The Granite Belt high country surrounding Stanthorpe is rightly famous for the remarkable granite formations of the National Parks, superb wines, fresh fruit, spectacular wild flowers and comfortable B&B accommodation. 

Granite Belt Accommodation
Whether you desire a double room in a purpose built guesthouse or a self-contained, cottage style apartment, Das Helwig Haus can meet your needs. Situated just south of Stanthorpe amongst the wineries this tranquil country retreat is one quiet kilometre from the New England Highway at Glen Aplin.

Think Wildflowers, Wilderness and Wine when planning your holiday break.

Glen Aplin, Stanthorpe
Wildflowers. On the farm at Glen Aplin, Fay Helwig has established a Remembrance Field of red Flanders poppies, a wild flower of the wheat fields of Europe, which became famous during the battles for the Somme in World War One. This spectacular field of scarlet poppies is timed to reach its peak each year for Remembrance Day 11^th November.

Fay’s remarkable garden is a great attraction for guests in the spring months of September, October and November. Designed with meandering paths, guests are able to admire waving daffodils and blossom trees in the early spring and witness the full glory of this colourful garden as the summer approaches.

Granite Belt National Parks
Wilderness is represented by the four National Parks which guests can explore on the Granite Belt.  The most famous of these, the Girraween National Park is only about twenty minutes drive from your Das Helwig Haus retreat. The word Girraween is Aboriginal for place of wildflowers – Australian native wildflowers.

Granite Belt Wine
Wine tour companies collect guests daily for visits to a number of the sixty wineries now producing superb wines on the Granite Belt. It is the altitude and cool mountain climate which is responsible for the unique taste of the medal winning wines produced in this region. The climate has encouraged winemakers to grow unusual varieties of grapes and produce individual styles of wine suited for the Queensland palate. Every year the Australian Small Winemakers Show is held in Stanthorpe in October. During this show, visitors to the region also have the opportunity of sampling more than 500 wines from small wineries located all over Australia.

Glen Aplin, Stanthorpe Accommodation
Dinners in June, July and August Fay serves up roast goose dinners each Saturday night in the style of a German Christmas Feast. If you dream of frost crunching under your feet, your breath steaming over a hot mug of mulled wine, the aroma of roast goose wafting from the kitchen, make your dreams a reality and book with Fay for a Granite Belt Christmas this winter season.

Fay established a reputation as a prize winning country show cook prior to marrying her German born husband, Eberhard. To differentiate their B&B from others within Australia, Fay has chosen to honour her husband’s heritage with a German style hot buffet breakfast. This meal is served on heavily laden tables in the main dining room. Produce from the organic garden is presented as fruit compote, jams, jellies and marmalades along with muesli & porridge, sausages, ham & eggs, and home baked wholemeal bread toasted or fresh bread rolls. This is a unique breakfast that you will long remember.

• In 1998 the journalists of the Queensland Sunday-Mail named Das Helwig Haus the best B&B in Queensland.

• Don Burke featured the superb organic garden on the Burkes Backyard TV show.
• Ross McKinnon, curator of the Brisbane Mt-Cootha Botanic gardens, wrote that it was the best cool climate vegetable garden he had seen in Queensland.
• Das Helwig Haus has appeared on The Great South East and on Brisbane Extra TV shows.
• The wonderful German cuisine features regularly on the SBS TV Food Lovers Guide to Australia.
• In 2005 Das Helwig Haus won the first Queensland Multicultural Award for Small Business. 

Now you be the judge.
Book a stay at this comfortable retreat during the frosty winter or when its spectacular spring garden is an avalanche of colour and perfume that has to be experienced to be believed.