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Queensland’s wine country just beat the Whitsundays to become the state’s top town

Emily Murphy Emily Murphy
A cool-climate Granite Belt town known for pinot noir and apple orchards has claimed Queensland’s most coveted tourism crown.

Stanthorpe doesn’t have a reef. It doesn’t have a rainforest canopy walk or a celebrity chef strip. What it does have – wineries, rolling granite country, farmgate produce and some of the coldest winters in Queensland – just beat everything else the Sunshine State has to offer.

The town was crowned Queensland’s Top Tourism Town at the Queensland Tourism Industry Council’s (QTIC) annual awards, going one better than last year when it took home silver and cementing its reputation as the state’s most underrated destination.

The town also came in at number 78 on Australian Traveller’s 100 Best Aussie Towns this year.

The full list of winners also handed the Top Small Tourism Town title to Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays – a town so synonymous with Queensland tourism it almost didn’t need the award – while tiny Toogoolawah, a Somerset region village most Australians couldn’t point to on a map, pulled off the upset of the night by winning Top Tiny Tourism Town.

Toogoolawah, Somerset, Queensland
Village Toogoolawah took out Top Tiny Tourism Town.

A gem hunter from outback Queensland became the state’s best tour guide. Jeb Connelly, a proud Pitta Pitta man from the Sapphire Gemfields, learnt everything he knows on Country.

Connelly runs Jebs Gems Tag A Long Tours, taking visitors fossicking for sapphires and gems while weaving in Indigenous cultural knowledge and outback storytelling that no guidebook could replicate.

QTIC CEO Natassia Wheeler said what set Connelly apart wasn’t just his knowledge – it was how he made people feel.

“He guides with humility, kindness and an innate ability to make every guest feel valued and included," Wheeler said.

“What makes Jeb’s story particularly inspiring is that he has built a successful tourism business through lived experience, passion and a deep commitment to sharing his culture."

Jeb Connelly doing a tour
Jeb Connelly (centre) is Queensland’s Top Tour Guide for 2026.

All three winning towns – Stanthorpe, Airlie Beach and Toogoolawah – will now represent Queensland at the national Australian Top Tourism Town Awards later this year, where they’ll face off against the best from every other state.

For Stanthorpe, it’s a chance to show the rest of the country what Queensland already knows: sometimes the best destination doesn’t have a beach. Sometimes it has a cellar door, a granite boulder and a bottle of cool-climate shiraz waiting for you at the end of a country road.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

AI Prompt

The winners

Couple walking through vineyard in Stanthorpe, Queensland
Stanthorpe is Queensland’s top town.

Gold

  • Top Tourism Town: Stanthorpe
  • Top Small Tourism Town: Airlie Beach
  • Top Tiny Tourism Town: Toogoolawah
  • Top Tour Guide: Jeb Connelly, Jebs Gems Tag A Long Tours

Silver

  • Top Small Tourism Town: Port Douglas
  • Top Tiny Tourism Town: Hughenden
  • Top Tour Guide: Guy Watson, Urban Tours

Bronze

  • Top Small Tourism Town: Esk
  • Top Tiny Tourism Town: Cape Tribulation
  • Top Tour Guide: Paul Porteous, Cairns Adventure Group

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Emily Murphy
Emily Murphy is Australian Traveller's Email & Social Editor, and in her time at the company she has been instrumental in shaping its social media and email presence, and crafting compelling narratives that inspire others to explore Australia's vast landscapes. Her previous role was a journalist at Prime Creative Media and before that she was freelancing in publishing, content creation and digital marketing. When she's not creating scroll-stopping travel content, Em is a devoted 'bun mum' and enjoys spending her spare time by the sea, reading, binge-watching a good TV show and exploring Sydney's vibrant dining scene. Next on her Aussie travel wish list? South Australia and The Kimberley.
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Exploding supernovas & gold fever: discover the past at this outback Qld town

    Kassia Byrnes Kassia Byrnes
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    Under wide-open outback skies, discover a fossicking gem that’s managed to slip under the radar.

    While the name Clermont may feel new to even the most intrepid traveller, its gilded history stretches back centuries. You’ll find it just off the highway, humming quietly under the hazy veil of Queensland’s outback sun. It’s here, hemmed in by mountains and perched atop soil heavy with the earth’s treasures, that one of Australia’s most accessible outback adventures awaits.

    Thanks to deposits of gold, copper and gemstones – souvenirs left by exploding supernovas and the heave of tectonic plates – Clermont became a centre point of Queensland’s Gold Rush. And now? Australia’s fossicking capital is yours to discover.

