Down to Earth Maleny

I love mountains. In fact, the higher, the better. Maybe it has something to do with growing up on the top of a hill in the Dandenong Ranges, with the promise of beguiling vistas.

It’s probably why I had a hankering to visit Maleny in Queensland.

Sure, I’ve been fortunate to hike to the peaks of the Pyrenees in France, clambered through the Daintree Rainforest to a mist shrouded waterfall and savoured an orange-red sunset from the cliff-perched village of Ronda in southern Spain. Yet somehow Maleny, located in the Sunshine Coast’s mountainous and tree-filled hinterland, satiates.

After driving up long, winding roads that felt like being on a scenery-filled roller coaster, Maleny sits high on a plateau in the Blackall Range.

With its Byron Bay-ish-cum-hippie vibe — minus the beach (the nearest is about 35 minutes away at Caloundra) — I’m surprised by how many non-Queenslanders say they haven’t heard of it. Alternatively, some Brisbanites say it’s got a good pub, but there’s not much to do there.

As for the latter, I disagree.

A former timber town, and the birthplace of renowned Woodford Folk Festival, Maleny is where the food is real, the air is clean and the living, for the most part, is slow, creative and green.

A hub for artists, musicians and food producers, particularly dairy, Maleny’s simple, earthly pleasures are evident when arriving in the main drag. (In keeping with the slow, hilly theme, be prepared for reverse angle parking, given Maple Street is on a curve on a hillside.)

Here, you’ll get your fill of all manner of yoga and alternative therapies, meditation, art supplies, friendly locals, gob-smacking views of the Glasshouse Mountains and abundant nature.

Here are some good, down-to-earth reasons to visit Maleny:

Nourish

There’s a plethora of eateries in Maleny, including Indian, African, fine foods and local pub fare. But what you’ll find overall is a terrific selection of clean and fair trade cuisine.

Raw strawberries and cream cheescake, Maleny.

Shotgun Espresso Café

Cute as a button, this ever-so-slightly eclectic café, located at the top end of Maple Street, is literally a taste of Melbourne. Overrun with locals, let alone out of towners, Shotgun Espresso’s amiable team has hospitality down pat. Their nosh, made from scratch, is based on deliciously fresh local produce and the use of free-range and toxin-free ingredients. The smoothies are a meal in themselves.

Live Foods Cafe

Another hip and wholesome cafe in Maleny, on the Maleny-Montville Road, is this colourful little vegetarian and vegan eatery. The emphasis is on organic, raw, plant-based, dairy-free, gluten-free, animal-free, GMO-free and processed sugar-free fare. Live Foods Cafe’s real, clean tasting foods encompass their specialty raw cakes — think flavoursome keylime pie with coconut ice-cream or blueberry and vanilla bean pie. They’re also on to the most nourishing and warming bevy around: a turmeric latte.

Maple Street Co-op

Located in a historic and revitalised store that’s chock full of goodness, the Maple Street Co-op is a hive of activity with locals and visitors alike. Running for 37 years, here you can get all manner of fresh picked, local, seasonal and organically grown produce, ethically raised meats and eco-friendly groceries. As the co-op’s sign at the front aptly says: “so much more than a health food store”.

Maleny Crystal Café

If you’re looking to get your coffee and gemstone fix in one, Maleny Crystal Cafe serves that and then some. More like an exotic Aladdin’s cave, this heavenly store has everything from local organic coffee, herbal teas and fresh baked cakes to art cards and their piece de resistance: a host of quality and glistening gem jewellery sourced from around the globe. This is my kind of place to linger for longer. In fact, Maleny Crystal Cafe helped rekindle my interest in crystals, especially Larimar.

Larimar pendant at Maleny Crystal Cafe.

Pomodoras on Obi

Overlooking the babbling Obi Obi Creek, Pomodoras is right near the heart of town yet tucked away in a peaceful nook. Dining is next level. Cabin accommodation is also available.

Spicers Tamarind Retreat

Listed in the Good Food Guide, Spicers Tamarind Retreat on Obi Lane South provides modish Asian cuisine in a stylish East meets West indoor-outdoor pavilion. Additionally, there’s a cooking school, golf course, day spa and accommodation.

Must-Visit

Pallet Life Gallery & Maleny Village Artisan Food Market

Maleny couple Suzi and Larry Sandfort hate seeing things go to waste. And their philosophy is well-reflected in their passion to breathe new life into simple old pallets. Tucked down a laneway that runs off Maple Street, they cleverly craft an array of quality, rustic-type homewares and furniture.

Ensuring that every single nail and offcut is used in some way, they create everything from wooden caddies, bushel crates, spice racks and indoor and outdoor tables to stools, benches, window seats, A-frame bookshelves and a ginormous game of Jenga, which is sold in potato sacks. Their red gallery is surrounded by a bright, joyful courtyard garden, a haven for cheeky water dragons.

