Mapleton

Situated in the heart of the Sunshine Coast hinterland, the scenic drive to Mapleton from Maleny, taking in Montville and Flaxton, is one of the best in Queensland. Throughout this beautiful district, art and craft galleries abound, along with potteries, antique shops and museums.

Buy fresh local fruit and vegetables from the side of the road and make sure you stop to dine at one of the many interesting and different restaurants and cafes which have opened in recent years. Nature, however, is the star attraction in these parts and her gift to Mapleton is a spectacular cascade tumbling off the western escarpment of the Blackall Range into the Mary Valley. The Mapleton Falls are best appreciated from the viewing platform. The village flanks the Mapleton National Park which is renowned for its rainforest picnic glades. Mapleton also hosts the annual Yarn Festival when spinners of tall tales and true gather to celebrate the art of the Aussie bush balladeer.

Distance From State Capital: 59km
Nearest Main Highway: Bruce
Nearest Airport: Sunshine Coast (30km)

Maleny

The delightful, Sunshine Coast hinterland village of Maleny lies in picture postcard dairy country, interspersed with rainforests, high in the Blackall Range, about 50 kilometres south-west of Maroochydore.

There are a myriad of sightseeing opportunities in the range, including a panoramic view of the Glasshouse Mountains – so named by Captain Cook who was reminded, by the sun reflecting off the rockfaces, of the glasshouses back in his beloved Yorkshire. Bushwalking and bird-spotting are popular pastimes in this area, where you can also explore the walking trails through the lush rainforests of the Mary Cairncross National Park and, if you fancy on an hour or so drive, the Mapleton and Kondalilla Falls and the Obi Obi Gorge.

Arts and craft galleries abound. There is a wide choice of eateries and drinking holes in this bolt hole which is just a 90 kilometre drive north from Brisbane, but is 1000 kilometres from the cares and pressures of the big smoke.

Distance From State Capital: 90km
Nearest Main Highway: Bruce
Nearest Airport: Brisbane (90km)

Landsborough

Landsborough, gateway to the Blackall Range and to the Mary Valley, is one of the historic townships of the Sunshine Coast. From 1868, it grew behind the wheels of Cobb and Co. coaches as they followed the tree line blazed by Tom Petrie to Gympie gold, discovered by James Nash in 1867. The historic town bears the name of one of Australia’s most successful explorers, William Landsborough.

Nearest Main Highway: Bruce
Nearest Airport: Brisbane (9km)