Nambour, Sunshine Coast: Travel guide and things to do

In an area of total tourist insanity Nambour presents itself as a relatively ordinary large centre which serves both the travellers on the Bruce Highway and the surrounding agricultural population. It is a town of supermarkets rather than historic buildings; a town where the sugar railway line crosses the Bruce Highway and runs down the middle of the main street. At crushing time it is commonplace to see a cane train winding its way down the street.

Located 30 m above sea-level and 101 km north of Brisbane, Nambour was probably named after the local Aboriginal word for a red flowering tea-tree.

The district was settled by Europeans in the 1860s but it wasn't until the arrival of the railway in 1890 that the local economy became focused on sugar production. A sugar mill was built in 1896.

Nambour is the most southerly of Queensland's major sugar towns and, interestingly, the cane was still cut by hand in the area as recently as the 1970s. This was only because of the hilly terrain which was not suitable for cane-cutting machines.

In recent times the agricultural base of the area has expanded to include a variety of tropical crops - particularly macadamia nuts, bananas, citrus fruits and pineapples.

Things to see

The Sunshine Plantation (The Big Pineapple)
The big attraction in the area is the Sunshine Plantation which lies south of the town and is a typical Queensland tourist trap theme park. It is a place to spend money on tropical fruits and gifts while clambering up the Big Pineapple (16 metres high), taking a ride on a cane train through the tropical plantation, hopping aboard the Nutmobile for a journey through the macadamia orchards and rainforest surrounds of 'Nutcountry', enjoying the Harvest Boat Ride or visiting the animal nursery. Information about the state's tropical fruit industry is to be found within the Big Pineapple which offers views of the surrounds from its summit. Macadamia and honey products (food, soaps and other body products) are for sale in the Nut Shop. The Sunshine Plantation has a licensed restaurant and a huge greenhouse and is located just off the Bruce Highway, along the Nambour Connection Rd, at Woombye. It is open daily and admission is free, http://www.bigpineapple.com.au/

Thrill Hill Fun Park
A little further west along the Nambour Connection Rd is Thrill Hill Fun Park, which is also open daily, tel: 1800 287 333 or check out: http://www.thrillhillwaterslides.com/