Hidden Gold Homestead - August 2025

Friday 1st August, 2025

Not bad, we're on the road by 11.30am, heading toward Moffatdale for the weekend.  We're meeting up with Mark & Deb and Fran & John again for the weekend at Hidden Gold Homestead, however a couple days earlier Mark & Deb's car has shit itself and they won't be able to join us - they are going shopping for a new car.  Such a shame they can't come.

It's okay though, the four of us will soldier on and do our best to enjoy the weekend away 😁

We stopped off at the Woolooga Hotel for lunch on our way out,  we haven't been since it was re-opened, have read some really good reviews so why not give it a go.  There is also camping available about 300mtrs or so down the road from the pub, apparently you go into the pub and ask about it first.

Lunch was delicious, so worth the stop off.  Time to continue our journey out to Moffatdale to Hidden Gold Homestead.

Arrived about 2.45pm and found John & Fran waiting for us.  The area Deb has suggested to camp was already occupied, so we went for a walk around and choose a spot toward the front close to the Lake.  Best part was we had nobody between us and the Lake, just the Lake to look out on.

John and Fran have hired a motorhome for the weekend, a bit bigger than the one they hired for Millmerran last year.  They seem pretty happy with it. 

Just a relaxing afternoon, going for walks with Barney and Barney following his new favourite person being Fran, around.  Of course there was a campfire to sit around and chat, with John and Craig sitting around until the wee hours of the morning drinking rum and talking s💥💩t 😆

Dusty Hill Winery across the Lake

Saturday 2nd August, 2025

This morning we had fog on the Lake, which looked awesome however some of us didn't see it beause they were a little, shall we say feeling a bit dusty 😵‍💫

A beautiful morning to be camping, sitting enjoying our surrounding before heading off on our adventures.

On the agenda today is wine tasting at Clovely Estate Winery and then across to Dusty Hill Winery for lunch and procuring some lovely Rosé and pantry items from their Larder Shop.

We haven't been to Clovely for probably 20 odd years and pulling up in their car park, it has definitely changed - looks so inviting and relaxing, somewhere you could settle in for  few hours of charcuterie boards, pizzas and wine tastings.  The outside areas are dog friendly and there's even a grassed area.  We found ourselves a table and decided on what wine tasting selection we'd each have (there is a choice of 4 - Touch of Sweetness, Everyday, Taste of the Mediterranean and Cellar Door) and you get 5 wines to taste.  Each of wines in your selection are explained to you by the Sommelier I suppose you'd call him.

It really is a very pleasant place to sit and while we did not try the food, we all have decided we must come again next winter and try and wine again but definitely have the charcuterie boards and pizzas!

Okay, now onwards to Dusty Hill Winery for lunch at Pendergast's Irish Tavern.  Now, our friends family own Dusty Hill Winery and also Goomeri Bakery (used to own Joe's Grand Hotel in Goomeri also, but recently sold it), this is why I intend to buy some of the Rosé as I have had it before 😉  We've never eaten at Dusty Hill before, just done the wine tasting, so as we walked around the back to the entrance of the Irish Tavern we were very impressed.  Lovely open grassed area with picnic tables overlooking a little Lake, inside dining and also a huge dining deck.  Deb had booked a table for us outside for Barney and I'm glad she did, it was really busy. Looking at the menu, I am very much looking forward to our lunch.

Again,  this is a very pleasant area to be.  The surrounding buildings are so cute and the area is just so relaxing, you could stay for hours quite easily.  We are all famished, so time to order lunch because it might be a little bit of a wait due to how busy they are.

Craig ordered Slow Braised Lamb Shanks 

Me, I ordered Chicken Tipperary Topper (Irish Parma) 

Fran got Irish Croquette & Vegetable Stack with grilled chicken

Last but not least, John ordered the The Sinking Shepherd a Slow cooked lamb, rosemary & red onion pie

We were all delighted with our meals and again, plan on coming back again in the winter .of next year.

After lunch we headed into the Wine shop so Fran and I could purchase a box of that Rosé and then headed into the Larder Shop to procure some of the delights within - local jams and relishes - olive oil - table olives - small goods - local cheeses and let's not forget the homemade Fudge!!  So many delights!

Back to camp after all that excitment, where a little bit of napping went on for some and as the afternoon wore on it started to get a bit chilly.

We were planning on having nibbles and a lamb on the spit with roast veg for dinner and a relaxing campfire, however the wind picked up to the point it was blowing a gale, then you could see the darkness forming in the sky and light showers started.  So awnings got pulled in, tables, chairs etc got put away and just as most of that was stowed away the heavans opened up and down came the rain.  Well that put a dampener on our evening plans, we each withdrew inside our respective mobile homes for the remainder of the night and that was that unfortunately.

Sunday 3rd August, 2025

This morning we awoke to an overcast sky, a bit drizzley.  Nobody was in a hurry to venture out into the outside world. 

Fran sent a text to ask if John could make Craig a coffee (it's a John and Craig thing) LOL.  We decided there wasn't any point in trying to cook breakfast outside this morning, nor was it pleasant to sit outside, so decision was made to abandon the rest of the morning and head home.

We had planned on stopping at the Goomeri Bakery for breakfast, unfortunately so did a heap of other people (disappointed we were), couldn't even find a park, never mind thought we'd go to the Longyard Cafe in Woolooga - ❌ not open when we got there, bugger.  We ended up and don't laugh, at the old Golden Nugget Servo just outside Gympie on the old Bruce Highway and I tell you what, we had a superb hot breakfast there but it is a truck stop, so not really surprised and Barney was given a sausage for his own breakfast by the waitress 💖

We will all meet up again in the winter of next year for a camp at Hidden Gold Homestead and most definitely do the wine tasting and food at Clovely one day and the next day have lunch at Dusty Hill again, so long Moffatdale until next year when we return.

Hidden Gold Homestead is a Hipcamp booking or you can contact Clint the owner directly.  You need to be self contained as there are no facilities on the property.