Maureen's Travel Blog

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

Kylie, I just can’t recall what we did in the daytime today… probably just a chilling out blog update. Can you remember?

This evening was the assessment of Jera’s music extension at Warwick High School. We spent a most enjoyable evening listening to not only Jera’s saxaphone with backup band but also some of his fellow students who were singing, and playing various instruments including flute, piano or electric keyboard, drums and guitar, both base and accoustic. They were a very talented bunch of kids with huge musical prospects before them.

As we turned into Ron’s Riding “Ranch”, I was delighted by the whole set up…. a timbered archway over his entrance complete with Aussie mailbox, inviting us in to this smallholding nestled on the side of the Great Dividing Range. As we got out of the car an old jack Russell walked up to us rather stiffly with a raspy bark immediately followed by a lollopy bounding puppy. I thought at first it was a German Shepherd, only to be corrected later – Border Collie crossed with Huntaway, which is a New Zealand sheepdog – but she was absolutey adorable. We found our way on to a pretty but very substantial verandah overlooking the mountain range. Wow this is Snowy River country! Kerry, Ron’s wife appeared from a door and greeted us warmly.

Ron finally returned from some stock dealing, along with Clarissa, his helping hand, and Kylie left me with them for the afternoon. This was something I had always wanted to do in Australia and here I was at last.

I was invited inside where Ron made himself two huge lamb sandwiches (he obviously hadn’t had his lunch yet and it was now 2.45. My booked 2 hour trail ride was to commence at 2.30! No worries mate I thought, this is Oz remember. I was clearly not going to get on a horse much before 3. They were so laid back; the four of us sat round the kitchen table and chatted easily for another half an hour or so. Clarissa, their 17 year old helper but almost daughter had just ridden the cow that they almost bought. Ron had swapped one of his horses. The new one was on trial and he was going to try him out today. Kerry offered me tea but I chose a long squash drink as my mouth was dry in anticipation of the afternoon ahead. They wanted to hear all about England and had never flown in their lives, etc. etc.

Finally Ron, Clarissa and I were heading down the valley in the warm afternoon sunshine…. am I in heaven? My horse was called Big El….”and mine is called Little El”, Ron added smiling, although they looked the same size to me. As his horse was new to him today I figured he hadn’t really named him yet and went on to chat about Camp Draught and Polo Cross, both huge events in Oz. Clarissa had taken part in both and chatted enthusiastically about them.

Throughout the afternoon the trail took us up and down beautiful bush and forest, over around and through creeks and up high on the mountain. I think I brought out Ron’s enthusiasm for nature when I exclaimed at a pair of Lorikeets feeding on Gum flowers, because he then continued to talk about creatures and plants along the way. It is illegal to keep rabbits in Queensland but they have plenty of hares and bandicoots.

At one point we saw a large Goanna curled up asleep in the sun on a log. We brushed passed wild olives, their fruits just forming. He talked about the Black Boys on his land of which there were many of all sizes. They take a very long time to grow even to just a few feet high and these can be hundreds of years old and worth a lot of money. It is illegal to dig them up in Oz although there were many baby seedlings everywhere.

Although I hadn’t ridden for some years, I felt as natural as ever in the saddle but I was reminded that I could have a sore bottom in the morning as we accellerated up out of the last creek. When we arrived back at the farm, Ron opened a gate to bring in their Jersey cow. The fairly well grown calf was at the bottom of the field and he ask me to bring him in. Yay, this was my first bit of mustering. The calf was obviously ready to follow it’s mother and when it saw me hurtling down the field on my charge, it obliged straight away. But I still had the opportunity of rounding it up and sending it through the gate. Ron was impressed. 🙂

Incidentally, Ron was pleased with his new horse which had been described as a rig… a bit of a playboy! He had behaved himself well on our ride.

By this time Kylie and Ash had arrived back. Kylie was interested in how everything was because she was planning to bring Ash for her first riding lesson here at some point. She needn’t have had any worries. We both had a great feeling about Ron & Kerry’s place from the start.

The day was not over. After we turned out the horses, including a cute little shetland stallion which had been separated from the mares for a bit, we were taken to feed the goats, oh and the cutest little kids you ever saw, only a few days old. Mr Billy Goat scruff jumped up at the fence and was taller than me with big horns but he was as friendly and docile as the playful little kids.

