Amber by Living Gems homeowners are spoilt for choice when it comes to great local places to experience with friends to mark this year’s International Friendship Day on 30 July. Thrive has put together a few options that can be enjoyed by all.

Beenleigh Artisan Distillers

Home to Australia’s original rum, Beenleigh Artisan Distillers was founded in 1884, on the banks of the Albert River, Beenleigh, and is the oldest registered and continuously working rum distillery in Australia.

The boutique distillery still operates from the original stone building and uses the same copper pot still, housed in the big red building. A new visitor centre is a recent addition.

Visitors have an opportunity to learn its history, take a tour of the distillery and sample some of Beenleigh’s award-winning rum such as copper pot distilled rum, honey liqueur and double barrel rum, aged in ex-bourbon and brandy barrels.

Visit: beenleighrum.com.au

Spirits of the Red Sand

An extraordinary experience unlike anything you’ve ever seen awaits with Spirits of the Red Sand, an interactive Aboriginal live theatre show and dinner that is absolutely world class.

The only one of its kind in Australia, the two-and-a-halfhour experience in Beenleigh Historical Village, invites guests to be transported to the Australia of the 1800s to witness history come alive. Engaging all the senses, you’ll see a cast of direct descendants of a man called Jarrah and his brothers.

Visit: spiritsredsand.com

Daisy Hill Koala Centre

Daisy Hill Koala Centre is a dedicated koala education centre located in Daisy Hill Conservation Park, 25km south of Brisbane. It is open from 10am to 4pm and provides visitors with a chance to view the centre’s resident koalas from two different viewing levels in the large outdoor enclosure.

Inside the centre, visitors can learn everything they wanted to know about koalas with fun and interactive displays before climbing the observation town to spot a koala in the 435 hectares of open eucalypt forest that makes up the conservation park.

Visit: bit.ly/daisykoalas