📍7 Best Things To Do In Goomeri, Queensland: Gympie Road Trip Visitor Guide. (2024.)

WANT TO KNOW THE BEST THINGS TO DO IN GOOMERI?

In the western part of the greater Gympie region of Queensland, lies Goomeri, the Pumpkin Capital Of Australia. Along with growing the delicious edibles that are especially fantastic oven-roasted, the town is also a lovely country escape.

From the adorable pumpkin statue symbolising its status as the country’s premier growing region of these gourds in its charming town centre to being the gateway of the picturesque South Burnett region, here are some of the best things to do in Goomeri from one road trip enthusiast to another.

1. Hike Through A Land-Striken Capsized “Boat”.
Boat Mountain Conservation Park.

The highlight of any visit to Goomeri is easily Boat Mountain Conservation Park. With a peculiar name like that, the first question that comes to mind, and it certainly did to mine, is why is it called that? For a very long time before whomever would have named this place, the sea level wasn’t what it used to be so no watercraft would have gotten stuck or shipwrecked there. Unless it was only recently that some dude got stranded with a sea vessel on the back of their trailer? But no, the name doesn’t have anything to do with a physical boat, but rather the formation of a mountain that resembles the hull of one that’s capsized. Poseidon, anyone?

Anyway, ruminations aside, walking through this gorgeous hidden gem consists of one fantastic in-and-out hiking track starting with many steps to reach Braithwaites Lookout, which has lovely views of Murgon, the neighbouring town of Goomeri. Then towards the end, it goes along an incredible ridgeline that has views overlooking the east and west, concluding at the breathtaking Daniels Lookout, which showcases the spectacular undulating landscapes of the north and east, making the whole endeavour very much worth the calf-burning exercise.

Meanwhile, Silburns Vine Scrub Walk is a loop that deviates from the main track and meets back up with it further down the line. However, aside from the notable changes in vegetation from open eucalypt woodland to dense softwood scrub, there isn’t much to see.

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2. Kilkivan-Kingaroy Rail Trail.

For those looking for a longer physical challenge, the Kilkivan-Kingaroy Rail Trail is a lovely 88km track along an old trail line repurposed to connect the Greater Gympie region’s most westerly towns to the Kingaroy, the South Burnett’s biggest.

Goomeri is one of the towns it passes through, and it is a great way to explore the countryside or boot or bike, either as a fantastic day trip or a multi-day adventure, especially with many of the towns offering free overnight stays for car campers and caravanners.

3. Big Pumpkin.

Showcasing its status as the nation’s pumpkin-growing capital is the Big Pumpkin located at the park on the corner of the Burnett Highway (A3) and Boonara St/Wide Bay Highway(49), the main thoroughfare through town, Although this Big Thing isn’t as huge as you might expect, given the nature of these quintessential Australian icons.

Its size is actually very humble, as is the fruit, (yep, they’re not technically vegetables from a botanist’s perspective as I found out doing research for this post. My mind is blown!), so if you’re just hoping to catch it driving through, you might miss it. Surprisingly, the grey pumpkin sculpture atop weighs over half a tonne and sits upon an even more impressive colourful mosaic base making a short pitstop to see the detail up close worthwhile.

4. Pumpkin Festival.

Taking things up ten notches, Goomeri puts on the epic three-day Pumpkin Festival to celebrate its love and affinity for versatile food with fun activities and games. The highlight is the signature Great Australian Pumpkin Roll, a hilarious event where participants bring a pumpkin from home or buy on the day to push, roll or bowl down Policemans Hill like a bowling ball down an alley to try and land on the Lucky Spot while they’re inevitably smashing apart all to win the coveted titled of Pumpkin Roll Champion and their name immortalised on the Goomery Pumpkin Festival Honour Roll.

5. Bjelke-Petersen Dam.

A lovely change up to the countryside scenery is Lake Barambah. Impounded by the Bjelke-Petersen Dam, this picturesque place is used as a supply lake for the South Burnett townships of Murgon and Cherbourg and also a gorgeous recreation area for various land and water-based activities.

Its wide open spaces, grassy areas, sheltered tables and free BBQs make it a fantastic place to cook up a storm or enjoy a picnic and soak up the serenity while chowing down on some grub. Heading to the lookout or walking across the dam wall offers even more opportunities to appreciate the stunning scenery.

Birdwatching is also a fun thing to do especially as it appears to be the home of a sizeable scoop, pouch, squadron or fleet, whichever term you want to use for a group of pelicans. Never have I seen a bird of this feather flock so largely together. And I don’t know if it’s just because I was there early, but the day-use area seemed to be the prime munching ground for the grass-munching, land-dwelling rabbits, and surprisingly horses. Yes, super randomly, horses!!! “Where did they come from, where did they go, where did they come from, Cotton Horse Joe?”

Not forgetting the water-based activities, Lake Barambah is also a fantastic place to swap the car for a boat, kayak, or sailboat, which are great ways to spend a few hours exploring and soaking up the peaceful ambience of this stunning waterway.

6. 55 Million Years Ago.

Over at Murgon, the town west over is one of the area’s newest attractions. 55 Million Years Ago is a stunning fossil museum featuring gorgeous replicas of some of the most significant archeological finds of pre-historic mega-fauna that date back to the Tertiary Period, roughly 10 million years after the extinction of the much more famous dinosaurs of the three Mesozoic Eras: the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous.

The real-life fossils of the models on display here were discovered at the Murgon Fossil Site near Boat Mountain Conservation Park where they found 15 new species in the 1930s which, at the time, predated the oldest ones previously unearthed in Australia from the Eocene period by a whopping 20 million years, which was huge news.

7. Pearsons Lookout.
Mudlo National Park.

Another gorgeous place to visit near Goomeri is Pearsons Lookout. Located in Mudlo National Park, north of the neighbouring town of Kilkivan en route to Gympie, this lovely viewpoint isn’t well signposted. For starters, the car park only has signage for the easy, 1.2km Scrubby Creek Walking Track, and nothing for the lookout. It’s also when you’ve walked a considerable distance along the trail that a sign for it shows up.

From there, it’s 700m one way and it’s all uphill, with plenty of stairs to get those cardiovascular muscles burning. But the view from the top is lovely, looking eastward towards the undulating mountains and hills of greater Gympie, and the seat they’ve put up there is nice after that ascent. Then you can either go back down the way you came, or down a steep and wide pathway that appears to be a QPWS road.

Goomeri Attractions Map.

Although it may look like a drive-through town, there are some fantastic things to do in Goomeri and nearby that’ll make you want to spend more time here exploring than you may have expected.