Santa Shuttles

Santa is having a little rest in Gympie before he sets off to see the children around the world so come and see Santa before he leaves. The Santa Special Silver Bullet Railmotor will speed you to Santa’s holiday rest place on 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd December 2011, where you can go and visit Santa! He might even have a little surprise for you. The ticket price includes the train ride, visit to Santa’s holiday rest place and a small surprise!

Santa Shuttles Depart for the North Pole from the Historic Gympie Station in Tozer Street at the following times:

• 6.30pm
• 7.00pm
• 7.30pm
• 8.00pm

Cost:
$4 per person (Adults & Children)

A Christmas Affair

“A Christmas Affair” will feature Fine Art, Craft, Collectables and Gourmet providing exhibitors and vendors the opportunity to showcase their works and products and to also give the community the opportunity to purchase those special Christmas Gifts. An Art Exhibition of exceptional fine art is proposed.

The evening of Friday 2 December will feature “Cocktails at 7” An evening of High Balls, High Heels and High Artwill  commence with Cocktail Hour 7 to 8 pm serving delicious drinks and  finger food, followed by the Official Exhibition Opening and an Auction of donated “Fine Pieces” from our Exhibiting Artists.  Entertainment and Shopping Opportunities until 10pm.

“Kids Art in the Park” as an additional feature is planned for Saturday morning 3 December – in the lovely park beside the Civic Centre. With lots of fun art and craft activities planned for the children, mum or dad can take it in turns to enjoy all the exhibition has to offer.  Your budding young artist will love it !!

“A Christmas Affair Cafe” will be open throughout the Exhibition serving fresh, home baked delights. Take the time to relax over a “real coffee” or Devonshire Tea. Choose lunch from an inviting menu or pre arrange a special Christmas Lunch or High Tea. Group bookings very welcome.

Melbourne Cup Camel Races & Luncheon

Are you looking for something fun and different to do on Melbourne Cup Day this year? Why not come camel racing? Go along to The Melbourne Cup Races with a difference at the Gympie Turf Club! 

The Melbourne Cup Camel Race Carnival is a charity day with all proceeds benefiting Little Haven Palliative Care. 

Enjoy trackside action from 11am. Tickets are $40 which includes your entry fee and a delicious two course luncheon. There will be plenty of entertainment including fashion parades, sweeps/calcutta, TAB, lots of laughs and of course the famous camel races.


Glam up and get swept up in Melbourne Cup Fever!

Fun day on the river

After its initial success last year, Les and Heather Hall are again, on 22nd October, opening up their beautiful riverside property Heatherview at Kybong to host fun day on the river event as the first part of the Mary River Festival.

Starting at 1pm, with a gold coin entry, the whole family can be kept entertained and occupied with activities which include swimming, canoeing, rock-skipping, games, food, live music, dancing, evening performances with a solar-powered laser show, bonfire and camping.

It is best if you can plan for a day and evening to make the most of the entertainment on offer. No need to think about dinner, with snacks available all day including wood fire pizza, sausage sandwiches, cakes tea and coffee. The barbeque will get going at approximately at 6pm, followed by music by the Tapper Girls and the Homestead Band.

It will be amazing to see the solar-powered laser show at 9pm as it lights up the banks of the Mary River and then sit around the campfire. Les is offering overnight camping for free where you can wake up to the sounds of the Mary River, and co-organizer Adrienne McVerry guarantees there will be a breakfast available in the morning.

Experience Rainbow Beach and Fraser Island

This Rainbow Sea Resort Special includes:

2 nights 1 Bedroom King Suite
Fraser Experience Day Tour for 2

Package Cost $740

Executive Suite and Penthouse Upgrades available for Surcharge.
Extra nights $200/night.

Call 1800 833 588 or visit our website.

Offer cannot be combined with any other offers.
Available to New/Direct Bookings Only.

Not Available during QLD School Holidays or Long Weekends.

Gympie Gold Rush Festival

Gympie's Gold Rush Festival is a eight day event held 5 - 15 October and celebrates the area's fascinating heritage whilst showcasing the diverse and colourful Cooloola region.

Gold Rush offers locals, tourists and visitors the opportunity to go back in history and pan for real gold in an authentic 1867 historical setting or find that once in a life time gemstone. Alternatively, you can relax on a balmy night on a blanket at the 'Symphony by the Lake'.

Gold Rush caters for all, with art shows, a street parade and a family party in the park.

Gold Rush offers tourists and visitors the experience of the warm hospitality of a country town, but with modern facilities and sophistication.

