5 unusual adventures in and around Warwick

For roadtrip warriors who like an element of surprise to their getaway, here’s five unusual activities that will intrigue and delight!

Image by Stephen Reid

Every year in November, fire flies emerge at our beautiful town of Killarney, just over 2 hours from Brisbane. This annual fairy wonderland only lasts for a very limited time & please be ‘nature-aware’ as they are a very delicate creature and the potential disruption of their breeding cycle can happen if there is too much light shone on them.

Stay the night! Adjinbilly Rainforest Retreat and Cabins is a nature refuge based in a secluded rainforest gorge surrounding a beautiful cascading creek with myriads of rainforest birds and creatures.

How to get there:

To see the fireflies, you’ll need to head to Queen Mary Falls in Killarney, which is part of the Main Range National Park. It’s just over two hours drive from Brisbane, and we highly recommend taking the scenic route through Boonah onto the Head Road. If you’re towing something, you’ll need to come through Warwick instead.

Once you reach the Queen Mary Falls carpark, head off on the Queen Mary Falls Circuit track – it’s about a 2km return walk. Take the right hand side track to the first lookout, before continuing to the bottom of the Falls for the best chance to see them.

To reach Adjinbilly you cross through the Condamine River a number of times, requiring a 4WD or high clearance vehicle. If your vehicle does not suit, guests love the experience of a courtesy 25 minute pick-up drive from Killarney through the gorge. Here’s more detailed directions.

Image by Spicers Peak Lodge

Stunningly situated on a mountaintop in Queensland’s Southern Downs near the picturesque town of Maryvale, only a two hour drive south-west from Brisbane, Spicers Peak Lodge is as far from the pressure of everyday life as it’s possible to be. Let your cares melt away in their luxurious suites and private lodges, enjoy an award-winning gourmet experience, unwind in Spa Anise or choose from a host of invigorating outdoor activities. Dine at The Peak Restaurant, (Chef’s Hat Good Food Guide 2019) and enjoy all that chef Dean Alsford can deliver in their degustation menu. Round it off with the Signature Peak Experience for two by helicopter.

How to get there: Spicers Peak Lodge is at 1 Wilkinson Rd, Maryvale. The lodge is easily accessible by private car, allowing two hours from Brisbane or two and a half hours from Gold Coast. To experience the grand scale and beauty of the mountainous ranges, helicopter transfers to and from the lodge are also available.

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Use your highly experienced navigational skills to traverse the ‘Steamers’ hike. A unique, must-do for hikers who have plenty of navigational skill. The Steamers is a stunning natural landscape for serious hikers in Main Range National Park. The unmarked track is hair raising in parts and consists of four peaks which resemble a ship and are named as such – The Prow, The Funnel, The Mast and the Stern. These enormous rock formations – which are thought to be the remnants of a thick trachyte lava flow from the Main Range Volcano – rise out of the ground in a huge valley surrounded by mountains.

How to get there: Access is via the Cunningham Highway, about 2.5 hours south-west of Brisbane, and The Steamers can be approached from Teviot Falls or Emu Creek Road in the Southern Downs. We suggest you book local accommodation ahead of time and enjoy the most of the stunning Main Range National Park.

Image courtesy of Gleneden Family Farm

Find out how heritage farmers used to work their land on a farm tour with a local family farmer and bullock team at Gleneden Family Farm, Maryvale. Gleneden Farm offers Regenerative Farm Tours, Ethical Produce, Farm Camping, Bullock Team displays and Australian Bush Crafts. Meet one of Australia’s last Bullock Teams, hop on board the hay wagon and learn how this regenerative, holistic farm produces organic and ethical food. Meet the farmers, happy cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chooks and other local wildlife and find out how farmers and everyone else can heal the land – and still eat gourmet style.

How to get there: 375 North Branch Rd Maryvale. Come and discover this little piece of paradise, 90 minutes from Brisbane on the Cunningham Hwy, 75 minutes south of Toowoomba, 30mins east of Warwick. Couples, families, groups, coach tours and schools welcome.

If spooky and ghoulish tales excite you, then take a historic tour of the Warwick Cemetery and unearth the spirit of the mummified cat at Glengallan Homestead.

During restoration of Glengallan Homestead, a mummified cat was found under the floorboards. Nobody knows if the moggy, now known as “Myrtle” was entombed by accident or design however there is an old English custom whereby East Anglican builders placed a live cat under the floorboards to protect the building from ‘witches, warlocks, fire and evil spirits.’ Myrtle is now encased under glass set into the floor of the Glengallan drawing room where she was found. While local folklore includes a story about the Ghost Gate on Glengallan, there is no documented record of a ghostly presence in the house. Perhaps Myrtle is doing her job.

Cemetery Tours: Explore our buried past on this historic walking tour, where each headstone has a story to tell. Cemetery tours are by appointment at the Warwick Visitor Information Centre.

Book a night or two at the historic and impressive Abbey Boutique Hotel, and take part in murder mystery nights at this 120+ year old hotel.

How to get there: Glengallan Homestead is mid way between Warwick and Allora at 18515 New England Highway. The Warwick Cemetery is on Wentworth St.

Make a weekend of it by checking out these other things to do in the area:

• If you’re travelling to Girraween or Sundown from Brisbane you’ll drive right through Stanthorpe. Here’s a local’s guide on spending 24 hours there.
• Keen on coming to Queen Mary Falls? Check out how to spend 48 hours of food, fun and four wheel driving in Killarney.
• Travelling in Spring or Summer? Here’s our top 7 must visit waterholes to check out.
• If you have the kids in tow, make sure you check out these 20 family activities in the Southern Downs and Granite Belt.
• Caravanning? Here are the Dump Points within region