Mountain Getaway from Brisbane with Kids

Are you looking for a quick getaway from Brisbane where you and the kids can enjoy hiking in the mountains and swimming in a waterhole? Do you want to escape the city crowds? Maybe you want to look at a sky full of stars.

There are so many great places you can get to from Brisbane in a short amount of time. Some of our favorites include Springbrook National Park, Tamborine Mountain, and Noosa National Park.

This time, we decided to head west and visit a few more National Parks.

We needed a mountain getaway before the kids head back to school, and we head into a hot summer in Brisbane.

Mark went to Kingaroy with work and decided to take us back to see the peanut factory and explore the national parks nearby.

First Stop, Toowoomba

Stop for breakfast at The Old Fernvale Bakery. There may be a line to get.

Otherwise, stop in Esk for breakfast. There seem to be many options, and there is a market on Saturdays.

Also, if it is spring, I suggest stopping in Toowoomba to see the beautiful flowers.

We went while the flower show was on, and the gardens were spectacular. It was crowded, especially as the day got later, but definitely worth a visit.

While the gardens aren’t a mountain, they make for a nice day out of Brisbane with kids. You can easily head to the mountains before or after.

Ravensbourne National Park

Our first stop was Ravensbourne National Park, which is almost 2 hours from Brisbane.

First, we looked at the view from the Gus Beutel lookout. There are picnic tables there and plenty of space to run. One family had brought a picnic blanket and was enjoying the beautiful spring day.

After the lookout, we drove to the Rainforest Circuit, which is 1.7 kilometers return. Despite the gorgeous weather, we did not see very many people on our hike.

Close to the beginning of the circuit, the path goes off in two different directions. We chose to go up the stairs first. It seems as though just about everyone else went the other way.

Either way, the hike was not hard, and it is a good hike to take the kids on.

Mark noticed that the rainforest wasn’t quite as “rainforest-y” as some of the other rainforests we have visited. Maybe because it has not rained a lot here recently.

The hike definitely did not feel like a rainforest hike, but it did feel like we were out of Brisbane and on a mountain, which was the goal.

Making Plans

We always save places on Google Maps so that we remember to visit them.

Last weekend, Mark noticed that he had saved Chocolate Cottage near Toowoomba, but we went to another restaurant instead. Since we were nearby (30 minutes away), he decided to go there for lunch.

The drive is hilly with lots of cows and a few horses. There are a lot of avocado sheds with avocados for sale by the side of the road, especially close to Ravensbourne National Park.

We also passed a large Cuckoo Clock shop, which I am sure the kids would have loved. They love the shop at Tamborine Mountain.

At Chocolate Cottage, there is a lot of space for the kids to run around. The area is enclosed by shops, so you can browse while you wait for your meal, or the kids can just play in the grass.

Fairy Bread is a choice on the kid’s menu. I still can’t wrap my mind around sprinkles on bread being a sandwich, but now that I have tried it, it is delicious and I understand why the kids order it whenever they can.

This was a last-minute trip for us, so at the end of lunch, we booked a hotel for the night.

Coomba Falls Water Hole

After lunch, we drove a little more than an hour to Coomba Falls Water Hole.

Our kids had never swum in a lake or a water hole. They were used to pools and the ocean.

The Water Hole has a parking area with a bathroom, and then you climb down about 120 stairs. The area is grassy and surrounded by rocks. There were a few families out, some picnicking.

At first, only 1 couple was in the water, and they had rafts. Our kids were nervous to get in, and the water was cold. Our kids are good swimmers, and the water at Coomba Falls Water Hole is as still as a pool.

They could easily swim to the waterfall.

Kingaroy, QLD population 10,398

We decided on the country town of Kingaroy for the night, which is about 40 minutes from the Coomba Falls swimming hole.

Mark drove to Kingaroy for work one day months ago and told me that the whole town smelled like roasted peanuts. Kingaroy is known for its peanut factory.

We made it to the Peanut Van before they closed at 5 p.m. I went to pick out peanuts (roasted, salt and vinegar, and peanut brittle) while the kids played on the playground across the street.

There is a place at the playground to display the “Big Peanut,” but it was not yet there.

As it was Saturday, the factory was not running, and we could not smell the peanuts.

Lodging in Kingaroy

There seemed to be many cottages and bed and breakfasts near Kingaroy, but they were all booked.

Of course, it adds to the experience of staying in a nice place, and we probably would have wanted to stay and enjoy the country living of Kingaroy, but we settled on a motel.

That is the hazard of planning a last-minute trip, especially in Australia during school holidays. Places book out early, and we never seem to be prepared.

We ended up at the Motel Oasis.

Dinner in Kingaroy

I asked the man at the front desk where to go for dinner. He told me that their restaurant was booked out for the night, but there are a few pubs in town.

The town was much larger than we expected, and there were more than a few pubs in town.

