LUNCH DATE AT THE BINNA BURRA TEA HOUSE....

 Usually when we are in Brisbane, we always catch up with our Good friends Ian and Kathy for a day's outing.  This visit also saw our good friends John and Barb head to Brissie for a week also, so we decided to all have a day together...

Kathy suggested a drive up to the Tea House and Binna Burra for lunch.  As we had to take the children to school and hang around until after the Book Week parade, we arranged to meet John and Barb at Sarah's and take them to Ian and Kathy's where we were going to have morning tea together first.

Morning Tea at Ian and Kathy's before heading off on our outing..

Beautiful roses from Ian's garden graced the table.

It was after 11am when we finally set off.  We decided that we would head up to Binna Burra via Nerang and then come home via Canungra so that we were able to take in all the scenic sites along the Scenic Rim...

This drive is one to take at a slow pace with the gorgeous countryside and hinterland views. 

The Beechmont Road drive to Binna Burra, although winding, is one to take at a slow pace with its gorgeous countryside,  and breathtaking hinterland views over the Gold Coast, Mount Warning, Hinze Dam and the forest.   

 

 

We stopped off at Rosin's Lookout or maybe better known as Beechmont Launch which overlooks the stunning Numinbah Valley and offers breathtaking views of mountain ranges along Queensland and New South Wales borders.  This area has remained largely undeveloped.  To the east is the Springbrook plateau.  On the eastern side of the valley is the Natral Bridge in Springbrook National Park and to the west lies the Lamington Plateau and the Lamington National Park.  Finally to the south lies the Tweed Valley and on a clear day, there are incredible views of Mount Warning.

 

There is a beautiful polished sandstone sculpture titled "Present View" at the top.  This work has been created by Thomas Reifferscheild and made from Quartzite from the land of the Mununjali people of Beaudesert and Helidon Sandstone.

It was created during the "Sculpture for an Ancient Land"- International Sculpture Symposium in Beaudesert in 2008 and was organised by both the Australian Government Regional Arts Fund and the former Beaudesert Shire Council and the Scenic Rim Regional Council.

A bronze plague beside the sculpture reads:

"This final setting of the sculpture on the top of Beechmont is an invitation to stop and relax in the spectacular view.  The sculpture reflects on the worship of nature as a value - holy in itself.  By carving in the rough blocks up to the final smooth grinding, the natural beauty of the stone becomes visible, in all its different patterns".

Across the road from the Sculpture and Beechmont Launch is the very popular "Flying Bean Cafe".  This Cafe is relatively new and has outdoor seating and a great reputation for it's wonderful food and coffee.  The current owners bought the Flying Bean Cafe in October 2018.  It was a dreem of theirs to own and run a small and local cafe  and when the opportunity presented itself, they certainly did not hestitate to snap it up.  With a significant background in hospitality  they have built the business up to a thriving little business that it is today...It is a ideal location for a stop off and with not only great coffee and food, the views from the outdoor eating area are to die for...

There is also a lovely picnic area up here with gas BBQ's and picnic tables along with a toilet block which has some beautiful art work painted along the side of the amenities.

Beautiful colourful art work on the amenities block

From here we continued further up the road towards our lunch destination at the Binna Burra Tea House.  In 2019, this whole area was decimated by bushfires which ravaged through this area.  Heritage-listed Binna Burra Lodge, which included the historical listed wooden Lodge, the cabins, the camping sites, the Tea House and Groom Cottage were lost in the blaze that engulfed the forest in September 2019.  The prolonged drought, severe weather conditions like winds and low humidity made the forest vulnerable to the fires.  In the early hours of Saturday the 8th September, the flames devoured the trees all the way up to the Lodge.  The heritage-listed lodge and cabins were made of timber and unfortunately, they could not be saved.  

 They are now being rebuilt, keeping in consideration modern knowledge such as climate change and the variations in the rain patterns.   The tea House has undergone extensive renovations and the first stage of its renovations have been completed with it now open to the public again..  The new restaurant is now open seven days a week for not only breakfast and lunch but also dinner too...

   

Steve and I shared the Herbed Chicken & Cous Cous Salad - absolutely delicious...

Our amazing shared salad

Our sweet potato chips were the best we have ever had.. amazing and so crisp.

Barb enjoyed her Binna Burra Vegan Burger and Sweet Potato chips

John enjoyed a Herbed Chicken and Cous Cous Salad also.

Kathy and Ian both ordered the Fish, Chips and Salad.

 We sat on the enclosed veranda which overlooked the beautiful Numinbah Valley and the views from the large windows were very impressive.  We could see all the valley and Hinze Dam and beyond up to the Gold Coast.

Stunning views from our lunch table..

The Tea House strives to support local suppliers and this is reflected in the offerings on their menu with the key menu ingredients sourced by sustainable buisnesses throughout the Scenic Rim.  The food was fresh and there was plenty of it.  We were so pleased that we didn't order a meal each and decided to share...

 

Inside the Tea House, there is ample lounge area with a lovely fireplace, slendid and cosy for those cooler days.

The Teah Hosue also had a variety of other foods also making it a suitable place to come for morning and afternoon tea.  They had a large selection of scones, muffins, banana bread, chocolate brownies, raspberry friands, carrot cake, vanilla and caramel slices and other cakes to be enjoyed with one of their delicious hot drinks.

After our lunch, us girls wandered around the lovely little souvenir and gift shop which stocked gifts like plush toys, books and clothing...

