Jan 30, 2012

The Ginger Factory

Nestled in a little town called Yandina is a tourist attraction called The Ginger Factory. Last week they held their annual three day Ginger flower and food festival. Entry was free so we decided to have a look. Now a Ginger plant is nothing special..when not in flower. However when these unassuming little plants bloom they are the most spectacular I have ever seen. Of course I took my camera and here are some of the beautiful blossoms we saw...







Aren't they fabulous? As well as the flowers, there is a lovely little heritage style village with gift shops, a Herbal shop, and a sweet shop filled with all sorts of gourmet yummies, like candied ginger, macadamia brittle, pistachio nougat, and mouth watering fudges (my favourite being the Turkish delight fudge). There are lovely gardens with ponds and fountains and a little wooden bridge, or you can stroll through a forest trail (we couldn't do this as it was too wet). There is a little steam train to take you on a tour of the whole park, as they are also a ginger processing plant. There was some cool entertainment and lots of delicious food stalls as well. 


However, we decided we wanted to visit the town of Yandina itself so at lunch time we drove into the town centre and found a lovely little bakery and had the BEST pies, washed down with a cold passiona. 


It was a really nice, family day.

22 comments:

  1. I have been known to say that the only food i dislike is ginger, not as a subtle flavour in certain Asian inspired dishes but in great chunks the way my mother ate ginger when I was a child. I had no idea the ginger plant sports such astonishing flowers. What beauties. Makes me think I should revisit my distaste for ginger.

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  2. I,too, had no idea the ginger plant was so beautiful in bloom. The next time I eat a ginger snap I'll be sure to appreciate it more.

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  3. @Elisabeth I have grown to like it :)
    @Stephen excellent :)
    @Laoch I know!

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  4. They're like coloured pine cones. I gotta get to Australia someday.

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  5. We have Ginger plants here on Guam and they are beautiful. I always liked ginger, but I didn't really grow to respect it until we moved to Japan. Now I use it in a lot of food. And I'll never pass up a gingersnap cookie.

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  6. I did not know ginger even *had* a flower, much less that they were so beautiful. The more you know.

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  7. I've never seen a Ginger flower...or Ginger flower blooms...Lovely! It looked like a nice outing. :-)

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  8. I knew the ginger we eat in baked goods, and make teas and ginger "ale" from, come from a root. But I never knew what the flower itself looked like until now. Very pretty! Sounds like your family had such a wonderful time, Sprite. :)

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  9. We have a few native to BC wild ginger plants growing in the back garden. Their flowers are not nearly as spectacular but they are some of my favourite plants. Mmmm ginger!

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  10. Like everyone else I had no idea that Ginger creates such stunning blooms in such variety.
    Pics are great, thanks for sharing.

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  11. @dsb yep you do!
    @Meg I have grown to love ginger, it's so versatile, and good for you.
    @Vinny, I know right? they are spectacular.
    @Poetess It was :)
    @David they are. thanks, it was a really nice day.
    @Carole I agree!
    @Ant One of the reasons why I wanted to go to this place, I knew Ginger had awesome flowers, just hadn't really seen any in person.

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  12. Those are the coolest blossoms! I had no idea that was how ginger would look! Thank you for sharing - sounds like a great trip!

    I have never comment on word verification before, but this time it was "psyco". I guess it has really verified me!

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  13. @Laughingmom They are spectacular..
    VW... LOL! that's funny :)

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  14. Those ginger flowers are just amazing, they don't look real. Think I'll plant a root of ginger myself and see what comes up! :)

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  15. @Jenny.. wouldn't that be an interesting experiment! thanks for commenting :)

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  16. OH MY GOD, those flowers are freaking fabulous!!! Since I've never heard of them before, I want to thank you for posting pictures. That was total eye candy at this grey, brown, murky, yucky, slate time of year. I'm going to have to send the link to my sister--who is also a flower fanatic.

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  17. @Karen.. HI! thanks for commenting and following.
    Oh the flowers are just beautiful, even more so in person. I really like the "Beehive" sort, just gorgeous.

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  18. @Frisky I know! I pretty much fell in love with them all :)

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  19. I actually live in Yandina, so thank you for making me appreciate the Ginger Factory AND the bakery all over again.

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  20. No problem Wicket! We actually passed through there last weekend and I was sad to see the bakery doesn't open on a Sunday..lol.

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I'd love to hear what you have to say :)