Queensland New Tourism - October 2016

Swiss-Belhotel

Hold onto your Lederhosen! While Oktoberfest comes and goes faster than you can shout 'Prost!', there's plenty of reason to kick up your heels this month as a stellar line-up of hotels, bars and restaurants open for business, inviting the world to experience the best address on earth: #thisisqueensland. For the truly adventurous, October even has your G-spot covered (a 2.4 negative G force theme park encounter, that is)! Enjoy the ride.

Star-quality

In case you haven't heard, Brisbane is setting the pace for star-studded hotel development across the nation – not least being the mammoth Queens Wharf Development, bringing not one but five new premium brands to the River City including the Ritz Carlton and Brisbane's first six-star hotel. Check out our blog on the best new hotels in Brisbane and across the state… and check in to Australia's first Swiss-Belhotel, opening mid-October. Favouring Brisbane for its debut Down Under, the hotel chain which manages 135 properties across the globe, has not only tipped its hat to Queensland's tourism boom, but incorporated a foodie haunt that arguably only locals know – namely, Brisbane's Café 63. Positioned on Vulture Street, South Brisbane, the newly-built 134-room hotel also boasts a number of guest rooms with galley kitchens and an indoor heated pool. Swiss swish indeed!
Further information:
W: www.swiss-belhotelbrisbane.com

Did you know? So blessed is Brisbane's accommodation boom that Buddhist monks presided over a sod turning ceremony of the $70 million Novotel Brisbane South Bank when construction of the 238-room property kicked off on 28 September.

Where the locals go

Listen up! You can never get too much of a good thing, particularly when it comes to Brisbane's eclectic restaurant and bar scene. New kids on the block include: The Croft House Town Kitchen & Bar (corner of Albert and Charlotte Streets, Brisbane CBD), described as 'wine and farm country meets city pace'; GreenHill Bar, an industrial-chic watering hole that's simply a crime not to visit, situated on the site of Brisbane's Petrie Terrace Gaol, now serving up craft beer, independent wines, gourmet bar food, live music and moonshine; and Sixteen Antlers Rooftop Bar, opening mid-October atop the Pullman and Mercure Brisbane King George Square hotel. Here's Cheers!
Further information:
The Croft House Town Kitchen & Bar
W: www.thecrofthouse.com.au
Sixteen Antlers Rooftop Bar
W: www.facebook.com/SixteenAntlers/
GreenHill Bar
W: www.greenhillpetrieterrace.com.au

Build it and they will come

Pomona locals, Mark and Lou, are all about 'sharing the love' through the start-up of That Place In Pomona, bringing together a licensed restaurant, microbrewery, permaculture demonstration garden, art gallery and even a boutique tattoo studio. The couple who swapped life in the 'big smoke', returning home to Queensland five years ago, stumbled upon the relaxed country town, fell in love with the vibe and stayed. A hidden gem of a destination, nestled within the Sunshine Coast region, where people often 'park' horses instead of cars. Giddy-up and go!
Further information:
Visit That Place in Pomona on Facebook

Everyone has a dark side

That's the genius behind a world-first DC Super-Villains precinct unveiled at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast. Embracing the catch-phrase 'It's good to be bad', the precinct opened on 24 September as part of the theme park's ongoing 25th birthday celebrations. At its heart is the aptly entitled Doomsday Destroyer, billed as 'a monstrous looping ride like nothing else ever seen at Warner Bros. Movie World'. Strap yourself in for a 21-metre high ride that reaches 36km/h and promises 2.4 negative G force drops. May the (negative G) Force be with you!
Further information:
W: www.movieworld.com.au

Cycle back in time

Saddle up for the Southern Great Barrier Reef region's latest tourism venture, Cycling is Good, and delve into the history, betrayal and intrigue of Mount Morgan's iconic gold mining past. Home to one of the most important gold discoveries on the planet, the Mount Morgan township (established 1882) produced gold, silver and copper for 99 years. Cycling is Good also offers walking tours through its rich history. Owner/operator Dawson Green says the tours are casual and friendly as opposed to hard-core cycling/walking adventures: “We want our guests to be carried away with the story of early Mount Morgan… the good, the bad and the ugly.” On your bike!
Further information:
W: www.cyclingisgood.com.au

Fishing gold!