Clarissa proceeded to show us her whip cracking skills.

There is definitely a knack to this that takes loads of practice… I just could not make it crack and after a number of attempts I just had to leave it to the expert. We chatted and chatted as the sun dropped rapidly behind the trees in the valley and we finally had to say our goodbyes.

Another perfect day………..

I have a bunch of photos which are probably the best and only way of describing my visit to Toowoomba Japanese Gardens. Suffice to say, the gardens were beautifully laid out in a relatively small area, part of the University grounds. We dodged the showers on what was a rather grey morning, with the odd clap of thunder but this did not take away from the extraordinary colour. Even the birds around the lake brightened up the day. Pictured here is a Sacred Kingfisher, not dissimilar from ours back home but a little bigger maybe with a gentler face.

While in Toowoomba, Kylie showed me the area when earlier in the year the town had suffered it’s devastating floods. What had appeared like a gigantic, fast-flowing river on the World News, was in fact just a gulley near a railway track with no water in it. This was where cars tumbled over each other and were drawn in from nearby car parks like matchbox toys, now just remnants of dry mud lying about.

This is St Patrick’s Cathedral, a beautiful building but no bells, at least there was no bell tower and we didn’t have time to stop to look around.

On our way home, we followed two trucks carrying about 10 swimming pools…. an Aussie thing, I thought!

A quiet day updating the blog, reading and relaxing.

In the evening we were chatting about Brumbies, the wild horses of Australia. Kylie read out an emotional poem about the Brumby (opposite) and we ended up watching a beautiful movie called “The Man from Snowy River” which focused on the Brumby but also gave a wonderful feel of the mountains and rough lifestyle of the Australian horse people.

Cold morning…. brrr and they tell me they have a heatwave back home… gud on ya! I was woken by God this morning at 7am in time for some fruit juice, toast and coffee before setting off for one of the nearby churches.

En route, taken by the design, I couldn’t help but photograph a newly built underpass. Also here is a typical example of the many houses built raised off the ground for air circulation.

I arrived at St Mary’s Catholic Church (which used to be the Cathedral) to find their family service wasn’t until 8.30 so I walked on to St Mark’s Anglican. Perfect, I heard the 5-minute bell for the 8am service, and I could hear strains of “All things bright and beautiful.” When I opened the Hymn Book, I couldn’t believe that the words were Aussie. Oh this was so appropriate for me!

“The Wild flowers in their beauty, the mountain ranges tall;
The billabongs and rivers and friendly birds that call.
The coloured walls of gorges, the gum trees green and tall;
The rocks and pools and palm trees, and sparkling waterfall.
The many coloured corals, the creatures of the sea;
Of bushland, field or desert, on farms or roaming free.
All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small;
All things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.”

The theme of the service was new life in Spring, the sermon was the Feast of St Francis and even the Gospel was the piece I carry around with me in my bag: Matthew 6: 25-34

Therefore I tell you do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?…..

Even the other three hymns were some of my favourites: Make Me a Channel of Your Peace, For the Beauty of the Earth and Brother Let Me Be Your Servant (I sang the descant under my breath….where are you Jo!)

We spent a fairly quiet day indoors as the weather had deteriorted and the temperatures had plummeted suddenly. This was good for catching up with emails, blogs and reading. Kylie went out to do a bit of shopping and brought back some dvds from the library.

In the evening, after a tasty steak dinner, we settled back to watch “The Rabbit-Proof Fence”, a 2002 Australian drama film directed by Phillip Noyce based on the book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara. It is based on a true story concerning the author’s mother, as well as two other mixed-race Aboriginal girls, who ran away from the Moore River Native Settlement, north of Perth, to return to their Aboriginal families, after having been placed there in 1931. The film follows the Aboriginal girls as they walk for nine weeks along 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of the Australian rabbit-proof fence to return to their community at Jigalong, while being pursued by a white authority figure and an Aboriginal tracker. An extremely emotive story and very well acted, particularly by Molly, the eldest child. The film also highlighted the extreme harshness of the bush and how the aborigines’ were used to this way of living.

