Ripple Massage at Cedar Creek Lodges - Treehouse - A blissful escape to the Gold Coast hinterland proves just the ticket, but strangely enough, also evokes memories of life in the city.

You know you've spent too long in the city when the soft soothing sounds of a brook babbling, tropical birds calling and wind swishing through tree tops remind you not of a rainforest, but of a recording of a rainforest just like the ones heard in inner city cafes. The thought struck me recently as I lay face down on a massage table, midway through a Swedish aromatherapy session. wondering why I was thinking of cafe lattes.

The prompt was the sound of the rainforest outside my lodge on Tamborine Mountain. Little wonder, I thought, that my masseuse, Alison Shaw, owner of Ripple mobile massage service, visited this mountain from Sydney ten years ago and never left. Tranquility has never sounded so good. Not even in stereo.

With my mind drifting, I considered my options for the afternoon, post-massage: should I slip into the large spa bath with my wife, followed by a candlelit dinner on the deck, and then an evening cozied up on the couch reading books and listening to the sounds of the forest, or read first and indulge in a night of passion later? Of course, I was dreaming.

Those choices belong to another life. This one comes with two small children, who came crashing through the door at the end of my massage, trailed by a hot and bothered mother. "Your turn," my wife announced. Mini-break, indeed. Ninety minutes to be precise.

Still, even with Miss Three and Master Almost Two in my charge, Cedar Creek Lodges in Thunderbird Park offers plenty of relaxing diversions. Located just 50 minutes' drive from Brisbane, the park is spread over 129 hectares, wedged between a glut of national parks on the blessedly cool Tamborine Mountain.

With a camping ground and a number of lodges - ranging from dorms to luxury two - bedroom cabins, such as ours, overlooking Cedar Creek - there's not shortage of visitors, but still plenty of places to get lost.

One of the most popular pursuits is fossicking for thunder eggs in the park's mine - source of the world's largest deposit of these oval stones. And then there are rock pools to swim in, trails to walk and horses to ride. There's even a mini golf course.

I note these activities as a public service. We didn't try any of them. Instead, we spent an afternoon peering deep into hollows of eucalypts, natural habitat of the crushed Solo can, and slaying the monsters that appeared to lurk behind every tree. The carnage ended after two hours when Miss Three announced: "Daddy, I'm boring."

I knew what she meant. Besides it was 6 pm. Dinner time. The a la carte Rainforest Brasserie is, like the main complex itself, looking a little tired and in need of a makeover. But there's nothing dull about the food. In chef Christopher Thompson, Cedar Creeks owners have unearthed a real gem.

This is noveau Australian cuisine with flair and panache, and a crispness of flavour to match the air the mountains. Even the children happily forsook the chips and nuggets - aka the kids menu - to share our much healthier and tastier mains. "This place is delicious," Miss Three proclaimed. She's almost right

Call us today to book or for more information on 0438 567 906 or email