Day Tripping In Dayboro - Mt Mee
This day trip to Dayboro-Mt Mee, northwest of Brisbane has it all – a quaint picturesque country town, winding roads with stunning vistas, vineyards, bushwalks with waterfalls and old sawmill remnants, and on weekends locally grown and roasted coffee and a café laden with retro memorabilia on a cliff’s edge.
From Brisbane, head out to Samford and continue along the main road to Dayboro, a gorgeous little township that is well worth spending some time at. Enjoy a take-away coffee or brunch at one of the charming little cafes, see some local art at the Dayboro Art Gallery, have a poke around the great vintage shops, book shop café and walk the town’s heritage trail (maps available at the Visitor Info in town or the Arts & Crafts cottage).
2. From Dayboro take the road out and turn-off just outside of town to Mt Mee. Along the way is a llama cottage (stop and see the llamas) and Ocean View Estate Winery which does good food as well as wine. Towards the top of the Mt Mee ridge don’t miss a visit to the quirky memorabilia-covered tin shed that is Pitstop Café, with the most stunning views of all.
3. Continue on to Mt Mee, until Sellin Road, a left turn from the main road that heads towards and into the forest reserve with several bush walking tracks. Follow Sellin Rd to the entrance of the park and about 150m further in is the main picnic and day use area, The Gantry, which contains the relic shed from the sawmill industry that once operated up here and closed in 1981. Two bush walks start from adjacent to The Gantry: the shorter easy grade 1 km Piccabeen Trail circuit with info about the logging industry that used to occur or the medium grade 3-4 hr Somerset Trail, a 13km circuit through scribbly gum and eucalypt with views of Somerset Dam.
4. Note that the road is unsealed and not recommended for vehicles other than 4 wheel drives past the Gantry. The unsealed Neurum Creek Road section has 2 worthy walks along its way. About 1km along the unsealed road is a short easy grade 400m (one way) walk to Falls Lookout, a viewing platform overlooking the Neurum Valley and a further 80m to Bulls Falls, with views of rainforest pools and rocky cliffs. A further 7km or so down Neurum Creek Rd is a car park, from which a short 200m walk leads to Rocky Hole, a rock pool that is popular with swimmers in summer.
5. Take the road out of the forest reserve and back to the Dayboro-Woodford Rd. Turn left and pass through the tiny hamlet of Mt Mee. On the right, just out of ‘town’ is one of the area’s best lookouts, Dahmongah Lookout Park - taking in views of the Glass House Mountains to the north, east to the sea and south to Brisbane CBD. Facilities include a BBQ, picnic rotunda and toilets and on weekends a little food trailer onsite serves up an excellent cup of Mt Mee’s own coffee, with beans roasted and grown at a nearby plantation owned by locals Les and Dawn. Pies and snacks are also available, along with local jams, chutneys, soaps & snacks for sale.
6. Continue on the road to Woodford/Kilcoy for a short distance then turn right on Campbells Pocket Road which is the most direct route towards Caboolture and the Bruce Highway south to Brisbane.