Mary Valley Scarecrow Festival

Yes folks! Its back by popular demand! All the fun of the Scarecrow Festival. And it is coming to your streets and paddocks from the 24th September right through October. Enter your scarecrow in either the “Traditional”, “Artistic”, or “Children” category.

This is a great opportunity to have some fun and dazzle our friends and visitors with our Aussie ingenuity. So how do you participate? Its simple, register your scarecrow in the local town of your choosing. Then make your scarecrow and have it in place where it can be easily seen from the road. Make sure its in place just before 24th September which is the official opening of Scarecrow Season. Don’t put it out too early, you want it to look its best for the judging which happens during the first week or two.

Each town that participates (Conondale, Kenilworth, Brooloo, Imbil, Kandanga,Amamoor, Dagunwill) have their own judges to choose the finalists that will represent them in each category at the Mary Valleyfinals. 

The top 3 entries in each category from each town will be entered into the Mary Valley Finals. The finals judging will happen on, or soon after, the weekend of October 2nd. We will have a couple of celebrity judges and the only criteria will be the “wow” factor. From a finalist point of view, we are not looking for the best construction, the most elaborate design or other such things. We just want to have some fun and crown the scarecrow that has the most “Wow, that’s an amazing scarecrow!”. Yes, its totally subjective. We’ll just let the judges worry about the reasons why they chose one over the other.

Just let your imagination flow!

Cooloola National Park Vehicle Access Permits

Vehicle permits are required to drive along the beach from north of the north head of the Noosa River to Middle Rocks south-east of Rainbow Beach, inland along the Freshwater track between Bymien and the beach, the Kings Bore Circuit track (locally known as Pettigrew Road and the eastern and western firebreaks) and the Leisha track.

Permits are NOT required to access Inskip Point or for the beach from Rainbow Beach township to Middle Rock, the Cooloola Way, the 4WD track to Poverty Point, and the 3km unsealed Freshwater track from Rainbow Beach road turnoff to Bymien picnic area. About 2.5 km of beach between the First Cutting and Third Cutting on southern Teewah Beach will be a vehicle-free area.

Domestic animals are excluded from the national park and most beaches within the Cooloola Recreation Area.

Vehicle Permits:

• One-day pass for $15 (or $10 online)
• 7 day pass $25
• Monthly pass $39.35
• Yearly pass $197.20.

Vehicle access permits are available 24 hours a day seven days a week online at www.qld.gov.au/camping or by phoning 13 74 68, or during business hours at DERM's head office at 400 George St Brisbane, Great Sandy Information Centre at Tewantin, QPWS Rainbow Beach office, the Shell Garage Rainbow Beach, Manta-Ray Barge Rainbow Beach, and Rainbow Beach IGA. 

Rainbow Beach Triathlon 2011

The weekend of 3 and 4 September 2011 will see the launch of a unique triathlon event – the Goldcross Cycles Rainbow Beach Triathlon. The weekend offers triathletes the opportunity to race an Olympic distance triathlon over two days by completing 2 x ‘sprint distance’ events of 750m swim/20km ride/5km run in consecutive days.

This event has something for everyone. For the younger members of the family, the Active Kids Triathlon will enable them to ‘compete’ in their own, age appropriate event. The fun and friendly format of the Active Kids Triathlon is participation focused, with all competitors receiving a specially minted medallion and cap as they complete their race. For those who are a little older (14 years +) or young at heart and would like to have a go at a triathlon themselves, there will be the Active First Timers event.

The weekend comprises of:

Saturday 3 September 2011

·         Race 1: 750m/20km/5km

·         Active Kids Triathlon (race run in age groups)

·         Active First Timers Triathlon

Sunday 4 September 2011

·         Race 2: 750m/20km/5km

Gympie Music Muster 2011

A phenomenal experience, held over 6 action-packed days and nights, set in one of Queensland's most beautiful and normally peaceful National State Parks, the Optus Gympie Music Muster honors the true spirit of Country Australia.

Amamoor Creek Sate Forest Park, located just outside of Historical Gympie, creates a picturesque home site for one of Australia's largest outdoor Music Festival, entrenched in community spirit far removed from ties, clocks, suits and schedules. Thousands of festival goers are attracted every year by the smorgasbord of diverse programs rich with our country's finest musicians, the bush land setting laced with inviting whiffs of campfire cooking and fresh bush eucalypt, the easy camaraderie created by companionable patrons all set to simply enjoy themselves, "there are no strangers at the Muster, only friends you haven't met yet"

As well as traditional and modern country music, entertainment within 10 venues and 8 bars include an aural collage ranging from folk, bluegrass, balladeers, the gospel, blues, bush poetry, clogging, line dancing, music industry forums, a celebrity guest debate and the momentous competition of the Maton Talent Search where future careers are established.

