Girraween!!

Made a fantastic trip to Stanthorpe/Girraween over the last weekend on a walking/wine drinking trip.

The trip followed a fantastic formula, that I put together- Walk, drink, eat, walk, drink, eat.
This blog post will outline a few nice walks we did, along with the wineries we enjoyed.

This was my second walking trip to the area, so we decided to spend the first day doing a few easier walks.

First things first we climbed the First Pyramid. For anyone who hasn't been walking at Girraween, shame on you.

This shot is on top of the First Pyramid, looking across to the second.

Now, a walk to The Junction. Loving the granite.

After a big walk, we rewarded ourselves by visiting the Pyramid Road Vineyard. Firstly, Tahlia had to say hi to the resident dog.

All tastings on the Granite Belt are free, and they are very generous with the amount they pour.

Tahlia was getting a tad fancy fresh after a couple of tastings.

After we finished at the Vineyard we went for a trip across to the Granite Belt Brewery. Being a beer lover, I was keen to try them all. Yep, I drank a lot of beer. I was happy with the beer, but I don't think it's anything special unfortunately.
But having a beer around the fire, eating chips with aioli couldn't possibly be a bad experience if it wanted to be. Try the Old Smokey Beer, its their best!!

Next day we headed off to Boonoo Boonoo Falls, just over the NSW boarder for a walk and some rock hopping. Definitely a view worth seeing, and a short walk to access it.

Also that day we went for a walk up the amazing Bald Rock, in the Bald Rock National Park. Exhausting walk up the steep granite!

Next up we went for a few more wine tastings!! SUMMIT Vineyard was first for the afternoon. Definitely not my favourite vineyard I visited, but they do some fantastic reds.

Dad was shocked at how unhygienic the wine making process is.

 Next up! The Castle Glen Distillery, Brewery and Winery.              

The selection is huge/gimmicky, and the quality seemed to be quite low. Sure, its fun to go in for a tasting, but I doubt you will be impressed with anything. 

Their Absinthe tasted like mouthwash, and their Single Malt like dirty yeast water. Their coffee liqueur was tasty though. 

Next day we went up Mount Norman, which is the highest point around Girraween. We accessed it from the Mount Norman Picnic area, which shortened the walk quite a bit. 

The top is a bit of a scramble up a rocky gully. I went on a solo journey to the top.

Hidden Creek Vineyard was next, which offered a great lunch of Pork Belly and Beef Pie. Looking across a beautiful little dam makes the experience even more perfect. Highly recommend visiting this place!

Bought a few end of the line bottles for $10 each!! SCORE

Next up, Twisted Gum Vineyard. The frontman and owner for the business was a fantastic chat, explaining everything that goes into his wines. They make only a few different kinds, but they all seemed fantastic and at very reasonable prices. This was our favourite of the trip!

For the last Vineyard of the trip was Ballandean. By this time I had tasted enough wine for the day, so between this and the fact I was hungry, I ended up not enjoying these wines very much. So don't take my advice on this Vineyard, I would like to revisit again. The coffee was good though. 

Cheers and thanks for reading!