    Getting there

    car driving along Capricorn Way in queensland
    Take a drive through Queensland’s Mackay Isaac region. (Image: Sean Scott/ TEQ)

    You’ll find Clermont in Queensland’s Mackay Isaac region. To get here, it’s an easy three-hour drive over sealed roads from Mackay. Or, if you’re heading from the Sapphire Fields of Emerald, the drive will carve out just over an hour from your day.

    Whether you’re road-tripping through outback Queensland or just tracing your way through all that Australia has to offer, Clermont is remote but easily accessible.

    Best accommodation in Clermont

    Theresa CreekDam in clermont
    Camp by Theresa Creek Dam. (Image: Riptide Creative/ TEQ)

    All accommodation comes with a generous helping of country hospitality here. The choice is yours between modern hotels, parking up the camper or pitching a tent.

    Theresa Creek Dam lies just outside town. Begin each day with crisp country air and bright outback sunrises. Spend the night under the sparkling country stars and your days out on the dam fishing or kayaking. Even if you aren’t camping, be sure to save space in your itinerary for an afternoon on the red dirt shore.

    To stay closer to town, opt for a central hotel to base yourself between exploring and fossicking, like Smart Stayzzz Inn and Clermont Country Motor Inn.

    Things to do in Clermont

    three people on a tour with Golden Prospecting
    Join a tour with Golden Prospecting.

    One does not visit Clermont without trying their hand at fossicking. There are strict rules when it comes to fossicking, so stick to areas dedicated for general permission and make sure you obtain your license beforehand. Try your luck at McMasters, Four Mile, Town Desert, McDonald Flat and Flat Diggings. To increase your odds, sign on for a tour with the expert team at Golden Prospecting. They’ll give you access to exclusive plots and expert advice along the way.

    Once you’ve tried your luck on the gold fields, head to the Clermont Township and Historical Museum. Each exhibit works like an archaeologist’s brush to dust away the layers of Clermont’s history. Like the steam engine that painstakingly relocated the entire town inch by inch to higher ground after it was decimated by flooding in 1916. See the tools that helped build the Blair Athol mine, historic fire engines, shearing sheds and all sorts of relics that make up Clermont’s story.

    The historic Copperfield Chimney offers a change of pace. Legend has it that fossickers found a solid wall of copper here, over three metres high, kick-starting Queensland’s first-ever copper mine.

    Bush Heli Services flying over clermont queensland
    See Clermont from above with Bush Heli Services. (Image: Riptide Creative/ TEQ)

    For hiking, nearby Dysart is the best place to access Peak Range National Park. Here, mountainous horizons stretch across the outback as if plucked from another world. Set off for a scenic drive along the Peak Downs Highway for access to countless geological wonders. Like the slanting rockface of Wolfang Peak. Summit it, and you’ll find yourself looking out across a scene surely conjured up by Banjo Paterson. Dry scrub dancing in the warm breeze, grazing cattle, eucalypts and the gentle creak of windmills. Don’t miss visiting Gemini Peaks, either, for one of the park’s best vistas, and a blanket of wild flowers after rain.

    Then, take to the skies with a scenic helicopter tour with Bush Heli-Services. Shift your perspective and cruise above all the sights from your trip. Spots like Lords Table Mountain and Campbell’s Peak are best viewed from the skies.

    Before you head home, be sure to explore the neighbouring townships. Spend a lazy afternoon in the shade of Nebo Hotel’s wrap-around verandahs. The hotel’s 1900s dance hall has since been replaced with one of the area’s biggest rodeo arenas, so consider timing your trip to line up with a boot scootin’ rodeo. Or, stop by a ghost town. Mount Britton was once a thriving town during the 1880s Gold Rush. It’s been totally abandoned and now lies untouched, a perfect relic of the Gold Rush.

    Best restaurants and cafes in Clermont

    meal at Commercial Hotel
    Stop into the Commercial Hotel Clermont.

    Days spent fossicking, bushwalking and cramming on history call for excellent coffee and hearty country meals. Luckily, Clermont delivers in spades.

    Lotta Lattes Cafe is beloved by locals for a reason. Start your days here for the best caffeine fix in town and an impeccable brunch menu.

    For a real country meal, an icy cold beer and that famed country hospitality, head straight to the town’s iconic hotel: the Commercial Hotel (known endearingly to locals as ‘The Commie’). It’s been a staple in Clermont since 1877. The hotel even survived the flood of 1916 when it was sawn in two and moved to higher ground.

    Naturally, time spent in the outback must include calling into the local bakery. For delicious pies and a tantalising array of sweet treats, make Bluemac Bakehouse your go-to while in town.

    Discover more of The Mackay Isaac region, and start planning your trip at mackayisaac.com.