17 things to do around Zengarra

Scenic Rim Wineries

The growing popularity of the wines from the area means winery and pub trails lead you to see areas which the developers haven’t found yet. Choose a driver for the day and head round the trail before settling in for dinner and the night in the luxury of Zengarra. Ask Mike for the best route round the Scenic Rim Wine Trail.

Bunjurgen Vineyard - very close and a really fun host!
Kooroomba Vineyard and Lavender Farm (restaurant)
Ironbark Ridge Vineyard
Normanby Wines
Paradine Estate Wines
Warrego Wines

Scenic Rim Pubs

We have a some wonderful old pubs round this area, for a connoiseurs viewpoint ask Mike.

Fishing, Water Skiing, Sailing Or Canoeing on our Lakes

Lake Moogerah and Lake Maroon are both ideal spots for fishing, water skiing, sailing or canoeing with excellent picnic facilities.Picture courtesy of Boonah Shire Council.

Antique shops

We have some great old collections of bits and pieces from bygone eras as well as some genuine poineering day antiques. These can be found close by in Aratula and also in Boonah. Ask about any special interests you have and we will help.

Art Galleries

Boonah with its long tradition as an artistic colony has intersting art in the town and at the Art & Soul Gallery

Kalbar has the Art Cafe du Kalbar featuring cakes and local art.

Boonah Orange Darling Pea

Wild Flowers

The area has a rich abundance of wild flowers. In November 08, Wendy Creighton reported in the Fassifern Guardian that Boonah's Darling Pea- Swainsona galegifolia in an orange colour was on the hillside above the old railway line walking track above Dugandan Park

National parks

Moogerah Peaks National Park We back onto this park, but the wallabies, goannas and posuums don't recognise the boundary

Main Ridge National Park & Mt Barney National Park are all nearby.

Governors Chair

Zengarra is next door to the road to the Governors Chair - it is a four wheel drive only road which takes you up to within a couple of hundered metres of the Chair which has absolutely magnificent views over the Ranges - you can see as far as Brisbane most days due to the amazing clarity of the mountain air.

Scenic Drives around the Heart of the Scenic Rim

All roads from Zengarra pass through areas of outstanding beauty. From the surrounding fertile Fassifern valley with rich agriculture no matter how you approach them the Scenic Rim Mountains are beautiful.
Try a Lake Side Drive along the 30 kilometre Lake Moogerah Road which has beautiful views including the dam, and the Gorge

The Queen Mary Falls Drive from Zengarra returning via Warwick makes a lovely afternoon out. Take an easy but memorable two-kilometre stroll through the bush to see the horseshoe-shaped Queen Mary Falls, where Spring Creek spills 40 metres down an escarpment to join the Condamine. It's a romantic name for a romantic setting - more evocative than Upper Daggs Falls, the name white men originally gave it. Look closely and you might see platypuses, red, spiny crayfish and pademelons as well as 100 different bird species including lyrebirds, rufous fantails and superb blue wrens.

The area around Spring Creek was opened up by hard men in search of hard woods. This was tough timber country with axemen out to scalp the tallest trees, everything from red cedar to sassafras. Old black-and-white photos such as those you can see in our local Dugandan Pub, show the camps, the giant saws and the proud, exhausted men standing on the massive stumps of trees they had felled.
Some of the leviathans survived. During a drive one of our guests, an 85-year-old birdwatcher, told us he had met a local farmer who offered to take him to see a special tree - it had been so huge in the 1850s that the woodcutters gave it a reprieve because it was too hard to topple.

Bushwalking

Boonah is regarded by many from Brisbane as a bushwalker’s paradise, Boonah’s surroundings offer some of the best bush walking in the Scenic Rim. Mt Barney and Mt Maroon Mt Greville, Mt French, Spicer’s Gap and Lake Moogerah offer walks of all levels and distances. Some reward walkers with breathtaking views, others feature wildlife and bird watching. See our separate Guide.

Zengarra’s Own Mountain – Mount Greville offers A Bushwalking Challenge.

Zengarra’s boundaries to the south are against the Moogerah Peaks National Park part of the chain of five National Parks. Mount Greville (770m.), lies to the West and South of Lake Moogerah and features the famous Palm Gorge (see photo). This is a steep bushwalk (class 5) but well worth the effort. Mt Greville, from which Boonah’s iconic photo of Lake Moogerah was taken, is 770m and situated in the Moogerah National Park. The bushwalk starting from Mount Greville Road goes up through the magnificent Waterfall Gorge which leads to an open area where you have great views of Moogerah Dam and Mt. Moon. Grass Trees abound in this area. On the way down look at the spectacular Palm Gorge. Populated with palms, staghorn, elkhorn, mosses and lichens and with sheer cliff faces on either side.

Templin Historical Village

Situated on the road from Boonah to Aratula, before the turnoff onto Lake Moogerah Road is a bit of old Queensland, Templin is a complete early settler’s village which contains an interesting collection of relics and records from yesteryear. Sit in a desk and think of the differences in learning with today. Step back in time; learn about our forbears lifestyles and cultures. There are thousands of artefacts, memorabilia, photographs, newspapers etc to be viewed. Opening hours are Sunday 9.30am – 1.30pm; Thursday 10.00am – Noon; other times by appointment. Contact the Fassifern Historical Society on (07) 5463 1970.

Gliders & Ultralights.

Boonah Airfield, (follow the Boonah-Rathdowney Road for approximately 3 kilometres) has both. Zengarra can arrange flights for you with a qualified instructor while enjoying the fabulous scenery around the Scenic Rim. You can see just how secluded Zengarra is when you fly over us. Weekends and Public Holidays and other days by prior arrangement.

Golf

Why not enjoy a game at Boonah Golf club which offers Quality Country Golfing at its best. Ask and we will book you a game.

Bird watching

Zengarra has had a number of bird-watchers stay. The favourite place seems to be our orchard, where we have chairs and a table and reports indicate some very interesting birds. Mike’s favourite whip birds can be heard there too, and in summer his attempts at growing Sunflowers for the house are frustrated by lots of brilliantly coloured parrots.

Our region is particularly well endowed with birdlife - bird watchers have recorded between 140 - 160 different species.   Fassifern Field Naturalist
Club has listed 318 species of birds, at least 158 are commonly seen.

Although birds can be seen throughout the day, those wishing to see the maximum number will need an early start as birds are most active from dawn to mid morning.   It is wise to overnight in the Shire to ensure you are in the best vantage points close to dawn.   Bring your binoculars and field guide to birds, or borrow from Zengarra.

Ask for a copy of our "Feathered Friends Trail" which lists some of the best places to see different species.   Some can be accessed easily by car but you will need to do some bush walking for some of the sites.   You might wish to visit the water hole on Old Beaudesert Road, where an early morning walk can yield over 70 species from finches to Wedge Tailed Eagles.   Spicer's Gap Road is another popular spot which combines spectacular views with many varieties of birds.

Live Music

Boonah is especially blessed when it comes to music, there are choirs, and formal and informal music groups many times per year. Ask Mike for details. If you are staying at Zengarra on a Monday night you may wish to hear the Zinger Birds rehearsing and on a Wednesday afternoon you could choose to listen to the Zengarra Zingers rehearse and then join them for tea and cakes.