The Scenic Rim is famous for it's Farm Boxes of local speciality products and the Tea House Cafe has a stock of some of this produce for sale also.  I was particularly interested in the Lavendar Sauce and Lavendar Honey.  Unfortunately I didn't have my bag on me when I went through their little store, just my phone, so for this visit I could only get a photo.  Next time I go I will go more prepared as I really would love to sample the Lavendar Sauce and Honey in particular..

Would love to sample some of this when we next visit...

Whilst the girls were having a good look around the shop, the boys were out exploring the camping grounds and the Groom's Cottage..

 The oringinal Groom's Cottage was the home of Arthur Groom who established Binna Burra Lodge along with Romeo Lahev.  As one of the last remaining heritage buildings at Binna Burra, they looked for a way to open this lovely building to the public so that those who have enjoyed Groom's Cottage for 85 years are able to enjoy it again and be part of the new history of Binna Burra.

Following its reopening after 12 months of closure after the devastating bushfires in 2019, Groom's Cottage Bushwalker's Bar is once again open with locally sourced nibbles, beer and wine.  The shared campfire at Groom's Cottage is lit each afternoon for the ultimate sundowner experience that guests of Binna Burra have been enjoying for 86 years. Guests can also experience some of the most breathtaking scenery from the cottage terrace for pre dinner drinks before heading to Binna Burra Tea House for dinner.

 

 

Experience some of the most breathtaking scenery from the cottage terrace and a sundowner or two, before heading to the Binna Burra Tea House for dinner.

Breathtaking scenery from the terrace..

Binna Burra Camping Area.

The firepit is lit each afternoon.

 It was close to 3pm by the time we left Binna Burra to head home via Canungra.  We had been telling John and Barb about this beautiful little village up in the hinterland, and wanted to take them and show them the camping ground at the showground as well as taking them for a stroll down town.

 

The Canungra Showgrounds which is also referred to as the Canungra Sports and Recreation Grounds has three designated areas for camping..  The oval area offers powered and unpowered sites.  These are allocated grass sites and very comfortable but being on the oval there is obviously no shade.  You can also expect to be quite close to neighbours especially if you've booked a powered site during weekends and holiday periods.  It is a little further away from the bathroom and cooking amenities, but it's a short walk to the creek for a swim, but not far enough to worry about...

 

 The second camping area is called the Gooseneck area and is located closer to the creek and the sites are unpowered, but it is in a shady section of the campgrounds.  It is also right behind the camp kitchen and close to the toilets.  It looks a lovely area and is probably where we would try and stay if we visited here as it is quite shaded and within bushland. 

The third camping area is also unpowered and unallocated right by the creek, although numbers are capped in this area.  There is lots of shade down in this area and in this part of the camping ground, it's hard to believe that you're camping at a showground.  It is very poplar down here and is not exactly secluded.  There are quite a few fire pits scattered around this area.   

There are two toilet and shower blocks at the showgrounds therefore providing comfortable amenities.  However, the showers are cold and if you want a hot shower it will cost you $1, so you will need a stash of gold coins...

There is also a large camp kitchen which provides a convenient place to cook and eat meals.  It includes a BBQ, sink with hot water for washing dishes.  Under the shelter there are several large wooden tables and chairs making this a nice place to not only eat but meet up with others and appears to be a popular option for social campers in the evenings. 

A large showground pavilion which houses events including music and singing on weekends, and family events during the school holidays is located close to the oval camping.   On Saturday mornings, Ray the coffee man is in attendance with his van ready to serve up piping hot coffee and hot drinks.  On Tuesdays a fruit truck visits as well during school holidays..

Costs for camping here are reasonable  Unpowered camping is around $22 per night for a couple and the powered sites are $27.50 per night for a couple making this very affordable.

After having a good look at the showgrounds, we headed back into town which is only a 2 minute drive or 15 minute walk from the main street of Canungra.

Canungra is your typical country town, quiet, peaceful and full of country folk and has a number of cafes, a hotel, convenience store and bottle shop.  It has amazing bakeries, a lovely second hand book store and a winery where you can sample good wines before making your selection.  There are some interesting boutique shops and a great old fashion hardware store that seems to stock everything. 

 

Unfortunately we didn't get into town until around 4pm and most of the shops had closed. We did peep into some of the windows to show John and Barb just how lovely some of these shops are.  They were very impressed and could see us all escaping up there for a few days somewhere in the near future. 

 

We were only in a 15 minute parking zone so our walk through town was quite quick.  No where near as long as we spent here on our last visit a few months ago.  We left around 4.30pm to head back into Bris.  We said goodbye to Ian and Kathy here as we were heading straight back to Sarah's considering the time and the fact that we still had a good hour's drive back into Bris.

The drive home through the country roads was lovely, scenery pleasant until we hit the motorway and then it was bumper to bumper all the way to the Springwood turnoff.  In fact just getting onto the motorway was an ordeal as there was a traffic light on the approach onto the motor way that let one car on to the motorway at the time.  I think we sat through 5 or six red lights before we could even get onto the motorway.  We also witnessed a car run up the back of another vehicle towing a boat.  The boat motor ended up making a huge dint in the bonnet of the car.  

Traffic was backed on for miles.

We did manage to witness a lovely sunset to end the day.  It has been a lovely day spent with very dear friends.  I feel so incredibly blessed to have such wonderful friends.

A lovely sunset to end our day...

It was close to 6pm before we arrived back at Sarah's.   We have made plans to all get together again tomorrow evening for dinner...