and on to Toowoomba.

At the top of the hill is the information centre at Hampton. I decided it was probably easier to stop here for brochures that I wanted rather than going into the information centre into Toowoomba itself.

Sure enough the lady at the information centre was very helpful and found all the brochures I was looking for.

Before going to the apartments, we made a quick stop at the shopping center to buy a few things we had forgotten from home.

I had packed the car fridge perfectly with milk, bread, butter, and eggs, but had forgotten tea, coffee, and sugar 🙁

We arrived at the apartments just before 3 o’clock. Our room was ready and we unpacked, had a cup of tea, went for a short walk to get our bearings.

We also had a look at the restaurant in the Burke and Will‘s Hotel next door and decided the menu did indeed look good.

We asked if we needed to make a reservation, but were told no we didn’t, it was not that busy.

We decided on an early dinner,
I chose the filet mignon and M had the Salt and Pepper Calamari.

We were certainly NOT going to have “the monster mixed grill “
They certainly know how to feed people in the country ha ha ha

After dinner, it was just a little bit of TV and an early night.

Saturday

After a lovely nights sleep, we got up and had just a light breakfast as the plan this morning is to firstly drive to the Farmer’s Market then bring the car back to the hotel and catch the free shuttle bus around to the parks where the carnival of flowers were.

The farmers market was in between the Cobb and Co. museum and the Botanic Gardens. I was able to get a good park and we had a look around the market, bought some nice pastries and then were able to look around at the flowers before the majority of the people arrived.

Queens Park Botanic Gardens plant list for Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers

Queens Park Botanic Gardens sign with orchid detail and opening hours

Toowoomba park with colorful flower beds and a central monument

Toowoomba park with flower beds, cannon, and monument on a sunny day

Formal gardens in Toowoomba with manicured hedges and blooming flowers.

Vibrant flower bed with red and white blooms in a Toowoomba park

Vibrant flower bed with purple and yellow pansies in a Toowoomba park.

Vibrant flower beds in Toowoomba's Queens Park, a popular tourist destination.

Vibrant flower beds with rows of pink, red, and white blooms in a Toowoomba garden

Vibrant flower beds in a Toowoomba park during a long weekend visit.

Plaque detailing a wrought-iron muzzle-loading rifle gun, with image of QGS

Driving back to the apartments, we walked across the road to the big shopping centre and found the bus stop for the shuttle bus over to the Laurel Banks Park to see the rest of the floral displays.

The gardens here were absolutely stunning each year. They work on a different theme and plant the garden like a tapestry. It really is very clever. There were also many topiary hedges. One was a “Thomas the Tank Engine” complete with sets in the “carriages”

Plaque detailing Laurel Bank Park's gift from Samuel George Stephens to Toowoomba.

Lush park with vibrant flower beds, manicured trees, and people enjoying a sunny day.

Topiary bear, pyramid, and spheres in a lush garden

Topiary animals and shapes in a manicured garden

Topiary animal shapes in a manicured garden with flowers and trees.

Topiary armchair and spiral in a lush garden with flowers

Topiary train with white wheels in a garden setting

Red park benches lined with manicured hedges and trees in a sunny garden.

Thomas the Tank Engine topiary in a sunny garden

Floral art display of cats, dogs, and fish in a park with text

Floral art of dogs and cats in a park, spells

Colorful flower beds in a park with people walking

Man walks dog on path beside colorful flower beds in sunny park

We caught the bus back to the shopping centre and had a little bit of a look around. Apparently the Grand Central shopping centre is one of the largest in regional Queensland.

We had planned to have lunch at the George Banks rooftop, but we were a bit early and they were not open.

Although their opening times said 11:30 we spoke to a man who was just starting to open up and said they would not be opening until at least midday as they had a big night the night before and did not get out until 2 AM.

We thought that if the staff had not arrived yet the chances of having problems with our meal might be a little high, so we thought we would come back the next day.

We had noticed at the Shopping Centre, Lonestar Tavern and we went back there and had a lovely lunch.
I had a lamb shank and M had beef brisket tacos.

After lunch we wandered around the shops a bit and I noticed a sushi shop had a robot delivering orders to tables !

Before heading back to the hotel, we went for a short walk following one of the historic walk brochures. I had picked up at the Hampton information centre.

Sunday

In the morning, M opened the door to the balcony and stepped out and mentioned it seemed quite hazy and smoky. I got up and had a look and sure enough. It was very hazy and smoky. You could smell the smoke in the air.

I had a look at the bushfire app on my phone and sure enough there were large bush fires around the area that we had driven up to get to Toowoomba.

We were certainly not going back the way we came.

I had a look at Google Maps and found we could head down the Cunningham Highway and turn left towards Fernvale, then onto Esk and home

We chose to have the buffet breakfast at the Burke and Will’s Hotel next door. While it was very nice, it was nowhere near as large as the Hyatt Regency in Brisbane.

