Mullumbimby NSW

After a wonderful weekend spent babysitting the children we finally left Qld on Monday and arrived in Mullumbimby around noon. We miss them already. We didn’t get near enough hugs and kisses. We set up camp on a lovely grassed area on the outskirts of the Rugby field. There is a home game being played this Sunday so we will have ringside seats to view the game. The Mullumbimby Rugby League Club is our host for the next few weeks. The charges are $25 per night or $150 per week you stay 7 nights for the price of six. Meals are served at the clubhouse on Thursdays and Fridays. There is a Golf course on site and access to the Brunswick River where fishing is the main activity. There is a lovely area for our walks around the property with path and roadways meandering throughout. We drove into town which is close by and the town looks extremely inviting. They say it is the largest small town in NSW. I have already spotted a yarn shop and I must make an appointment for a hair trim otherwise DH will attack me with the clippers. LOL. The local IGA seemed a bit on the expensive side and in salute of the culture living in the area most of the food is organic and tofu seems very popular. Today we decided to drive over to Nimbin a small village about 60kms away.

 I think most people have heard of Nimbin. It is world renown as Australia’s most famous hippie destination and alternative lifestyle capital.

 As I quote directly from the brochure “This internationally famous village is intriguing and quirky with its unique mural streetscape of indigenous rainforest and psychedelic facades and colourful local characters. The colourful shopfront murals along Cullen St create the perfect backdrop for the daily show of unscripted theatre. There are plenty of places to browse, craft shops, galleries, retail outlets, or just sit back enjoy a meal or coffee and watch the passing parade.”

 I have never seen so much smoking implements and paraphernalia in my lifetime. LOL. We enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Stonefish Cafe.

 To get to Nimbin we travelled through some magnificent scenery along a very windy narrow track which meandered its way up and over the hill. On my side was a huge drop I couldn’t even espy the bottom. Canopies of lush green foliage sheltered us from the elements. We drove through Dunoon and this area is very dense with macadamia nut orchards. I believe this area is well known as the Macadamia Capital of Australia.

We detoured off the track and found our way to the Minyon Falls which is situated in the Nightcap National Park

. The photos don’t really show the depth of the area.

 We then drove through picturesque farmland and lush foliage of the surrounding hills and drove through the village of Rosebank. Then we drove through the village of The Channon (is home to the original North Coast Craft market and their philosophy is “make it bake it and grow it”) and then continued on to Nimbin via the scenic Tuntable Creek Road. It took us nearly 3 hours to get there but the views were breathtaking. We came home through Lismore, Clunes (it is said to be the birthplace of the area’s dairy industry), Bangalow and back into Mullumbimby. We stopped briefly in Lismore and I popped into the local Spotlight store and managed to get some wool I have been looking for. Lismore looks like a lovely town much larger than here. The weather here is pretty perfect with lovely sunshine, but a little bit windy overnight. Tomorrow we are thinking of going over to Byron Bay.

Talk again soon
 

Caboolture & Belmont Qld 9th July to 29th July 2010

Caboolture July 9th: We were off to the beaches in the Caloundra area.

 Beaches are abundant on the sunshine coast. There are 9 different beaches in this area.

 Kings, Bulcock, Moffat, Kawana, Currimundi, Golden, Shelly and Dicky Beaches were on our agenda. Caloundra boasts baked golden beaches, surf or sheltered waters at your doorstep and is a very popular holiday destination.

The day was a little overcast and breezy so we just drove along stopping here and there and soaking in the magnificent views.

 Bulcock Beach is a southerly facing picturesque beach located within walking distance from town, suitable for fishing, kite surfing and windsurfing.

Dicky Beach has an interesting history. In 1989 SS Dicky was forced ashore during heavy seas. Its iron skeleton still remains on the beach today while Moffat Beach has stunning views northwards all the way to Point Cartwright.

 On Friday the 16th July we ventured out to the Farm Fantastic. 100’s of exhibiters and stalls. We admired the new fifth wheelers and motor homes and even admired some of the new caravans on display. We enjoyed the demo’s in the tents and the free tastings. All the latest electrical appliances were on display. I was quite taken with the new electric pressure cooker. Quite impressed! Bill finally succumbed to his whim and purchased a helicopter. Boys and their toys! They don’t actually grow up their toys just get more expensive. LOL.

