Bestbrook Mountain Resort

Bestbrook Mountain Resort, just off the Cunningham Highway at Maryvale offers guests the opportunity to experience farm life in a unique country setting.

Only 90 minutes west of Brisbane, this 500 acre property is where you'll find true country hospitality and a great hands-on farm experience. Family owned and operated, the resort offers a wide range of experiences to its guests - both young and not so young.

Whilst some activities incur an extra charge, many are free for guests.  Join in the frenzy that is feeding time when cows, chickens, pigs, and goats are all very pleased to see those feed buckets come out. This is when wanna-be farmers get the opportunity to milk a cow and into the paddock to hand feed the calves. 

Those who get along to Cyril Ryan's butter churning demonstration are in for a treat as Cyril is a long time resident of the area and has the odd story to tell. His spins a yarn or two, sharing a bit of the country's history and telling tales of growing up in Maryvale. Cyril demonstrates how surprisingly quick and easy it is to make butter with the old butter churn and the end product (made from fresh cream) is delicious. 

All of that creamy goodness is put to good use as a golden damper appears from the depths of a well used camp oven, the freshly churned butter melts into the bread and golden syrup tops off this true blue Aussie smoko treat. 

Then the fun begins, as guests cook their own damper rolls over cleverly designed fires and it's a bit of a race to see who can get their damper finished first. More butter and golden syrup are lavished on the mini dampers and the billy's boiled for a good strong brew.  No double shot, soy milk lattes with smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels here - the simple life is looking good.

Of an afternoon the wagon's hooked up and guests are treated to a wagon ride around the property, giving everyone the chance to take in the size and beauty of Bestbrook. 

Crossing Gap Creek, the ride passes through the bush camping area and comes to a standstill in a large open area. Here, the stock whips come out and guests are treated to the art of whip cracking. 

Whilst here the boomerangs get a work out too and these prove to be a bit easier to master than the stock whip and are great fun for all ages. Other experiences on offer include parent led horse rides, trail rides, riding lessons and guided bush tucker walks. There are two bushwalks and 4WD tracks on the property - enquire at the office about these as the tracks can become quite treacherous in wet weather.

Gap Creek runs through the property and is a great spot to have a splash and for kids to play. There's also a swimming pool to cool off in during the warm months of the year and old fashioned swing sets attract kids likes bees to a honey pot.

There are a few accommodation options at Bestbrook, with something to suit every budget. Two and three-bedroom cabins provide clean and comfortable accommodation and these are fully self contained. Each cabin has a combustion stove for the cooler months and an outdoor campfire circle to toast those marshmallows. Firewood is available to purchase at the resort.  There's also bunkhouse accommodation or for those preferring to set up camp in the great outdoors, there's bush camping along the creek - complete with campfire rings at each site.

The resort's Coach House Restaurant is licensed and open Wednesday to Monday for breakfast & lunch and Wednesday to  Saturday for dinner. The nearest shops are in either Allora or Warwick (both approximately a 25-minute drive away), so guests choosing to self cater should take all supplies with them to save a trip into town.

In a nutshell - Bestbrook Mountain Resort is not a five star luxury experience but what it offers is a great spot to enjoy a true farm experience in southern Queensland country. With plenty of wide open spaces to enjoy, things to discover and fresh country air, everyone should be guaranteed a good night's sleep. This is a destination where families and friends can spend quality time together and leave the fast pace of city life behind.

Need to know - Limited grocery items such as bread, milk and ice are available from reception.

By Sandy Ludinski