After breakfast, we followed one of the other historic walks and ended up at the George Banks rooftop again for lunch.

It was a lovely meal and the view over the city was nice.

We had a quiet afternoon in the unit and just had a light dinner of ham sandwiches.

Monday

We did not have to check out until 11 o’clock so we had a slow start.

After a leisurely breakfast in the apartment, we packed and headed off about 10:30

First was to get some fuel for the trip home. Although on the map, the petrol station was only around two blocks away to get there. I needed to go right around a few blocks, so it was on the right side of the road to actually get into the petrol station. M was totally confused.

I checked with the bushfire app again and sure enough we could not get back via Highfields.

It has been a long time since we went down the Cunningham Highway as really it is the wrong direction to get to the Sunshine Coast.

I was a little nervous at the idea of driving through Cunningham‘s gap as I always remembered it to be very tight and windy. There has obviously been a lot of work done over the years because it was not too bad at all. We found the turn off to Fernvale easily enough.

Neither of us had been to Fernvale and we were quite impressed. Being long weekend it was very busy so we did not stop but have made a plan that we must come back.
From Fernvale it is not far to Esk, then we were in familiar territory. We got to Kilcoy in time for a late lunch and I managed to work out how to get to the bakery. Yay Me!

From Kilcoy, I decided to keep going along the D’Aguilar Hwy toward Caboolture and stop in at Meat City in. Morayfield. I had seen they had some good meat specials and with the fridge in the car it was a good time to stock up..

Meat shopping done we made it home around 3 o’clock in the afternoon.

Now we are coming into our busy period at work the chances of having any more weekends away before we close up for Christmas are fairly slim.

We have decided to have a week in Brisbane at the Mantra South Bank just after Christmas, so stay tuned.

Brisbane “Staycations” 2026

by MoyJos | Mar 15, 2026 | Brisbane, Queensland

When we returned home after our Christmas break in Tasmania, it was not long until the discussion came about as to where to plan our next trips.

We normally only go away at Easter and Christmas, but where to go this year?

After much to-ing and fro-ing, we decided that rather than just two big holidays we would spend a number of long weekends down in Brisbane.

We already had a couple of trips planned, and we thought we would finalize our plans after checking out the hotel we had booked into for our next trip.

This page will act as the directory for all the trips we will plan throughout the year, so stay tuned and see what we get up to.

March 13-15 - Hyatt Regent. ”Le Petite Chef”

The purpose for this trip was to see “Le Petit Chef”

I found out about the Brisbane run for Le Petit Chef when I was looking for places to dine in Hobart last Christmas Le Petit Chef had just finished its run in Hobart
and there was a banner on the site saying “See you soon in Brisbane in 2026"

April 17 - 19 Hyatt Regency. "Pompette"

After our last Brisbane trip just a month ago, M declared that we should come back again very soon.

Looking at the diary, we found the weekend of 17 April was clear and so we booked the Hyatt Regency again.

One reason for this trip was to visit a french restaurant we had seen at the Star Casino called Pompette.

May 23 - Wine & Cheese

I saw an ad online for a wine and cheese festival called "Mould x Pinot"
It is to be at the Exhibition Grounds in May
It looked like a fun little trip.

We have booked the festival and are staying at the Rydges across the road.
(Means I don’t have to drive home 🙂 )

Stay tuned 🙂

June 26 - Another Trip To Rydges

After our visit to Rydges for the Wine & Cheese festival, Rydges sent me a great deal to return.

So we did 🙂

This trip was about "doing a lot of nothing"

Enjoy 🙂

July 18 - Intercontinental Brisbane

For Open House Brisbane, we enjoyed a weekend staycation at the Intercontinental Brisbane on Queen Street Mall.

Saturday was "churches of Brisbane", including St. John’s Cathedral, ,the Brisbane Freemasons, Albert Street Uniting Church, and St. Stephen’s Catholic Cathedral.

On Sunday we toured Old Government House and Queensland Parliament House before taking the ferry over to Southbank for a look at the newly restored Hotel Terminus.

August 7 - Hyatt Regency

Back at the Hyatt

After a disappointing stay at the InterContinental, we were very happy to be back at the Hyatt Regency—and it didn’t disappoint. Our 20th-floor room had lovely city and river views, and the buffet breakfast was easily the best we’ve had on our Brisbane staycations.

We enjoyed drinks overlooking the city, a superb dinner at Lennons, and an amazing Greek lunch at Dark Shepherd on Saturday.

After another leisurely breakfast, we headed home Sunday morning. Of course, being self-employed meant the weekend finished with three hours of work at the factory! 😂

Hopefully, we’ll be back at the Hyatt again over Christmas.

Home Again

by MoyJos | Jan 5, 2026 | Tasmania

Our alarm went off at 4 o’clock and after showers, breakfast and final packing of the car, we headed to the airport .