Mary Valley Country Show, Rodeo & Woodchop

This year on 20th of August, Mary Valley Show Society hosts its annual show at the Imbil Showgrounds, Imbil in the picturesque Mary Valley, just west of Noosa and in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast.
In less than an hour from as far south as Caloundra, you can be joining in on the days festivities from 8am.

A full programme of rodeo timed events start the day, attracting a large number of competitors. You can be sure of thrills and spills for everyone. The Mary Valley Rodeo, NRA affiliated, is now one of the largest in Sth East Qld.

Ring events commence at 8.00 am with showjumping, led classes, hack classes and junior riding classes. Novelty events after the ring events finish are always very popular and attract many competitors.

The annual Woodchop Event is a major draw on showday. This attracts competitors from far and near. It is quite a coup to win at the Mary Valley Wood Chop Event.

The Show Pavillion is packed to the rafters with produce displays, school childrens art and writing skills are beautifully presented. Craft, cooking, horticulture and hobby competitions ensure that there is plenty for all to see.
Outside, Side Show Ally is brimming with rides and fun for all ages.
Market stalls, vintage cars and machinery, static displays, cottage craft, jewellery and ornaments and other displays that include live animals such as reptiles, farm animals, animal nursery to name a few fill the grounds to capacity.

There is always a fantastic choice of food and beverages and a licenced bar till late. The Strawberries and Cream stall featuring fresh fruit salad as well, is a must for everyone.

Live Entertainment starts with the 2nd Wind Orchestra at lunchtime near the Hall. Enjoy their music while you lunch under the marquee. Evening entertainment starts from 5.pm with the locally popular Duke Wilde Band supported by other local bands and artists. Listen to Duke Wilde and his band who will feature at the Gympie Music Muster this year, before they travel to the USA to perform there.

7.30pm sees the major fireworks display that is annual feature of the show. Definately not to be missed.

Kybong Rock & Mineral Fest

Every August, collectors, fossickers, friends and families gather for the 'Rockfest'. This is three days of fun for all those interested in our great hobby. 

Be sure to come and visit this year from 5-7 August. 

Entry is free to this fun filled three day event. Buy & sell rocks, gems, minerals, opals, fossils & much more from all over the World.

Food, cake stalls and entertainment throughout the day with demonstrations. 

Camping on site or at nearby caravan parks or motels. A weekend of food, fun and friendship!

Rainbow Beach Family Fishing Classic

Rainbow Beach Family Fishing Classic has prizes galore for everyone, in fact over AUD100,000 in cash and fantastic prizes. 

What an excuse for a holiday in one of the most pristine places on earth and anyone can participate! All people who would like to try, or already enjoy, the basic pleasures of salt water fishing, in particular families that want an excuse to holiday and enjoy their favourite family recreational activity. It includes a holiday program containing live entertainment, sporting activities, a carnival atmosphere and things to do regardless of weather conditions. 

There are three categories of fishing - Beach, Reef and Jew which includes a Big Fish species in the Reef category. Check out the web site for more details.

Mary Valley Art Festival

The Mary Valley Art Festival uses the theme 'helping hands' to celebrate the unbridled friendship, strength and demonstration of community spirit displayed in the face of mass devastation during recent natural disasters.

The festival continues to grow in quality with artist participation, painting sales and consequently public attendance. Organisers expect to maintain record participation with a festival prize pool totalling over AUD5,000.00. Generous sponsorship has enabled the addition of a new section called "Natural Flora" which has been introduced to allow the study of flora in its natural environment, as opposed to the static study of "Still Life".

The festival opens on Thursday 7 July with a wine and cheese gala event from 6.00 p.m., followed by viewing until Sunday 10 July. The People's Choice Awards are held on Sunday from 2.00 p.m.

Harvey and the Humpbacks arrive in Queensland

Forget Bieber Fever - Catch the grandest spectacle of the year when front man Harvey and his band of 7000 humpbacks hit waters of Great Sandy Straits! From July to November, the band of whales is kept busy teaching their calves to breach, lob-tail, pectoral-slap and head-lunge and you can get front-row seats on any of the whale watching tours taking place every day. They might even give you a cheeky wink and a nudge.

Not only in town to perform to sell-out crowds, Harvey and the Humpbacks will be hard at work on a hit new song that will travel through migrating pods around the world. Researchers at The University of Queensland have found that male humpback whales ‘change their tune' every year during their migration across the Pacific. UQ PhD student Ellen Garland said, just like rock stars, no humpback wants to become irrelevant. “We believe the song is continually changing because the males wish to be novel or slightly different to the male singing next to them.” 

