Jones Tea Rooms
Corner of Mt Nebo Rd and Fernlands Rd
Mt Nebo
We were getting a bit of cabin fever with the recent rain, so after getting the boys' haircuts at Aldos at Brookside one Saturday morning, we decided on our way home to keep driving. We ended up on Mt Nebo Road and heading up the mountain. It was all safe and high, so no flooding issues in this area.
We made several stops along the way - the lookouts would be very different on a clear day, with no doubt amazing views, but the kids liked that we were high enough to be immersed in cloud cover which gave the outlook a different perspective. Really beautiful and a little bit eery. Westridge was probably our favourite lookout, with a short boardwalk to overlook Wivenhoe Dam….or glimpses of the dam through the cloud cover. Pretty cool.
The roadside waterfalls along the way were impressive too. I am sure this is just resulting from the heavy rain we have had, but they were beautiful.
We stopped at Dr Red along the way - the wine tasting house on the side of the road where you can overdose on antioxidants at the same time! I never knew that purple carrots were high in antioxidants, nor did I know that they could be included in wine!! We bought the purple carrot shiraz, which will be a fun talking point when we next catch up with friends. The kids tried the non-alcoholic blueberry punch but they weren't big fans of it. I have heard the ginger punch is nice too, but our kids were not keen. Still a fun place to stop and on a clear day the view from this place would be spectacular!
Then there was lunch….we went to stop at the main cafe up there called Boombana, but because of the rain they said they were quiet and decided to close early….so we drove on. We stopped at this little place on the corner of Mt Nebo and Fernlands Rds called Jones Tea Rooms, and it was a delight - nothing fancy but a very welcoming place to stop. The older lady in there is a real character - dry but funny. We ordered toasted sandwiches for the kids and burgers for us - simple food but the meals were enormous and perfect for a rainy day. The pricing was really reasonable too. While we waited for our food, the lady gave us cups of bird seed to go outside the cafe and feed these amazing looking birds. The kids loved it!! Of course GG is a Mary Poppins fan, so the song 'Feed the Birds' was being sung a lot at this time and then got stuck in our heads all afternoon!
The lady makes all her own chutneys, jams, lemon butter etc, and the walls are adorned with crocheted and knitted creations displaying awarded ribbons for workmanship and quality - all for sale. It was like stepping into the CWA. With a fireplace in the corner I think it would be fun to visit in Winter. Apparently a popular stop for cyclists in the mornings, with hundreds arriving for coffee all at the same time, so I am sure it would get busy at certain times, but when we were there we had the place to ourselves….possibly rain related!
The cafe and property is for sale - she proceeded to tell us that after 53 years on the mountain, she needed a change. So next time we visit it may be a completely different experience, but worth checking it out. The drive overall was lovely and with all the stops along the way this kids didn't have a chance to get bored.