 Now he just needs to learn how to fly it. His first attempt wasn’t too successful but he has improved since. On a downer at the Farm Fantastic we had lunch and for $20 we had a chicken souvlaki, a bratwurst roll and 1 drink. Rather expensive I thought. Saturday night we had a farewell dinner with Allan & Lillian at the Caboolture RSL and Sunday morning 18th July we left for Belmont near Brisbane. We settled in again at the place we stayed at before. Last Sunday we joined the family for Brunch to surprise Trent for his birthday. Several of their friends enjoyed a feast of fresh fruit, fluffy pancakes, scones with jam & cream,smoked salmon and poached eggs on muffins, mushrooms, bacon and of course the family baked beans. Tuesday on his actual birthday we celebrated with a delicious meal cooked by Fee. The chicken was cooked to perfection. I won’t give out much detail as I think this may become another family recipe. It was absolutely delicious and even the judges on Master Chef would have been very impressed. Trent mashed up the creamiest mashed potato that actually melted in your mouth and served it all with stir fried green beans and asparagus. I made a layered caramel baked cheesecake to share for dessert. I was a bit worried as I haven’t made one of these for years but it turned out fine. We are going to enjoy babysitting the grandies this weekend while their parents have a much deserved break away. I have some great news which I am busting to tell you but I’m not allowed to tell you all yet. So watch this space. We finally leave Qld for NSW on Monday and will be staying at the Mullumbimby Leagues Club.
Talk again soon
 

Caboolture 17th June onwards

The Big Pineapple one of Qld's Icons

We have been in Caboolture Showgrounds for about three weeks, during that time we have visited Peter and Marie at their property nestled in the Glass Mountains. Di and Doug were also there having a new motor and gearbox replaced in their bus. We then made our way across to Maleny Montville and Landsborough. This visit we enjoyed the lovely views of the escarpment and noted where we would visit later, not having the camera with us.

The escarpment from the hills on the way to Maleny

The next tour was out to Bribie Island, a lovely spot surrounded by water, enjoyed a fish and chip meal at Scoopy’s on the beach. We had a full day travelling to Eumundi for their most talked about markets. They are a very unique market with lots of crafts and other things on offer. We enjoyed some of the tastings of the macadamia nuts, popcorn, fudge and many fruits and dukkah etc. We were rather intrigued with the potato slinkys not having seen them before in our travels. They are potato cut in a spiral on a stick dipped in a thin batter and deep fried then sprinkled with either sea salt or chicken salt. They taste like a potato crisp mixed with a potato chip. We managed to share one on a couple of our visits to the markets. On our way back we called into the Buderim Ginger Factory in Yandina we purchased some ginger products and indulged in a mango ginger ice cream. A quick visit to the nut factory across the road completed that visit. On the way home we called into Montville and wandered through a lovely boutique village.

The Clock Factory

 First stop was to the Clock factory when we were amazed by the different clocks of all shapes and sizes.

Cuckoo clocks and chime clocks were in abundance.

 We have visited twice to Maroochydore Sunshine Plaza. Now this is a huge shopping centre on two floors surrounded by the Maroochy River. Dining on the boardwalk is a must. If you can’t find anything here you don’t really need it. I replaced my old phone with a new one here as the old one didn’t seem to be holding its charge. We also managed a weekend trip to Brisbane to spend the day with the family and enjoyed the company of the youngest member with a sleepover. There is markets held every Sunday in the showgrounds. You can stock up on the vegetables and generally have a browse. A visit to the market was enjoyed by the family on occasions during their visit with us. We also had the pleasurable company of fellow Motor Homers Ali and Bruce in their motor Home the “Silver Bullet”. Many a happy hour we have enjoyed together as well as a visit to Eumundi Markets and a dinner together at the Caboolture RSL Club.

One of the Cafes in Montville

We also were surprised to see friends from our chapter at home at the Markets. John and Joan also dropped in to see us on another occasion. Caboolture is about 75klms from Brisbane and is not far to the Sunshine Coast Hinterland and other well known spots.

The Poet Cafe Montville

 Australia Zoo is in the vicinity but having already visited there previously we decided to give it a miss this time. It is well worth the visit though.

Shops in Montville

 We also drove over to Woodford and up to Mt Mee and then climbed up to the town of Dayboro, where we had lunch then did a round trip back to Caboolture through North Lakes and Lawnton.

View from Mt Mee

 We are intending to leave here in about a week maybe stopping off somewhere on the way to Mullumbimby near Byron Bay in NSW. I think we will finally be leaving Queensland.
Talk again soon
 

Kilcoy 7th - 17th June 2010

The Race Track at the Kilcoy Show Grounds

Well I really have to apologise for not blogging sooner,I suppose you think I was having too much fun, but in my defence I have not been well . Some dreaded wog and I can’t stop coughing. We have been to Kilcoy and we are now in Caboolture and have been here since Thursday 17th June. We arrived in Kilcoy from Warwick on Monday 7th June and booked into the Showgrounds in readiness for the HF Radio Get together and their AGM. The camping here is $15 per night including power and water. The maximum stay is one week. There is also camping right in town at Anzac Camping Grounds for the same price but the stay is limited to 3 nights.

 Vehicles arrived steadily for the week and by Friday nearly everyone had arrived. I think there were over 60 vehicles in total for the weekend. Campervans, Motor Homes and caravans of all shapes and sizes were parked everywhere on the grounds.