We wanted somewhere local and figured a pub was our best bet. After reading good reviews, we chose the Commercial Hotel for dinner. A large area of the pub is outside, and that is where we chose to sit.

Having kids, we ate early, and we were at one of the first tables. It helps to eat early on busy nights, and we usually get seated right away.

As we were finishing up, a guy started singing and playing his guitar, so we stayed for a few songs.

By 6:30 p.m., the pub was full.

Stargazing in Kingaroy

Being out of Brisbane and in the country, we wanted to see the stars!

There is an observatory, the Kingaroy Observatory, with nightly events, except on the nights when there is a full moon.

Their current show is called Stars and Planets and runs from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

I checked, and the shows say that they are for 12+, but looking at the general information, it says that the shows are not suitable for children under 5.

Either way, that is a little bit late for our kids, so we decided to just see the stars on our own.

Shows start at 7 pm in the autumn and winter, and bookings are mandatory.

Instead of paying to see the stars at the observatory, we drove to Mount Wooroolin lookout.

The lookout has a couple of lights, but we could still see the bright stars in the sky.

I used my stargazing app, and we could clearly find Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus. The Southern Cross was easy to see as well.

Bunya Mountains National Park

Day two of our mountain escape from Brisbane with kids began at Bunya Mountains National Park, about 50 minutes from Kingaroy.

Accommodation in Bunya Mountains National Park

If you want, you can stay in Bunya Mountains National Park. Of course, you have to plan further in advance.

There are multiple campsites for tents and RVs, as well as houses for rent. We saw kangaroos in the yards of the rental houses.

The prices are reasonable and worth checking out if you have an advanced travel date. The largest house sleeps up to 9, with every house sleeping at least 4.

Bunya Mountains National Park also has multiple restaurants available, including a bar.

Hiking with Kids in Bunya Mountains National Park

We chose to complete the Scenic Circuit, which at 4 kilometers would be the kids’ longest hike to date.

While it was the longest, it is not anywhere close to the hardest.

There is a large parking lot outside the start of the Scenic Circuit with a bathroom and lots of picnic tables, most of which are shaded. We also saw kangaroos in the parking area.

Probably the kids’ favorite part of the hike is the shoe-cleaning station that you need to go through at the beginning and the end of the hike.

There are brushes on the floor that you are supposed to use to clean your shoes, as well as a disinfecting station to step on. If your shoes are especially dirty, there are hand brushes available.

Once you go through the shoe cleaning station, there is a sign with information in both directions.

We went right, in the direction of Scenic Circuit (4k), Festoon Falls (770m), and Pine Gorge Lookout (1.3k).

The left side takes you to Barkers Creek Circuit (9k).

Our hike began at 930 a.m., with the parking lot mostly empty.

We don’t hike especially fast, and we tend to stop for snacks and to climb rocks.

The trail wasn’t exactly crowded, but we did see a lot more people, in both directions, than we typically see on a hike.

There are a few stairs near the beginning of the hike, but after that, the dirt path is generally just sloped.

Festoon Falls

Festoon Falls is the first stop, 80m off the path.

After all of the amazing waterfalls that we have hiked to recently, Festoon Falls was a letdown.

I am sure that it is better in the rainy season, but there was barely any water at Festoon Falls in the first week of October.

The kids didn’t mind, as there were rocks that they could climb, especially as they were free from water due to the lack of a waterfall.

Most people just walked on without stopping to walk the extra path to Festoon Falls.

Pine Gorge Lookout

The second, and last, stop on the Scenic Lookout is the Pine Gorge Lookout, 40m off the path.

The lookout is pretty, and there is a bench. There are not very many benches on this hike.

We stopped to sit on a few rocks, but the path is often narrow, and there is no place to stop.

Despite spending time on the lookout while snacking, we were never alone.

Wildlife at Bunya National Park

We saw kangaroos in the parking area as well as in front of some of the houses, but we did not see any on our hike.

The kids are never quiet, and the path was never empty, so the only animals that we saw on our entire 2-hour hike were bush turkeys, which seem to be everywhere in Queensland.

It is the first time that we have seen, or maybe noticed, the bush turkey’s large nests.

We could hear birds while on our hike, but didn’t generally see any.

Scenic Circuit at Bunya National Park

The walk around Pine Gorge Lookout slopes up and seems harder than the earlier path.

I figured that the first group of people that we saw going the opposite way were locals who knew the path better than us.

We did end up seeing quite a few people hiking in both directions.

I can not say for certain, as we only hiked the way that the sign pointed, but I would be willing to guess that the opposite way is actually easier. Heading the opposite direction would have you walking on a downward slope for most of the hike and then upstairs at the end.

We did not realize that the Scenic Circuit ends at the same sign where they claim heading left only takes you on the 9k hike.

I preferred the last part of the hike the most, as that is where it gets more interesting.

