Touring the Gold Coast hinterland

I'd never met Royd Wallace until I came along on this trip. He's the father of Darran who runs the Southern Cross 4WD Tours (SC4WD). Royd was also our tour guide and he spent the whole day to take us to Mt Tamourine and the Lamington national park. Of course, these are all the attractions in the Coast Coast hinterland, but you can already experience a lot from this tour.

Along the way, we travelled in the Australian-made OKA, a powerful 4WD vehicle that made nonsense of the toughest dirt terrains. The OKA can seat 10 people comfortably but there were only six of us that day. Even with a full load, I can assure you that there'd be enough power and ample leg room for everyone.

We climbed the dirt track to reach Mt Tambourine, had tea there, then travelled southwards to Sarabah for lunch before heading further south into the Lamington national park to the O'Reilly's Guesthouse. The final destination was the Tree Top Walk.

All in, we spent about 10 hours on the road and it was a trip that I'd fully recommend anyone. Gold Coast is not all about the beaches; it is about a wonderful hinterland also. The vista from the hills were wonderful and it's tour companies like SC4WD Tours that keep these alternative attractions of Australia alive.


You can always find this company on the Internet but you can also email them at info@sc4wd.com.au to arrange your tours. A half-day itinerary is available but it's much worthwhile to sign up for the full-day package.