A family day out exploring Ipswich

9am – Peak Organics at Ivory’s Rock

We started the day by visiting Peak Organics at Ivory’s Rock. The drive itself was charming in the morning, there are some wonderful views of the Flinders Peak mountains at Peak Crossing. The Saturday markets themselves have a wonderful selection of fresh fruit and vegetables that are grown onsite, you can see some of the crop being pulled from where it’s grown if you arrive early. The farm and market are run by volunteers, which gives it a pleasant community feel.

My youngest daughter loved running around exploring the different garden beds while my eldest daughter just wanted to buy some of the produce. We spent a bit of time talking to the volunteers and they were happy to share how they plant and grow their fruit and vegetables. Overall, it was a great experience and we will definitely be back, the prices were very reasonable for organic produce.

11am – Ipswich Nature Centre

We then went to see some of the animals at the Ipswich nature centre located in Queens Park. There is plenty of free parking and the cafe near by had a wide selection of food and drinks. The Ipswich Nature Centre is open Tuesday to Sunday and has a selection of Australian wildlife. We took our time walking around the wooden boardwalks and took a moment to watch the beautiful wildlife, you can easily spend a few hours there just admiring the animals.

We saw kangaroos sun bathing, ducks and swans swimming, birds flying about and being friendly enough to take a selfie! There were a few baby and adult Bilbies in their specially-built habitat. It was a really tranquil and family-friendly experience. After spending a few hours at the Ipswich Nature Centre, the kids were hungry so we headed to the Queen’s Park Cafe for a bite to eat. The venue was full of people and we were pleased with how many options they had, the cabinet was packed and the menu itself has lots of meal ideas.

2pm – The Workshops Rail Museum

Located at North Ipswich, The Workshops Rail Museum is a walk into yesteryear with some amazing trains to look at and even physically walk through. The collection of train items is impressive, it takes a few hours to walk through and view everything, let alone the interactive options and historical audio/visual aspects. The kids had fun with the educational and interactive displays, they have something for every age group and kids can pass the time playing and learning.

I had a go driving a train through a train simulator, it brought out the kid in me which was unexpected fun. The old trains are impressive and the girls were mesmerised at how people used to travel in them. Walking around the premises you’ll come across the old Power station and some of the old workshop buildings. We made a late afternoon of it by checking out the Museum Twilight Markets. The Museum hosts these regularly. There’s food trucks, live music and craft workshops.

Need to know: There is also a gift shop with a wide selections of memorabilia to take away with you. A cafe is also located within the gift shop where you can take a break from all the exploring and learning.

All in all, it really was a well-spent day in Ipswich exploring organic fruit and vegetables, Australian wildlife, food and the historic Railway museum.