Tansey

You may not heard of Tansey, a tiny town north-west of Gympie and about 57km south of Gayndah, but it used to be the toast of the international cheese-making fraternity. Yes, early last century Tansey turned out 10lb cheddar cheeses which were so good that they won prizes at the Royal London Show. But, the old cheese factory has closed now, along with the meatworks, although there's still a fair bit of dairy farming going on, along with beef cattle fattening and grain growing - soya beans and sorghum mostly. Lucerne, too, grows well in this alluvial country. Springbrook Farm, just to the north of Tansey, is the headquarters of the VizitOz scheme which provides young backpackers from across the world with the basic skills in Australian bushcraft. The restored and fully operational steam sawmill at Elgin Vale not only gives visitors an insight to milling methods of the past, but it is a designated campsite on the Bicentennial National Trail which cuts through Kilkivan Shire on its way from Cooktown to Victoria. Spectacular Kinbombi Gorge, lies south of Tansey off the road from Kilkivan to Goomeri. Walks from the picnic area take visitors to the floor of the gorge where they can freshen up in a deep pool.