Holiday houses in Stanthorpe

While Australia’s southern regions often steal the spotlight for fine wines, it seems outstanding grapes can grow in Queensland just as well. In fact, the vineyards around Stanthorpe set Australian records for being among the highest of their kind in the country, set in the mountainous Great Dividing Range, shrouded in native bushland. Part of Queensland’s Granite Belt near the border with New South Wales, this southern pocket of the state enjoys a climate ideal not only for nurturing grapes, but also for tropical rainforest and the national parks that contain it. Welcome to a getaway where you begin your day walking, and end it with wine.

Due to its elevation, Stanthorpe is one of the few places in Queensland that experiences four seasons. During the summer months (December through February), when the vines are plump with grapes, you can enjoy balmy daytime temperatures of around 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Then in winter (June through August), you can cozy up around a fire thanks to daytime temperatures near 62 degrees. Chilly winter nights can see snow dusting the fields, earning Stanthorpe the reputation as the coldest town in Queensland.

The Big Apple

Aside from grapes, apple orchards dominate the Granite Belt countryside around Stanthorpe. To pay homage, locals have erected a Big Apple, one of many oversized fruit structures around the continent. Visit during harvest (February to May) to pick apples straight from the surrounding trees, and then take a photo in front of this larger-than-life Queensland icon.

Truffle Discovery Centre

The rolling hills of Stanthorpe are home to stellar vineyards with cellar doors and cafes where you can sample their specialty Shiraz and Chardonnay. In this part of Queensland you’ll also discover standout dairy farms and estates growing rare French black Périgord truffles, fungi so precious that some joke they need their own bodyguards to protect them. At the Truffle Discovery Centre, you can take a guided tour of the truffière and enjoy tastings of this coveted delicacy, whether infused in brie, oil, or honey.

Girraween National Park

Covering 29,000 acres, this national park is less about bushland and more about surreal natural rock formations. Wind, water, and ice have carved the granite boulders here, which today balance in gravity-defying positions, often resembling oversized cartoon characters. Most walks begin at the Bald Rock Creek Camping Area, and range from an easy stroll to a daylong, mountainous adventure.