 Everyone gathered together to renew existing friendships and to forge new ones. The camaraderie and laughter at the various “Happy Hours” was abundant, a meal of corned silverside and vegies topped up with sticky date pudding was enjoyed on the Saturday night. Breakfast followed on Sunday was the usual baked beans, spaghetti, bacon and eggs and toast was enjoyed in front of the grandstand making the most of the beautiful weather. Kilcoy meaning “Nook of the Wood” in Gaelic, was named in 1841 by its first settlers. Although the township was originally called Kilcoy, it was known as Hopetoun around 1897 but reverted to Kilcoy by 1913. Kilcoy is quite a nice town with two local hotels, The Exchange and The Stanley. Noel, Elaine, Bill & Leanne joined us for a meal on Monday night at The Exchange. Supa IGA is where the locals shop and there are two bakeries as well as several speciality shops. Shops stock everything from race day hats to handcrafted timber; you can find country crafts, gorgeous gifts and rustic rarities. The historical township is noted for its wide streets and attractive shady parks. It is situated in an idyllic rural landscape on the D’Aguilar Highway featuring a diverse and picturesque landscape – ranging from rolling farmlands, rugged mountain ranges and stunning forests. Saturday morning the markets were held at Yowie Park in town and many members were found wandering about enjoying the wares at the many stalls. A few brought scarves, gloves and beanies to help ward off the cold. Some days were cool but mostly the weather was fine. Nearly everyone left on the Tuesday and Lillian and Allan were the only couple besides us staying until the Thursday.

 Wednesday we travelled with Lillian and Allan to Jimna, nestled in the hoop pine forests of the Jimna Range, a lovely drive through rainforest and pastoral settings. We enjoyed morning tea at the info centre and then drove out to the old Firetower.

The Jimna Fire Tower

 At 47 metres tall it is the tallest tower of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. They are trying desperately to prevent the firetower from being pulled down. Jimna and the surrounding state forests are popular for four wheel driving and camping.

Some of the local residents at Peach Trees Camp Spot

 We checked out future camping spots at Peach Trees and The Overflow.

Somerset Dam

 We also drove out to Lake Somerset , The Spit and Somerset Dam.

Somerset Lake from Camping Ground

 Many water skiing enthusiasts enjoy Lake Somerset for weekend getaways. Impressive camping areas are available, while the Spit offers great picnic and BBQ facilities for day visitors.

Somerset Spit Day Area

As I said earlier we arrived in Caboolture on Thursday and are camped in the Caboolture Showgrounds for $100 per week or $20 per week. I will talk some more on that later.

Talk again soon
 

Stanthorpe & Tenterfield

Saturday morning 6th June saw us off and weaving our way over to Tenterfield to finish off what we started last Wed. We arrived at our first port of call at 9am and they weren’t supposed to open until 9.30 but the owner was up and about so after a friendly conversation with him we ventured into Jamworks of Glen Aplin.

 We had lots of tasting of some very different jams, relishes and chutneys. I suppose you have all heard of lemon butter? Well they had that as well as lemon & Lime, passionfruit butters but the most unusual one I thought was banana butter. I think it will go great on my pancake. We enjoyed a lovely half hour or more chatting with the owner and some other visitors from Brisbane then we left for the next place. Felsberg Winery, we had been told boasts 360 degree views of the valley and is located on a granite hillside at an altitude of 875m. They weren’t wrong!

 The most magnificent views could be espied from the Bell Tower Cafe; a photo wouldn’t even do it justice. Bill enjoyed the usual wine tasting, me being a teetotaller watched the scenery. He assured me that the Port was really superb. We meandered our way down the drive between orderly rows of Riesling, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Sylvaner, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon and then followed a winding rough road up the The Bramble Patch.

 As the name indicates their produce consisted of Berry Coulis (Strawberry, Blueberry, Blackberry, and Raspberry etc), various chutneys and pastes and lots of lovely goodies. Now I have left the best until last. Heavenly Chocolate!!! Yes that’s the name of the place it’s just a little bit further up the New England Highway and you then turn left into Pyramids Road to a quaint little cottage covered in foliage. I couldn’t decide whether to have the white chocolate with hazelnuts hot chocolate or the Cocco Coconut hot chocolate. So what do you think a girl would do?

 Why have both of course and they were so smooth and creamy it was like heaven. We then travelled on towards Tenterfield which is across the border in NSW. At the border at Wallangarra I popped in briefly to a craft shop. I thought I saw patchwork quilts hanging outside but on a closer look they were actually crochet rugs. They were very well done by the local ladies and there were so many different patterns also.

