If you are an art lover, you must be much fascinated with the places that has art galleries and winery with cheese factories around as a bonus. A place with all these would make a great destination for a trip, right? Adding to these, you get to revel in the natural beauty of lush terrain of the Hinterlands, cattle-dotted rich green valley and watch varieties of birds and animals in their natural habitat of a dreamlike rainforest.
Yes, if you guessed the place from all you’ve read so far, we are talking about the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, the picturesque town of Maleny. The home of Mary Cairncross reserve park and the Glass House Mountains, Maleny has been a tourist attraction all along. Adding to its natural beauty there are a number of establishments that has increased the popularity of the former timber town to a booming tourist attraction. There are the Maleny Winery, art galleries, Maleny dairy, Cheese factories and the unique artisan village Montville—that amplified Sunshine coast’s tourist influx to a maximum during holidays, especially domestic travellers.
Maleny winery
You can find a number of wineries in the Sunshine Hinterland where you can go for a wine tasting, or get any type of wine of your choice to take home for celebrating a special day. A most popular winery there is the Maleny Mountain Wines, which is a family owned winery and well known in Maleny for the iconic 8 meter high wine barrel showroom. They have a number of sweet and dry types of wine; also reds, whites, fortified and dessert wines. It’s hard to miss their barrel cellar door if you are visiting that part of Maleny, and we advise you to come revel in all the wonders of nature while holding a glass of red!
Art galleries
The main attraction in Maleny for art aficionados are the several art galleries in the area that holds the local artist’s work- paintings, sculptures, glassworks, wood curving, textile artists and many more. Amongst the galleries Art on Cairncross, Maleny Art Direct, Peace of Green gallery etc. are notable ones to visit. You can enjoy beautiful artworks including oil and water colour paintings; bronze, sandstone and marble sculptures; porcelain, wood, photography and hand-blown glass; silk and textiles; jewellery and much more in these places and other galleries too. Do not forget to check out David Linton Wood Gallery, which exhibits beautiful and unique handcrafted timber creations, handmade jewellery, local artworks and sculptures made by local artists.
Cheese factory
They say there is no such thing as too much cheese, and we agree. The town of Maleny contains a working dairy farm with tours, and the famous Cheese factory with a café on site are just the best part of that. You can taste and buy a range of prize winning cheese in different flavours including club cheddar, feta, white mould etc. and also yogurts of several flavours there.
Montville: the village of artisans
Perched on the Blackall range, scattered with art galleries, cosy coffee shops and boutiques shops where you can find art pieces made by local artisan, Montville is a picturesque village overlooking the vast coast line of the Sunshine Coast. Many artisans live and work here in Montville: painters, potters, jewellery makers, chocolatiers, fudge makers, furniture makers and restorers, cheese makers, photographers, chefs, viticulturists. The village has three art galleries, namely Arts Connect Inc, Illume Creations and Montville Art Gallery in the Main Street. They exhibit exquisite and unique pieces of art created by the local artists. Potters and glass blowers has been in Montville since the ‘80s, when onlookers observed their work. This convention is still alive in the village. You can shop for souvenirs, and also visit the Flame Hill vineyard in Montville for fun.
If you do decide to take a trip to Maleny, be sure that the word ‘boredom’ will never cross your mind! With the hills, rolling paddocks on one side, the Glasshouse Mountains and the beach on the other, the unique birdlife and hinterland animals in the wood path, you will never meet monotony in Maleny. Top of the Hill is the best boutique BnB you can find here in Maleny to provide you a place to relax, enjoy a view and reconnect with nature. Call beforehand for booking, or visit the website for more information.