Like a chance meeting with your lifelong idol, a close encounter with the humpbacks is an intimate and humbling experience, and definitely one to tick off your bucket list.

Australian Body Art Carnivale 2011

The Australian Body Art Carnivale is Australia’s premier body art event, attracting artists and spectators from across Australia and overseas. 

The Australian Body Art Carnivale is held annually in Eumundi, the dates for 2011 are from Friday 13 May  to Sunday 15 May, 2011. This year will see the expansion of all elements of the festival and the theme is MAGIC, providing an absolute wealth of inspiration for artists.

The Carnivale will again be ‘A Festival of Colour’ centred around body art in its many and varied forms. For members of the public, it will be nothing short of phenomenal to watch the human canvases take shape during the competitions.  For artists it presents an opportunity to showcase their creativity, experience the amazing atmosphere of the Carnivale and compete for over $16,000 in cash and prizes.

There will be a feast of other entertainment including a gala launch with the Masked Gallery Art Walk,  competitions and exhibitions in pavement art, wearable art, vehicle art and photography. There will also be music, world-class street performers, workshops, a Saturday evening sunset street party, and a whole lot more.

Widgee’s Bushmans Carnival

Widgee’s Bushmans Carnivalis  held Labour Day Holiday first Monday in May. 

It will be held at the Widgee Showgrounds north-east of Kilkivan and it is a combined rodeo and campdraft. 

The Carnival features bull riding, roping, barrel races, a poddy calf ride, saddle broncs, a campdraft and Pony Club events and it's always a great family day out! 

There'll also be catering and a licensed bar operating in the grounds.

For more information visit www.widgeerodeo.egympie.com.au.

Cooloola Wilderness Trail

This trail in the Cooloola Section of the Great Sandy National Park offers walkers a wilderness experience of wildflowers, chattering birds, cool clear waterways and solitude. This is a harsh yet stunning coastal environment, where conditions vary greatly, from hot and dry summers to cool winters. Low-lying areas are usually wet all year round.

The northern end of the trail is at Mullens car park and the southern end is at Elanda Point. Both points can be accessed by conventional (two wheel drive) vehicles.

From Mullens car park to Harry's camping area the trail crosses the western catchment and Noosa Plain. Tall eucalypt and banksia forests on deep sandy soils give way to low wallum on shallow soils. From Harry's camping area to Elanda Point, the trail passes through remnant rainforest on the rich deep soils along Kin Kin Creek, and paperbark and cabbage palm wetlands on adjacent waterlogged plains.

For day walks, you can access the trail from the Cooloola Way or Harrys camping and day-use area. Cooloola Way and Harrys Hut Road are recommended for four-wheel-drive vehicles only and weather conditions may limit access.

For more information click here.

Artmix Sundaze Family Days

Looking for something to do on a Sunday afternoon with your family? 

Well get out in the fresh sea air and enjoy a free community concert featuring live bands at the Norman Point Park at Tin Can Bay.  Art Mix will be holding a series of family days on the 2nd Sunday of each month from January to June 2011. 

Enjoy a free community concert featuring live original bands from local region and interstate. Big and little kids will love the circus gazebo with more than 15 activities to discover and  practice.  

Noosa Festival of Surfing 2011

Now in its 20th year, the Noosa Festival of Surfing has grown to become the biggest surf festivals in the world attracting more than 600 competitors in 11 age divisions. There is something for everyone with single and tandem malibu boardriding, standup paddleboards and noserider trials.

When you need to take a break from the surfing action, make your way to the Festival Village in Noosa Lions Park (adjacent to Hastings Street). The Expo has free admission with the exhibition pavilion featuring some of the world’s most famous surfboards, on loan from private collectors.

Spectators are free to watch the board riding action at First Point, Noosa. 

There will be a range of entertainment throughout the week including themed movie nights, surfing memorabilia auctions and music concerts.

2011 Heart of Gold International Film Festival

Over 4 days in Autumn, the Heart of Gold International Film Festival combines the genuine warmth and hospitality of a country town with Local and International films that are entertaining, thought-provoking and express a positive view of the world and humanity.

Entering its fifth year, Heart of Gold is quickly gaining the recognition and size to establish itself among the best competitive short film festivals in Australia.

The Festival is in the regional Queensland city of Gympie,  just a  two hour drive north of Brisbane, along the Bruce Highway and an hour drive from the Rainbow Beach.

200 films from over 35 countries mean audiences can view a quality selection of some of the world’s most extraordinary films.