It has been raining all night and we’re in for a damp and generally cloudy day. No probs, not a lot planned for today, well so I thought as I took a leisurely breakfast of coffee and toast. It was after ten by now and as Kylie and I chatted, we realised there were one or two things still to fit in. In fact she had in mind to take me out to a National Park she had promised earlier in the week and we really needed to get a move on if we were to fit in the other bits and pieces. She was determined I would miss nothing and she would make absolutely sure I wouldn’t!
And even made a final list of to dos/see:
The Rabbit-Proof Fence, Koalas in the wild, a Queenslander or Aussie Pub, Galahs swinging on the wire (this happens in wet weather, particularly in Queensland), and a vineyard.
So without more ado, I packed my stuff ready for the early morning flight to leave the rest of our day free.
We headed out towards the Range and the National Park of Gurrawine with a packed lunch on board.
We then head up higher into the National Park and. This area was very different from other places we had explored. As we climbed higher through the beautiful Gum Trees I began to notice more and more rocks. In fact this was granite and the boulders became bigger and bigger, some balancing precariously on another.
We finally parked the car in a designated spot and, grabbing a sandwich took to a winding path through the trees and rocks which led to an extraordinary area of solid granite with pools and streams and waterfalls.
It was almost like a manmade playground but was far from it.
These incredible granite formations would have evolved over thousands of years. Some of the balancing rocks went against all laws of gravity. We were also overcome by the feast of wild flowers growing in this area.
I photographed them hoping to identify and maybe paint them at some future opportunity. There were so many varieties that we even talked about producing an illustrated book on Wild Flowers of Queensland. Kylie would do the research (she loves that!)
We finally returned to the car and Kylie seemed to head off with purpose into another area full of Gum Trees. There were Gum Trees everywhere of course but these were special ones. I noticed Kylie looking up into the trees as the car slowed right down. Aha I thought, “Do you think there may be Koalas here?” Absolutely she said. In fact we both scoured every tree on both sides of the car for several kilometres without a single sighting, just the occasional possibility which usually turned out to be a termites’ nest….. no worries mate.
As we returned to the main highway, our thoughts turned to Vineyards. This was Stanthorpe, a major wine growing area in Queensland, and we passed many vineyards on either side of the road before stopping at The Castle Glen.
We were offered tastings of various wines, although Kylie abstained – she was driving. I told them I was not keen on Chardonnay. “But that’s what we grow here!” the shocked woman exclaimed. Ah, well perhaps I could try your Merlot first…. In fact I tried all their reds and then moved on to the whites. I believed Oz are best at red wine. I finally thought I’d better try their Chardonnay. I had probably been put off by a bad one at some time and was willing to give it another try. OK , I’m really not a connoisseur of good wines but I have to say there wasn’t one I felt I would buy, especially at over $20 a bottle! The Chardonnay was probably the best after all. I am amazed how we manage to buy perfectly good Australian wine in our supermarkets at home for £4.99 a bottle. How are they able to produce and export it and still make a profit – must check this out further.
We returned to Warwick to pick Aishling up from school. I took some photos of some artwork done by an Aborigine at the local primary school. (I would have liked to include them all here but they take so long to upload).
< This illustrtion was about a metre high. 
We then headed out again to the Queensland/New South Wales border where I was to get close inspection of the famous rabbit-proof fence after watching the film a few nights previously and was interested to see this fence for real. No one in Queensland is allowed to keep a rabbit and there is a $30,000 fine for ths offence.
This is a typical Aussie pub, more of a hotel than a pub but I love the style of the building.
They also have Bottle-Os which are drive-through off licences. We visited one more than a few times!
We then headed up to Queen Mary Falls and, leaving Ash to feed the Rosellas, Kylie and I walked through the forest to see the spectacular falls and wow, what a sight and wonderful finale to my stay in Queensland! We had hoped to spy some swinging Galahs in the rain on the way home but this one was our best effort!
Thank you Kylie for a truly memorable time.
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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