We continued with a discussion on the culture differences, not only in Australia but throughout the world, and there appears to be no clear resolution. So the day ended on a somewhat heavier note than the one on which it started. Things are certainly not always “bright and beautiful!”

The return journey to Warwick was fairly uneventful, although very hot to be cooped up in a car for 10 hours. We passed all the now familiar landmarks but in reverse order, as you would 🙂 We stopped for more delicious strawberries (as we did on our way to Agnes). They are slightly bigger, redder and juicier than ours, I would say, and they disappeared from the punnet in a flash!

I would like to give a mention to Creeks. These are obviously quite important landmarks in Australia. Every time we pass over any sort of water by road, i.e. river, brook, stream, billabong; it is called a creek and has a name. Some of those we passed through are: Apple Tree Creek, Dry Creek, Mama Creek, Yandaran Creek, Camp Creek, Dalrymple, Backwater Creek and Baffle Creek, to name but a few….

I should mention a little bit here about the Beachside Backpackers Hostel where we were staying. I always remember in my youth staying at a YHA Hostel in France. We were about 15 young people in a room laying on canvas beds on basic wooden frames with shared convenience. I hardly slept a wink but reminded myself this is a really cheap option – around the equivalent of about £2 a night! The Beachside Hostel at Agnes Water on the other hand was a far cry from this.

For just $25 each including breakfast, we had a good sized private room in a small modern complex, each with a balcony area. (Cheap by today’s standards!) The room had four ample-sized new looking bunk beds and an en suite shower and toilet. Downstairs, there was a small kitchen area with all basic essential to prepare our meals, as well as a barbecue area on the open terrace.

Further facilities included bar, games room, tv and internet room and pool. The hostel was situated just 200m from the most idyllic beach, as you saw in yesterday’s post.

The occupants were mainly young travellers, some single, some honeymooners and also a few older people like myself. This brings me nicely to my main activity today……

First of all, as it was not really a day for the beach, I must put in here that we decided to drive around the locality a bit before the highlight of my day. We made our way back up to the 1770 Marina and coast beyond. This is one of the places where Captain James Cook landed over 250 years ago. There is a plaque commemorating the spot where a tree originally bore his initials.

We walked around the peninsular admiring the shear cliff drops as well as the plant life.

Back to the backpackers hostel….. The previous evening, Kylie and I were cajoled into taking part in a silly competition involving drawing a rude picture in chalk on the terrace floor. I will leave the subject of the drawing to your imagination! We thought we did a pretty good job and it was fun. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we didn’t win. However, the young guy who did win couldn’t take up the prize because he had other plans, and offered it around. The prize was a Chopper Tour: to experience an exhilarating 60 km ride, spotting wallabies and kangaroos from your own chopper, then enjoy the sunset over the ocean in the dream location of the Town of 1770. When he approached me, my immediate thought was motorbikes? No way!! But then I remembered my pledge to myself of getting out of my comfort zone and this was just too good an opportunity to walk away from.

As I slipped on my leather jacket after being tattooed, I thought “Am I crazy or what!” The other kids, mainly aged about 20 were just awesome and had no more knowledge of riding these things than I did! As we mounted our machines, I found the only one left for me was a high handle-barred easy-rider style bike. I actually found this far from easy and was eventually offered a more conventional alternative.

We had a basic lesson lasting about half and hour before hitting the road. The biker team were so encouraging – I must have had a terrified look on my face under my enflamed helmet as we did our tentative circuits on the gravel practice track. A tanned-skinned, bleached-haired surf dude smiled at me and told me to just relax and enjoy. That seemed to do the trick and before I knew it I was sailing along the public highway with the wind in my hair.

I gained confidence rapidly on the open road and was soon reaching speeds of 70kph WOWEEE!! Every so often the team slowed us down and kept us in check. A couple of lads were having little competitions with each other and doing wheelies. I kept both my wheels firmly on the ground but did do a bit of adventurous overtaking. We stopped to view a few roos on the way and finally took a break for wedgies and dip as the sun set over Bustard Bay.

I chatted happily with three medical students from Brighton Unversity, who were in awe of my biking achievements – just luv em!

We returned at dusk and as we sailed past the hostel, I waved frantically as I saw Kylie, Jera and Ash standing outside waiting for me. Wow what a fantastic experience!!