From passionate potters to parks full of furry animals, there’s plenty of warm ways to enjoy the Capricorn Coast hinterland in winter.
Shake hands with a Kangaroo
If there’s anything more heart-warming than a park which rehabilitates more than 150 sick and injured wildlife a year, we’d love to know what it is.
Head to Cooberrie Park Wildlife Sanctuary where you can hold hands with a roo or two.
In winter, the mammals and marsupials are more active, such as the kangaroos who tend to stand up more and even the wombat, who moves around a bit more. Grab a bag of feed at the entrance and enjoy this free-range fun.
Sleep by a Fire
If there’s anything a Queenslander, or visitor to Queensland loves to embrace in the cooler months, it’s a rare fireplace. And in winter, you can enjoy this at Byfield.
Head to any of our adorable accommodation options and you’ll find plenty of places in which you can toast a marshmallow or two.
We’re thinking Ferns Hideaway Resort and Forest Fields Campstay.
A walk in the rainforest, particularly at Waterpark Creek framed by its lush picnic park, is one of the nicest things to do on a clear, winter day.
Stop at the quirky Byfield Store to pick up some supplies before you venture to your rainforest retreat. There’s even a quirky bazaar here too for some cosy pants.
Learn about Tea Tree
There are only 100 tea tree farms in Australia and only half a dozen in Queensland. Visit one of these on the Capricorn Coast at Waterpark Farm at Byfield.
It takes six tea trees to make one small bottle of oil, good thing then that this farm has 850,000 trees. You can tour this property, which produces tea tree which is 100 percent pure, and emits a more floral scent than others on the market.
In winter, enjoy the still reflections of the trees along the creek as you do your tour.
“There is a tree along the creek that when you capture its reflection, it looks like the circle of life,” Waterpark Farm owner Jordan Starke says. “It’s like a portal into another life.”
As is tea tree, whose healing properties in winter are particularly good for dry skin.
Fire up the Kiln
Nothing quite beats the scent of wood fire on a cool winter day and you can experience this sensation when you visit Nob Creek Pottery whose kiln can reach 1300 degrees Celsius at its peak firing.
Potters and partners Sue McBurnie and Steve Bishopric have built a beautiful business here and it’s the only place where you can buy artwork which incorporates the design of the rare Byfield fern and which has become an icon for this gorgeous gallery.
So passionate is this pair, two years ago they made a fiery film “Embers in the Rainforest” which demonstrates how they utilise their nine kilns. Sue believes the art of pottery is enjoying a resurgence.
“It is the bespoke pieces and having the story of them,” she says. “Cooking shows are focusing on food, and you don’t just serve food on a plate any more but something beautiful made from pottery. It is that back-to-earth movement.”
“A lot of the things you buy here have not been touched by a human hand. There is something very primal about it.”
