Mount Tamborine: The Green Behind the Gold

Mount Tamborine is known as the ‘Green behind the Gold’ because it’s very green and is just behind the Gold Coast, which is very gold. Sort of makes sense, doesn’t it?

It’s one of the wonders of Australia that so many of our golden beaches on our almost never ending coastline have stunning and lush green hinterlands about 20 minutes drive behind them. Mount Tamborine is the hinterland behind the Goldie and it is also on the Great Dividing Range. Here are some views of that as you approach North Tamborine…

dividing range mt tamborine

dividing range mt tamborine 2I wrote about the Great Dividing Range recently in my post called Why Most People Live on the East Coast of Australia Explained.

I’ve been to the Mount Tamborine area quite a lot, which includes North Tamborine, Tamborine Mountain and Eagle Heights.

The first time I ever went camping in Australia was in Mount Tamborine, you can read about that over at Camping in Australia: What Can Possibly Go Wrong? I had Sunday Lunch in an Australian Pub close to Mount Tamborine, it’s an Australian Pub with a difference though, you will see what I mean if you check out that post.

Regular reader Pravdaseeker lived in the Tamborine Mountain area, he sent in some amazing photographs which we published here on my post Rainforests in Australia: Beautiful, Wild and Unpredictable.

Last Saturday though me and Mrs Bob went down to the Tamborine area simply for a walk around, to do a bit of windowshopping in some of the fancy shops, yes they have fancy shops…

mt tamborine shops 1 mt tamborine shops 2

mt tamborine shopsAnd to grab a bite to eat in the local brewery with a beer for me and a wine for my wife. A very pleasant place to have lunch…

mt tamborine breweryOh, I have to say, this video does a much better job of describing the area than I possibly could with mere words and pics. It’s called ‘Discover Tamborine Mountain’…

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{ 4 comments… add one }
  • sid March 1, 2016, 8:27 am |

    hi bob, found you here, I am from London, thinking of moving to Brisbane. or gold cost, just wanted to know what are good safe arears for families must have very good state or private secondary schools. any where within an hour drive to Brisbane or gold coast
    I did see a map (colour coded ) showing Race and Ethnicity demographics, can you please send me a link of that as I cant find it now.
    thanks
    Sid

    • BobinOz March 1, 2016, 4:39 pm |

      You need to go to my page called Which Suburb? You can research suburbs using the recommended links on that page that give all kinds of information including about schools and crime rates. At the bottom of the page there is a link to those demographics you want.

      You can also get more information by reading the comments on my pages about of Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Good luck, Bob

  • Warwick February 27, 2016, 4:45 pm |

    Hi Bob,
    Tamborine Mountain is a wonderful place.
    Judith Wright, one of Australia’s greatest poets lived there for many years.

    Why is it so wonderful?
    Firstly, there is great rainforest with well made walks. If you are lucky you will see Lyrebirds (they’re pretty rare) and Brush Turkies (they’re common and unafraid of people.)

    When I was a small boy I went there on a Pioneer Bus (is the Pioneer Bus Company still operating?)
    We walked through the forest and then we had lunch at St Bernard’s hotel.
    St Bernard’s is a fancy hotel and it has a wonderful view out across the valley. A great place.

    And a year or two ago I went to the Polish Restaurant. It’s also situated on the edge of an escarpment and it has a wonderful view, especially if you sit out on the balcony.
    And someone there has cultivated the friendship of the beautiful, multi-coloured, Rainbow Lorikeets.
    If you allow them to, they will fly down and share your sweets with you. These are not tame birds, they are wild birds that have learned to overcome their fear of humans and associate with us in friendship.

    I cannot write highly enough about this beautiful place.

    • BobinOz February 28, 2016, 8:13 pm |

      Well, if the Pioneer Bus Company are still going, I’ve never seen one, but the St Bernard’s Hotel is still there. I agree with you entirely as well Warwick, it is a place of great beauty.

      I have the vaguest recollection that before I even moved to Australia I read an article somewhere which said that Mount Tamborine had been voted the best place in the world to live. I’ve tried Google it, nothing comes up.

      Maybe I dreamt it?

      Although I also seem to recall that I Googled Mount Tamborine to find out where it was after reading the article and being shocked to discover it was just an hour away from where I intended to move to.

      Strange, but true…….. I think.

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