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Sunshine Coast HinterlandWhere nature is lavish and tourist enticements abound. The Bruce Highway sweeps north from Brisbane past the rearing crags of the Glass House Mountains and through the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast. This rich, subtropical country is embroidered with detail. Canny travellers detour from the highway to investigate the little towns that stud the rippling hills here. West of the Bruce Highway the Blackall Range beckons. Montville, Maleny and the other villages that perch on or behind the escarpment have restaurants, wineries, alternative-style eateries and produce stores, art galleries, boutiques and curiosity shops catering for tastes refined or earthy. Places like Buderim, Yandina and Eumundi - and in the Noosa hinterland, Cooroy, Pomona and Kin Kin - have made the most of their natural assets, adding markets, coffee shops, craft galleries and other drawcards to their traditional attractions. Further west, taste hand-crafted cheeses at Kenilworth before taking a leisurely trip along the Kenilworth Forest Drive or trekking into the rugged Conondales. Follow the Mary River north from its headwaters towards Gympie and you’ll find a series of magnificent state forests and townships of nostalgic rural charm. An old railway links them, and if you’re tempted by a sentimental journey you can board the Mary Valley Rattler steam train, which puffs its way from Gympie to Imbil on the Mary Valley line every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Turn into Gympie town centre, and you’re in the narrow, twisting streets of an old goldfield. Impressive public buildings reveal its wealthy past, and on the fringe of the town new mine shafts probe for a mother lode far below. Taking the trip north from Brisbane in a more exploratory mood, you can follow the Wine Trail to discover the area’s viticultural secrets, or the Gallery Trail to appreciate the inspiration that artists have found here.
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