Clear Mountain

KG and I spent last weekend at the Mercure Clear Mountain Lodge. I'd never heard of the place before, the sentiments echoed by Brisbane friends. "Clear Mountain? Where's that?"

Heck, even the trusty old Wikipedia page lacked information.

Our room. True to the Trip Advisor reviews, the room was extremely basic (considering how the RRP is AUD500+ per night - we got it for much less though). I was freezing, having left my jacket in the car and set the room tenperature to a tropical 31C.

It had an ensuite spa. Sadly, the water was pretty mucky and the foamy scud marred the experience.




Dinner was at the inhouse restaurant, Mandy's on the Mountain. The chef's name is Shannon, so I wonder how the Mandy bit came about. We were given the last booking for dinner for the night, which was quite strange, considering how the dining area was about 2/3 empty.

The food was excellent, though fairly pricy. The waitstaff were attentive, in fact, overly so. After our conversations got interrupted the nth time by the waitresses' flirting (yes, KG was very popular that night), the green-eyed monster in me was tempted to sit in his lap/ stab them in the thigh to make a point.

This is our generously portioned entree. Salmon something-or-rather, with crayfish salad.

KG's snapper. I think it had champagne cream sauce.

My very excellent beef fillet with truffled mash, creamed mushrooms and some sort of red wine and beef jus reduction. It was beautiful.

Apparently, our room should have had, and I quote, "breathtaking panoramic views of the Glasshouse Mountains and Moreton Bay islands", but this is all we could see from the balcony. KG was pretty annoyed but the other suites with spas had been booked out.

The pergola thingie. This place is apparently a hotspot for weddings. There was one going on during our stay.

The improved views from the alfresco dining area.

KG and I then headed off. Upon running out of Twisties (alas, the BBQ flavour is not to be found down under), we drove to Samford in search of food. We also bumped into an ex-colleague and good friend of mine, JL whom I hadn't seen for ages and ages. Noting the size of Australia in proportion to the number of people I know, this event bears mentioning. It felt almost like a rite of passage to my sense of belonging here. I mean, holy cow, I actually bumped into someone. Met a friend, unplanned, more than 100km away from home, in a foreign land (though really, I already feel very much at home here). Whoo-hoo!

View from one of the many Brisbane National Parks lookouts.

KG and I settled in a quiet spot for a picnic of random items from the local IGA. Unfortunately, he failed to appreciate my choice, which had me eating more than 500g of roast chicken wings.

I am avoiding chicken wings for the foreseeable future.

A curious and clumsy kookaburra

I don't know how the residents here relay their addresses with straight faces.

The breathtaking view from Jollys Lookout

Possibly one of the less vulgar quainter street names I've come across

another bloody water

Stolen Recipe Ice Tea (not bad but too chamomile-y for my liking) and Charlie's Honest Smoothie (the colour and texture of Malaysian drain sludge but hey, KG liked it)

Upon my insistence, we headed to Mount Coo-tha. It was almost impossible to find parking, but the view (poorly captured below) was worth it.

Unfortunately in the excitement, we forgot to check out the Japanese Botanical Gardens, which are apparently well worth a visit. Until the next time then.