If you are visiting the Gold Coast or Brisbane, or if you are lucky enough to be a local, one of my favourite places to spend a few hours is Tamborine Mountain Village. I recently spent the morning there with two of my best girlfriends.
Whether you want to browse the shops or just enjoy morning tea or lunch, Tamborine Mountain is the perfect spot to do both! Situated in the Gold Coast Hinterland, Tamborine is an easy 20 minute drive off the M1 Motorway (taking exit 57) and is well known for it’s many quirky shops, cafes and restaurants.
You will generally find the area a little quieter during the week so I think that is the ideal time to visit. Weekends are always busy, no matter what time of year it is. There are also Craft and Farmers Markets held in the area on most weekends.
The main street of Tambourine is known locally as Gallery Walk. This is where you will find most of the shops, cafe’s and also art galleries, hence the name. We started our morning with a coffee at Cafe Bravo. This cafe has been a fixture on the mountain for several years under a variety of different names. One thing that hasn’t changed over that time is the great coffee and friendly service.
CUCKOO CLOCK SHOP
After a lovely cup of coffee it was time to go and check out the local shops. The shops do vary from year to year as businesses come and go but another constant on the mountain is the German Cuckoo Clock Nest. It is an absolute must see. This shop is full of every style of Cuckoo Clock you could imagine, as well as the stately and timeless Grandfather style clocks. All the clocks in the shop are set to different times so there is always a couple of cuckoo’s making an appearance.
CANDLES AND SHOES
I love browsing in shops that sell pretty things or things that smell nice. Generally I only buy when I really need something. I found a lovely shop this trip that sells Bali style gifts and also makes and sells Soy Candles and Melts and that is also what it’s called. I also found a newish shop called Jakama – Designer Imports. Filled with all the things us girls love – shoes, bags and jewellery!
CHOCOLATE AND WINE
Across the road from Jakama was my favourite discovery of this trip – The Chocolate Gallery. Now I won’t pretend that these chocolates are cheap – they start at around $2.50 for one, but they are soooo yummy! I couldn’t go past purchasing a Cappuccino Ball and a Baileys Bomb both of which I ate very slowly. All the chocolates are handmade and perfect for a little bit of naughty indulgence.
The main street of Tambourine Mountain also boasts a winery – Mt Winery & Homestead. Although we didn’t indulge on this occasion I can vouch for their Chocolate Port and they also produce a very decent Shiraz! I even found a sign there that was written just for me!
After checking out a couple more shops it was time for lunch. We chose Cafe Soop a nice little spot with outdoor tables in the shade. If you feel like a glass of wine Heritage Estate Wines adjoins them and you can buy by the glass. It was a lovely spot for a light lunch.
Tamborine Mountain has much more to offer than the few places I have mentioned. There is no way you can cover it all in one morning, but we did give it a good try!
If you want to learn more about visiting Tamborine Mountain you can check out the Discover Tamborine website.
Listen in to their podcast episode https://allaroundoz.com.au/podcasts/travelling-and-working-around-australia/
I love having a day out up Tambourine Mountain! So many treasures to discover.
It’s still one of my favourite spots to visit…just wish I could get up there more often.