 I would have loved to have visited Tenterfield in April; they say the streets come alive with the beautiful autumn foliage on the trees. It still looked nice even though most of the trees were bare. It is a small world!! Outside the Tourist Bureau we met some other fellow travellers from WA. Namely our ex newsletter editor Fay who was travelling with her Sister & BIL. By this time I was starting to get hungry and we had planned to taste again the lovely apple pie at Suttons in Stanthorpe. It didn’t disappoint as they served it with spiced apple cider ice cream. It was delicious and I was so full that I couldn’t manage tea, but gee it was worth it. On the way back we stopped to take photos of the dressed kangaroos on the side of the road. They looked quite smart in their state of origin gear.

 I believe Warwick has a Jumper Festival in July and I will be sorry to have missed it. Apparently the trees in the main street are adorned with home knitted jumpers to ward of the cold. We are leaving tomorrow for Kilcoy and hopefully it will be a bit warmer there.

Talk again soon

 

Warwick & Stanthorpe-The Granite Belt

What a pleasant change today.  The sun actually came out and paid us a visit.  I am sorry I haven't communicated much this past week but the phone coverage and internet acess is very intermittent is this area.  In fact I am sitting out in my car to write this as there is no signal inside the motor home.We didn't leave Boonah as planned on Saturday as the heavens opened up and we had so much rain that we couldn't get the Trailer out of the paddock.  So we arrived here on Sunday in Warwick having drove through Cunningham's Gap without any trouble.  The weather here has been absolutely miserable.  Cold and Wet and freezing.  I weakened and went out to Aldi's yesterday and bought some Thermal Undies.  And you guessed it the Sun started to come out.  We are parked up on a horse property here and the rent's free but there is no power or water except for what we are carrying and there has been any sun for the solar panels to generate any power either.  However the locals tell us this is there worst week for bad weather.  Monday we familiarised ourselves with the town and did a bit of shopping.  They have a lovely shopping centre in the centre of town with everything you need.  Warwick is named the Rose and Rodeo City.  They are famous for their rodeos which are held every October. A lot of business's have the rose in either their name or depicted by a rose.  Tuesday we drove over to Toowoomba approximately 100kms from here to visit the CRT Farm Fest.  It was a huge event with lots of boys toys  We met up with Larry & Donnette and Carol and Garry.  Personally I would rather watch paint dry but it was tolerated by the enjoyment of their company.  The guys really enjoyed their day and I won't feel so guilty now when I am dilly dallying in a patchwork shop in future.   Not much there for ladies unless you like the western or workwear gear.  I managed to buy a hand held vacuum packer which works on batteries or power which will prove very handy. Wednesday we went along to the famous Pig and Calf Markets, which are held every Wednesday and they auction off everything and sundry.  There were a lot of chooks and fat roosters, a few calves and a pile of odds and assortments of household items.

  We then drove over to Stanthorpe another 80kms north.  What a difference!  Stanthorpe is a lovely town and with the trees blooming with their autuum colouring was quite a contrast.  It reminded me very much of some of the places in America.

 We viewed the whole town from Mt Marla Lookout it looks quite vast although I don't think it is as big as Warwick.  After we visited the Information centre we discussed our plan of action over a coffe in their lovely coffee shop.We decided that as a lot of things were only open on weekends we would come back on Saturday and visit Tenterfield and do those things South and today we would do the other points of interest.  So our first stop was Suttons Cider Factory where we tasted all the different apple juices, they featured on Landline a few weeks ago and let me tell you their apple pies are every bit of what they said.  We left there armed with 2 litres of apple juice, Pink lady and Winesap flavoured and 2 apple and rubarb pies. ( We actually ate them last night and they were delicious we may have to visit them again.)   Our next stop was to Vincenzos under the Big Apple.  This was a gourmet delight with everything italian, cheeses pasta's salamis, confectionery even italian handbags.  I drooled over them but left emptyhanded.  Castle Glen was our next port of call and this was really pretty.  They make liquers and there is over 500 different liqueurs sold here.  Every colour of the rainbow and lots of different shapes.

 

   The strawberry and chocolate port sounded rather decadent.  I left armed with a cocnut creme liqueur and of course a white chocolate liqueur.  I intend to add the coconut creme one to my coconut creme pie.  (When I was in USA we tasted a coconut creme pie and I have been trying to emulate one since).  We then stopped at the Granite Belt Dairy and shared a lovely strawberry milkshake made from fresh jersey milk and some delicious cheese tasting. We had a very nice chat to the lady who owned the store and we are now a full bottle on cheese flavours. LOL.  We arrived back in Warwick in time to visit Julie and Peter who were passing through on their way to Brisbane. met them at the Caltex Truck Stop just outside of town, it seems to be our popular visiting spot as we met Alan and Lillian there yesterday for a coffee on their way through also.  We will see them all next week when we go to Kilcoy for the HF Radio Club AGM which is being held on the long weekend.

Talk again soon

The Colours of Stanthorpe