Mid-2020, just before the COVID situation in Melbourne got out of control, we had planned to do a road trip for 5–6 weeks, driving up along the coast and spending the majority of our time in Queensland, as far north as Cairns.
Then COVID hit, and all our plans got screwed multiple times.
As we got later into 2020, things started to look better, and we started to make arrangements to leave in mid-January.
Come Christmas time, there was an outbreak on the Northern Beaches in NSW, and that leaked into Melbourne. Uncle Dan decided to shut the NSW border on New Year's Eve, throwing thousands of people into chaos.
What's this mean for our trip?
I didn't like the idea of having to drive around NSW to get to Queensland.
Bugger it, we'll fly to the Gold Coast, hire a car, then drive from there.
Plan made, flights booked, car booked.
We eagerly waited, watching the news, and things took a turn for the worse. The Queensland Government was sitting on the fence about closing the border to Victoria, then decided to keep it open as long as you got a PCR test once you arrived.
Okay, at this stage we're good.
A few days before our flight, things had improved, and the PCR test requirement was no longer needed.
Awesome… Queensland, here we come!
All in the Name of Research
We originally planned the Queensland road trip as a holiday, but also a research trip. We wanted to visit as many breweries as possible, have a look at some of the equipment at sites suppliers had used as reference sites, and get some ideas for the taproom.
Who doesn't like visiting breweries? The more the better, I say.
After spending a few nights on the Gold Coast and visiting the likes of Black Hops and Lost Palms, we headed to Brisbane.
Staying right near Felons, we visited there, then headed to BrewDog, Range and Easy Times.
A couple of nights into our stay, while out one night, I managed to roll my ankle rather badly.
After a night in pain, it was off to the emergency department, where a CT scan confirmed a break on both sides of my ankle.
Great. This holiday had taken multiple attempts to organise, and now I couldn't drive on a driving holiday…
Luckily, Kylie was able to take over driving duties.
From Brisbane, we headed to Noosa and visited Land & Sea. We had a night in Hervey Bay, but unfortunately, Cauldron Brewing was closed the day we were there.
Then it was on to Gladstone's Auckland House, followed by Rockhampton's Hendricks Lane.
From there, we headed up to Airlie Beach for some R&R. Ballistic hadn't yet opened their brewery there.
Along the way, we also spent some time on the Sunshine Coast, where we visited Your Mates Brewing and Moffat Beach (both locations). We missed out on Brouhaha in Maleny, as they were closed midweek.
For anyone travelling up that way, all the places I've mentioned are worth checking out. Some amazing taprooms and amazing beers!
Some photo's from the research trip!
Your Mates Brewing - Sunshine Coast
Hendricks - Rockhampton
Stone & Wood Taproom - Brisbane
Range Brewing - Brisbane
Brewdog - Brisbane
Felons - Brisbane