Our first flight was Hobart to Melbourne and then Melbourne to Sunshine Coast. We found out we were on the same plane with the same crew for both flights so it was a quick turnaround and we do not have to wait very long at all in Melbourne.

A smooth uneventful flight and we were back home at Maroochydore just on 10 o’clock.

Back home, we unpacked put on a load of washing, went to Woolworths to do some shopping and our holiday is over 😢😢

Where will we go next?

Third Time’s a Charm

by MoyJos | Jan 4, 2026 | Tasmania

The plan for today was to check out early and head back to Hobart to try and get to the Penitentiary – again.

Rather than attempting to park the car in the city, I decided it would be best to drive over to the Shoreline Hotel where we will be staying for the evening and get the bus from there .

It is only around 40 minutes or so from Franklin to Shoreline, so I knew we had plenty of time to catch a 9:15 bus to get us into the city in plenty of time for the penitentiary tour at 10 o’clock.

I am happy to say that that plan worked perfectly!!

The day started a little overcast, and we did get a little spit of rain on the Kingston side of the mountains, but once we cross the range and came back into the Hobart side, the rain stopped, and the weather started clearing.

We parked the car at the front of the hotel, which is a few steps away from the bus stop.

I could see on the penitentiary website that there were available spots for the 10 o’clock tour so I was fairly confident that it was going to be open, but I was still hesitant to book it online.

At 9:30 the doors opened and yes, they were open. Yay. We paid our admission fee for the 10 o’clock tour, and were told we were free to look around the artifacts and rooms while we waited.

At 10 o’clock our guide, Matthew gathered us together and began the tour.

The building that we toured was actually the old chapel with most of the penitentiary being destroyed in the 1960s the only reason this building was saved was the fact that it, at that time ,housed both the Magistrates and Supreme Courts of Tasmania.

The tour itself is around 90 minutes and very informative. We would both highly recommend it any time you may be in Hobart.

I found this YouTube video of the tour.

By the time we had finished at the penitentiary, it was getting towards lunchtime. We thought we would walk down Campbell Street to Constitution dock and make a decision on what we were going to eat. As we came closer to the waterfront, we decided we would have lunch at the Grand Chancellor Hotel.

I looked up their website as I did not think the restaurant was open for lunch and indeed it was not. However, the Atrium Bar was open for lunch and the menu looked suitable.

We had a lovely lunch of a burger and a pasta dish and a glass of wine each before catching the bus back to Shoreline.

By this time it was just before 2 o’clock, but our room was not quite ready so we waited in the lounge bar until 2:30 when we could check in.

We unloaded our bags into the room and then drove the car to the service station on the other side of the car. Park to fill up with fuel ready for the morning and get some milk for tea and coffee.

We ordered a pizza from the hotel café, delivered to our room and had a quiet night watching TV ready for a very early 4 o’clock wake up alarm in readiness for our 6:20 flight.

Getting High!!

by MoyJos | Jan 3, 2026 | Tasmania

Today was our last day in the Huon Valley, and we thought we would venture a little further south to the town of Geeveson, and onto the Tahune Air Walk.

We came to the air walk when we were first here in 2005 what we didn’t know in the 20 years since was there have been a number of floods ( in 2007, 2009 and 2016 )and a major bushfire in January 2019. The fire destroyed nearly 64,000 hectares of the forest and the air walk itself was lucky to survive. Another report from the ABC here

It took arborists and engineers over 12 months to make sure everything was safe and usable again.

The air walk loop takes about an hour and has over 100 steps to get to the metal walk itself. M is not worried about heights much at all anymore. I was going OK until the very end at the cantilever section. I did go out but not for long. THEN. I noticed the cable 😱 Can you see the cable on the right wobbling about?

It was a good walk though with fantastic views above the forest and Huon River

Needless to say when we got back to the visitor center, we were ready for lunch😀😀.

We had seen a really nice café just about across the road from the unit we’re staying in so we made our way back there and had delicious Turkish Borek pastries. We bought one with zucchini and halloumi and one with spinach and feta cut them in half and shared both.

They were topped with yoghurt and then warm paprika butter.

The flavour combination was so good. We are definitely going to be making that at home we decided it would be so nice on lamb chops.

The sky started clouding over in the afternoon, so we just spent it in the unit getting packed up ready to go back to Hobart tomorrow.

Franklin – Huon Valley

by MoyJos | Jan 2, 2026 | Tasmania

We had a good sleep in this morning. We had a look around Huonville and Franklin.

It has been awhile since we’ve been down this way, but not much changes in this part of the state .

We stopped in at the wooden boat center and had a look around and learn some of the history of the boat boat building of the area.

We also had a look through the old Palais Theatre, and it has been renovated beautifully. It is still used as a working Theatre and they have movie nights once a month and bands visit quite regularly. We saw a poster on the noticeboard saying that the Black Sorrows are playing soon.