Not only is it Suzi and Larry’s mission to help lighten their impact on the planet, their community spirit recently saw them initiate Maleny’s petite and vibrant artisan food market next door to their Pallet Life Gallery and Garden Café. Naturally, their coffee shack and some rustic carts are built from wooden pallets. They’ve also started a suspended coffee program, where customers pay it forward.

The Maleny Village Artisan Food Market is held from 8am to 3pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Pallet Life Gallery & Garden Cafe, Maleny. Image by Kristin Lee.

Rosetta Books Maleny

A well-presented store lined with packed bookshelves and a comfy couch and chairs to sink into provides a homely, welcoming feel at Rosetta Books. There’s an extensive range of new fiction, non-fiction and children’s titles, including local authors’ works.

Maleny Botanic Gardens & Bird World

Privately owned and established, there are two sides to this unique property: the unique 14-acre botanic gardens and the ginormous bird aviary. With the option to visit one or both, the terraced Maleny Botanic Gardens boast waterfalls, lakes and picnic spots, with a sublime backdrop of the Glasshouse Mountains. Aside from the bird aviary that has about 300 colourful birds and can be visited on a guided tour, my personal birdwatching included a wild peacock taking a shining to his reflection in the bonnet of the car.

Maleny Botanic Gardens. Image by Kristin Lee.

Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve

A small remnant of precious nature, the Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve covers 55 acres, encompassing a temporary education centre, a glasshouse viewing area, mini rainforest walks, and barbecue and picnic areas. It’s also likely you’ll spot the super cute red legged pademelon wallaby, crayfish and oodles of birds.

Crystal Waters Eco Village

About 26 kilometres from Maleny, flora and fauna, including kangaroos, wallabies, birds and reptiles, abound in this designated environmental living zone. Set on 650 acres of bushland, with co-operatively owned commercial properties and a population of about 200, it has been created with permaculture principles in mind.

To get a taste of its alternative way of living, Les’ Sourdough Bakery, with its wood fired ovens, opens every Saturday, while guided tours of Crystal Waters are also available. There is a monthly village market held on the first Saturday morning of the month.

Village camping, an eco-caravan park, a bunkhouse and a cabin are available for visitor accommodation. Bear in mind that there is no Eftpos, ATM or mobile reception.

Wallaby at Crystal Waters Eco Village. Image by Kristin Lee.

Kondallila Falls National Park, Montville

Also near Maleny, and accessed via a less than five kilometre circuit trail that traverses through rainforest and eucalypts, the waterhole at Kondallila Falls is worth taking a dip into, or getting a healthy dose of Vitamin D while relaxing on the surrounding rock ledges. Not overly large, it’s more like a natural plunge pool. The return walk to the carpark has a steep ascent.

Waterhole at Kondallila Falls. Image by Kristin Lee.

Nurture

Jess’s Ka Huna Hut

Soothe your mind, body and soul with a deeply profound lomi lomi massage in a bright orange painted hut, specifically Jess Ainsworth’s quirky little Ka Huna Hut. Here Jess’s deep, vigorous strokes awaken and enliven you; neuromuscular tension vanishes, lymphatic circulation harmoniously flows, and digestion and vitality are reinvigorated. This is one of Maleny’s true hidden gems.

Casa Di Natura

About 15 minutes’ drive from Maleny, and perched at the end of a steep ridge (actually, it’s more like teetering on the edge of a spectacular mountaintop), this is a boutique day spa with a difference. Stylish, contemporary and purposefully built at the owner’s rural residence in Montville, wide-ranging views extend across mountains upon mountains and sub-tropical rainforest. Aside from the various massage and pamper packages, it’s well worth taking the plunge into Casa Di Natura’s luxe outdoor magnesium pools with a man-made waterfall.

Stay a while: The Berry Garden, Maleny

A leisurely five-minute drive from Maleny’s vibrant hub is The Berry Garden, a comfy, light-filled three-bedroom Queenslander surrounded by gorgeous tropical gardens and 10 bush-lined acres of countrified ambience.

With room to roam, there’s myriad wildlife, from wallabies grazing on the neat, verdant lawn to green tree frogs hopping around, especially at night, and kookaburras keeping a keen eye on the vegie patch. There’s plenty of outdoor possies to appreciate the serenity, particularly from the Mexican hammock on the veranda and the sunbathed saltwater pool that sits below the house.

Affable owners Lynda and Mark Craig, who live in a studio (a former cowshed) that they built on the property, are on hand if need be. After these former Kiwis became empty nesters, they decided to downsize and move from their beloved family home to just down the hill.

To me, The Berry Garden is a home away from home.

The Berry Garden, Maleny. Image by Kristin Lee.

Getting to Maleny

About 80 minutes’ drive north-west of Brisbane, or about 45 minutes from the Sunshine Coast Airport, Maleny provides a wonderful, down-to-earth base to simply be and/or actively explore the surrounding region.

At the very least, it’s salubrious.