The beginning of the hike generally looks the same. It is a forest hike. There are lots of trees and a dirt path.

There are beautiful, large trees near the end of the Scenic Circuit, and a few small bodies of water. Again, I am sure they are more plentiful during the rainy season.

We passed Tim Shea Falls, which is not on any signs, and it was almost dry.

After hiking slowly, with plenty of stops, we finished by 1130.

The parking lot was absolutely packed, which I probably could have figured out based on the number of people we saw on our hike.

Lunch

We hadn’t brought a picnic lunch, and the picnic tables were full when we finished the hike.

There are 2 restaurants close by, inside the park, but we opted to drive a little further and go to an old country pub that we had noticed the day before.

On our way out, we saw a horse and carriage ride go by.

If I had to choose again, I would have had lunch at one of the restaurants at Bunya Mountains State Park.

Our phones didn’t have any service, so we could not check the menus, and it was a little bit early for lunch. The restaurants looked popular, and as I said, that would be my choice in the future.

Instead, we drove 30 minutes to the Maidenwell Hotel. We planned on driving in that direction anyway to go back to the swimming hole, which the kids were begging to return to.

Maidenwell Hotel, Maidenwell, Queensland, population 199

There is a sign outside the Maidenwell Hotel that claims to have no fancy but delicious pub meals. Another sign says that these lunch meals are $10.

This being our country mountain escape from Brisbane, we wanted to show the kids what country living is like, and that includes the small-town pub.

Coomba Water Hole, Again

Hearing the kids beg to go back to the watering hole would have you think that they jumped right in the day before, and not sat cautiously on the side.

Thankfully, after waiting so long for lunch, we just had to drive 2 kilometers down the road.

Having arrived earlier than yesterday, the area was more crowded. The parking lot was almost full.

Lots of families were out having picnics. There were more people swimming than yesterday. While there were fewer dogs, there were still dogs swimming in the watering hole.

There was a couple on top of the rocks near the waterfall and they saw the kids cautious by the side of the water.

They said that the kids were welcome to use the 2 floats that they had, as they live nearby and always bring extra floats for children.

That random act of kindness made such a difference.

The kids swam over to the floats and used them for the rest of our time at the swimming hole.

They used them to swim near the waterfall and across clear to the other side of the swimming hole.

Mark got in the water this time, but mainly sat on the rocks near the waterfall and watched the kids.

I was free to lay in the grass and read.

TIP: Bring a float to the swimming hole. Our kids are great swimmers, but there is a large area without a place to rest. They were much more comfortable with a float.

Also, I am sure it goes without saying, but since we forgot, bring towels!

Deciding on Another Night Away

It is a holiday weekend, so no school or work on Monday.

Having not planned our trip out, not having internet, and spending too much of our day waiting on lunch, we needed to make a decision to spend another night in the country or take the kids back to Brisbane, 2 hours and 40 minutes away.

Mark spotted a free little library back in “town” made out of an old refrigerator. I jumped out to put some books in and search for new books, and he realized the internet worked.

We talked about spending the night in Crows Nest, a small country town about 45 minutes from Coomba Falls. There were rooms available.

In the end, we decided to drive straight back to Brisbane.

If hadn’t just gone to Toowoomba the weekend before, we probably would have spent another night.

It seems silly to pay for a hotel when your home isn’t too far away. We will save that money for another adventure.

I am sure will want to bring the kids on another mountain adventure and get out of the summer heat of Brisbane real soon.

Heading Home

As we always save the places that look interesting on Google Maps, we could see that one of us saved Blackbutt Bakery.

Not knowing the next time we would be out this way, we stopped at Blackbutt Bakery for treats.

Just like real little Aussie kids, our kids walked in barefoot.

An exhausted Z fell asleep on the way home, which made us realize that coming home was the best (easiest!) idea.

There are so many mountains near Brisbane, and we hope to take the kids to see many more in the future.

Take Aways

• Now that summer is approaching, we will check out swimming holes nearby. The kids are ready to go back every weekend.
• It is the time of year when we just need to leave a change of clothes and towels in the car.
• Sometimes it is better to have a plan and not be spontaneous, but in the end, we all had a great time.
• Always bring extra snacks. We didn’t have much at home and stopped at a small (expensive) grocery store in Kingaroy. It would have been cheaper to shop in Brisbane.
• Always bring extra water. We ended up buying bottled water to add to our bottles. It would have been cheaper to buy extra water in Brisbane.
• Bring cash, especially $1 and $2 coins. Country towns have produce on the side of the road, and we did not have a way to purchase any.

You May Also Like

• Mount Tinbeerwah
• Fig Tree Walk
• Noosa National Park
• Springbrook National Park
• Stanthorpe and the Granite Belt
• Tamborine Mountain
• Glasshouse Mountains
• Rainforest Skywalk.

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