Girraween – a Place of Flowers

By Carmel Shelley.

When I told friends that I was going to Stanthorpe for part of my honeymoon two and a half years ago, I got many questioning looks and I quickly had to follow it with ‘and the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree’. The last two destinations seemed to satisfy people’s idea of where a honeymoon should be spent. The first however was greeted with ‘where is that and what are you going to do there?’ Believe me ‘what are we going to do there’ crossed my mind a number of times too.

Our honeymoon was split so that my husband had something he enjoyed – cool climate, wine tasting and bushwalking and mine – warm climate, beach, cocktails, lazing about. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy wine tasting and bush walking, I just didn’t want the cool climate when I was on my honeymoon.

But I was in an eternal partnership now so I happily packed warm and cool climate clothes and looked forward to the open fire that I would soon be snoozing in front of, soothing my soul and nourishing my weary spirit.

Stanthorpe was more than just wine tasting and fire gazing, we also discovered Girraween National Park, full of wonder and beauty. The landscape was preparing itself for spring with fresh spring air and little glimmers of wildflowers braving the still very cold nights to show their splendour during the day. Girraween means ‘Place of Flowers’ which captures it perfectly.

Girraween Nation Park lies within the Granite Belt region on the New South Wales – Queensland border, 260km south-west of Brisbane, an area that is speckled with Granite boulders, some of which are precariously placed within the landscape. There are a number of activities you can do but we stuck to wandering the paths in search of wildflowers and the odd animal or two.

I didn’t realise just how much I would enjoy this part of my honeymoon. There was a peacefulness about the park and its rejuvenation after a cold winter mirrored my rejuvenation after what had been (and continued to be) a very difficult period. But I saw the hope and the spirit of the land come alive. I planted my feet on the ground and said I can do this too, and I did and continue to.

Remembering this ‘Place of Flowers’ fills my heart with love and my soul with peace.