Unplanned Trip North - Part 2

We like visiting Toowoomba, as not only do we have family in the area, but also friends.  This time we were able to have a delicious brunch with Kris of Tag Along Teddies and Fiona of Bubzrugz and her hubby.  It was lovely to catch up and the venue and meal were perfect.  Of course, we were doing so much chatting that we forgot to take a photo.

As we were so far north, we contacted our good friends from further north and they came down and we spent a couple of days together once all the family things were concluded.

We played the tourist in Toowoomba, visiting the Farmers Markets.  They are located in the grounds of the Cobb & Co Museum with a backdrop of lots of old windmills.

Next up, we visited the Japanese Gardens.

In the centre of the lake there is a tiny island with one tree on it.  It is home for several straw necked ibis  (otherwise known as bin chickens) nests and young.

No visit to the area is complete without a visit to Picnic Point to look out to the east.  You can appreciate how high the town is and why it is so much cooler than on the coast.

The Australian Flag was flying high on the massive flagpole.

By then it was nearly lunch time so we ventured into the city centre, which has a rather large Christmas tree.

There are lots of impressive old buildings in town, but I think this one is about the prettiest.

On the following day we took a day trip to the smaller towns of Crows Nest and Esk.  It appears that I only took one photo for the whole day.

We used to like calling in to an antique centre at Crows Nest and have bought a few things over the years, but it had closed down.  Now there is a row of very upmarket shops in its place.  The only food place open was a fine dining restaurant, so we went to the usual little cafe we have previously visited in another section of town.  

Nearby is a second hand bookstore.  I was on the lookout for Elm Creek Quilt series books and was delighted when the owner produced this one.  Now I still have plenty of the novels to collect.  They are rather thin on the ground in op shops.

We then continued on to Esk.  Mick and I haven’t been there for very many years.  The last time we visited was in the early 1990s.  We had a little Jayco pop up camper at the time and we bought a timber half tester single bed.  We brought it home tied to the top of the camper…….as you do.  We still have that bed in our spare room.

Esk is larger than we remembered. There was an interesting second hand store housed in an old pub.  As you wandered around the upstairs we were taken with the architecture and the timber grilles over the bedroom doors for ventilation.  Typical Queenslander style.  It would have been a grand old dame in its day.

The following day we started heading home, back down the same way we drove up.  The Southern Downs were looking so good.

Lots of crops.  Some harvested, some still waiting.

We so like the scenery, as it is quite different to home.  Such fertile plains.

Back down at Stanthorpe there is the landmark Big Apple.

We had time to have a walk around the town this time.  

Before long we were back in NSW.

This falling down railway bridge is always an interesting landmark.

We overnighted at Guyra in the Mother of Ducks Lagoon free camp site.  We have stayed here before and it is a great spot to camp.

We went for a walk up town and there are a couple of new murals that were only painted last year.  They were completed by locals.  Rather talented.

It turns out they had school kids doing things too.  Zoom in to read about it.

Once back at the van I settled in with my knitting.  Rather a lovely backdrop, isn’t it.  I did manage to complete my 15 minutes of stitching a day every day we were away.  Having something portable like my knitting and EPP made that quite easy.

And the same view later in the evening.  Love those colours.

The next day we called in to Bendemeer, the home of cricketer Josh Hazelwood, for morning tea in the park.  The old bridge over the river was looking lovely.  Nice to see clear rivers, rather than the murky flooded ones down here.

We started to meet more large harvest related traffic.  We couldn’t get over the size of this field bin.

Lunch was at Gunnedah.  This is Mick’s favourite silo art.

Our last night away from home was at Coolah in the caravan park.  We have stayed here before and it is a beaut little spot.

Coming home, it was good to see Lake Windermere still nice and full.  This is only the second time the water storage has been full, so quite unusual.

Lots of the hills around Mudgee were golden with flowers.  However, it is not wildflowers, but the weed St John’s Wart.  Apparently, they are going to release a bug to biologically control it.  The release will be by drone, as so much of the terrain is difficult to access.  I hope they are successful, as it is really spreading lately.

Closer to home some of the paddocks were carpeted with a white daisy.  I don’t think it is a native either.  You also see lots of this in the New England area.  It looks so pretty.

And then we were back home and had the fun job of unpacking everything and getting the washing up to date.

We were away for a total of nine days.  I don’t think we have ever had such an unrushed trip up that way.  It was really nice.  Not the best reason for the trip, but we are very pleased we were able to go.