Rockhampton's Fitzroy River – renowned by those 'in the know' as Australia's most accessible, not to mention hugely abundant Barramundi site – is luring an upsurge in fishing tourism. Until recently, Gladstone-based Johnny Mitchell's Fishing Charters and Services was the only operator running charters on the Fitzroy River – Australia's second largest catchment that flows to the ocean. Now, less than a year after the introduction of Rockhampton's net-free fishing zone, start-up charters and 'how to fish' courses are dropping anchor in the region. Among them, local mining industry identity and keen fisherman, Peter McPhail (company director of Undamine Industries) has launched Hooked Fishing Charters. Another start-up, Yeppoon's Extreme Fishing Solutions, also targets the Fitzroy River, specialising in classroom-based beginner to intermediate level estuary fishing courses aimed at filling a void left by a decline in fishing taught within families.
Further information:
Hooked Fishing Charters
W: www.facebook.com/HookedFishingChartersCQ/
Extreme Fishing Solutions
W: www.facebook.com/extremefishingsolutions/
Johnny Mitchell's Fishing Charters and Services
W: www.johnnymitchellsfishingcharters.com.au

Rocky Barra Bounty

Don't miss! The Rocky Barra Bounty (21-23 October 2016) is also doing its bit for fishing tourism on the Fitzroy River. This tag-and-release competition, started in 1999, is so popular that competitors travel from across Australia, with 40 boats on this year's waiting list. For more info: www.rockybarrabounty.com

Flaming brilliant

Brett's Outback Tasting Tours has launched a new 'dinner and show' experience in the heart of Tropical North Queensland, guaranteed to ignite a fire deep in your soul. Aptly entitled 'Brett's Night Tours to Tjapukai', this adventure follows the dreamtime legend of the Bama Indigenous rainforest people in the northern reaches of Cairns. Have your face painted; dance in a sacred corroboree with Tjapukai warriors; and become part of the Rainbow Serpent circle, learning traditional language and songs before a ceremonial night fire catapults a fire ball towards the stars. For 'foodies', the dining experience includes kangaroo and crocodile meats, local seafood and an array of salads and desserts featuring Indigenous flavours.
Further information:
W: www.outbacktastingtours.com.au

Island [Dream]time 

North Stradbroke Island 

North Stradbroke Island – one of the world's largest sand islands, famed for idyllic beaches, inland lakes and scenic trails (all within an easy day-trip southeast of Brisbane) – is also home to the Quandamooka people. A culture celebrated in Stradbroke Island Holidays' new walking tour, the Goompi Trail, led by local 'Quandamooka Man', Matt Burns, featured in this inspirational short film.
Further information:
W: www.stradbrokeholidays.com.au

High on a hill

There's a not-so lonely goatherd, happily yodelling about the next big thing: goat's milk gelato – nut free, lactose-friendly and minus any artificial flavours or preservatives. Lay odl lay odl lay hee hoo! Cleverly trading as Naughty Little Kids, this family-run business (which started selling gelato in July) has commenced Sunday farm tours (1-5pm). Visitors can meet the 31 kids and 84 adult goats, try their hand at milking or bottle-feeding and, of course, taste test gelato. There are five flavours to choose from: vanilla, mint choc chip, coffee, chocolate and strawberry.
Further information:
W: www.naughtylittlekids.com.au

Gold Coast earns its stripes

Where else can you lock eyes with a tiger on a morning beach stroll? Welcome to the Gold Coast, where evenDreamworld's star attraction, Adira, the tiger cub, ventures for a mini break. In her case, experiencing sand and surf for the first time, also raising awareness about the plight of tigers in the wild. If you missed Adira on her Spring excursion to Main Beach, drop by her new digs at Dreamworld's Tiger Island. The precinct opened its first stage redevelopment on 18 September, as part of 21st anniversary celebrations, with the second stage due for completion by Christmas. Grrrrreat!
Further information:
W: www.dreamworld.com.au / www.dwf.com.au

Dive into Lady Musgrave's wonderland 

Lady Musgrave diving

“The best way to observe a fish, is to become a fish.” So said the father of scuba diving, Jacques Cousteau. With the addition of a new dive boat, Seacat, operated by Bundaberg's Lady Musgrave Experience, diving the best of the Southern Great Barrier Reef is now possible on a day-trip to the stunning Lady Musgrave Island, one of three coral cays just four and a half hour's drive from Brisbane. All in time for turtle nesting and hatchling season from November to March.
Further information:
W: www.ladymusgraveexperience.com.au

Share the love: Don't forget to tag #thisisqueensland if you come across new tourism haunts and activities in your travels. We're always on the lookout for hidden gems.