Broadwater Lake

Our 2 weeks in Toowoomba ended all too quickly and before long we were back in the caravan heading west.

About 1½ hours after we left Toowoomba we pulled into the lakeside campground at Broadwater Lake, about 30 kms from Dalby.  We are staying here for a week.  Facilities here are very good, with hot showers and flat campsites although our WiFi and mobile reception is intermittent.  Everything else is perfect.  The lake is quite shallow, only 3m deep when it’s full.  There is a great variety of wildlife.

Waterbirds and bush birds abound and many people come here for birdwatching.  We are entertained by a pair of swans with their 2 cygnets, cormorants and fleets of pelicans fishing in the lake, sea eagles catching fish “on the wing”, spoonbills and cranes wading in the shallows.  There is a group of about 15 apostle birds that do their rounds a few times each day walking through the camp.  The trees are home to crows, sulphur crested cockatoos, parrots, magpies, and dollar birds as well as kookaburras and kingfishers.  Eastern grey kangaroos and red necked wallabies bound through on their way to drink at the lake.  We’ve also seen goannas and snakes around.  There are plenty of fish in the lake, but we haven’t caught any yet – maybe there’s too much competition from the pelicans.

Nearby Dalby has plenty to see too.  We drove to Bell, about 35kms north of Dalby, to track down some family history and followed up at the Family History base in Dalby where we were successful in tracking down some Vidler information.  Still more work to do there.  At Bell we had morning tea at the Bluebelle Gallery before wandering through the cemetery.  

At Dalby we spent some time at the Pioneer Museum, which has a huge collection of memorabilia from the area housed in many buildings set up like a village.  There’s everything here from sewing machines to a dental surgery to farm machinery, all run by volunteers.  This Museum is well worth a visit as it is not just a collection of stuff and a real effort has been made to display things in context. The Rocks and Fossils collection is a real gem.  There’s enough here to keep a whole class of Museum Studies students busy for several years.

Broadwater Lake is a popular wedding location and there have been weddings here the past 2 weekends.

Toowoomba – Garden City of SE Queensland

Earlier this year we signed up to a house-sitting website and soon had a booking to house-sit for 2 weeks in Toowoomba.  It was nice to be able to spread out and relax in one place again.  Toowoomba is about 130kms south-east of Brisbane at the top of the Great Dividing Range and overlooks the Darling Downs –the fruit and vegetable bowl of southern Queensland.  We arrived from the south via Stanthorpe and Warwick.

Springtime is a great time to visit this city of about 120,000 population.  The nights were cool and the daytime temperatures varied from low 20sC to mid 30sC.  There’s plenty to see and we were kept busy exploring the area.

The spring weather brought out the best in Toowoomba’s gardens.  Jacarandas and silky oaks, a native grevillea, lined the streets with their purple and orange flowers.  By the time we left they were in full bloom all over the city.  The University of Southern Queensland has a well established Japanese garden on campus.  We spent a pleasant morning wandering through the Ju Raku En Japanese Garden. There are some 3kms of paths and walkways in the 5 hectares of the landscaped garden with a central lake, streams, bridges, sculptures and beautiful plants and flowers.

The State Rose Garden in Newtown Park was a hive of activity at the end of October as the Friends of the State Rose Garden had a fundraising afternoon tea to celebrate their 10^th anniversary.  The State Rose Garden was opened on 25^th November 2001 and there is a new Heritage Garden with many old-fashioned roses.  The roses were all in flower and we walked along the paths and under rose covered arches after our Devonshire teas.

There are several museums in Toowoomba and we visited the Cobb & Co Museum.  This well presented museum tells the story of the Cobb & Co coaches which provided mail and passenger services throughout eastern Australia in the 19^th century.  The museum also houses the National Carriage Collection with some 50 horse-drawn vehicles including an omnibus (women were not permitter to ride on top), cab, ambulance, fire cart, wool wagon and personal and family carts.  As we walked through the museum we opened cases and boxes which each told a story about life in the horse drawn era.

There were plenty of activities on while we were in Toowoomba and many vantage points to enjoy the scenery.  We had hoped to attend an outdoor performance of Shakespeare’s Richard III in the park at the University but unfortunately the weather intervened and we decided not to attend in the rain.  The following day we drove to nearby Helidon, about 25km east of Toowoomba on the Warrego Highway.  The Celtic Festival of Queensland was in full swing when we arrived and we joined in the fun to listen to Celtic highland and lowland pipe music and watch Scottish dancing.  The main street of Helidon was closed to traffic and there were plenty of stalls selling Celtic collectables and crafts.  At one end there was a medieval village set up with sword fighting re-enactments and shield making activities for children.  Another happy day spent soaking up the local atmosphere.

About 30kms west of Toowoomba is the town of Oakey where there is an Army Flying Museum attached to the ADF base.  We drove through the rolling Darling Downs and turned off the highway to Oakey and proceeded through to the Museum.  This is a great little museum with many replica and renovated planes and helicopters.  We saw several training aircraft including a 1914 Bristol Boxkite, WWI Bleriot and Winjeel trainer.  We now know where the second Red Baron aircraft emblem is kept, having seen one at the Air Museum in Blenheim NZ when we were there in April. There were planes flown in WWI, WWII and Vietnam, with a good display of various helicopters including a Huey, Chinook and Blackhawk.  As well as the various aircraft there was a well done interpretive section with photographs and memorabilia.  Another day well spent.

Back to Sunny Queensland

We had a couple of days in Canberra after our weekend in Hobart and then began our journey northward to the warmer weather.  Spring is in full swing and the weather is very changeable.  It's not quite time to pack away our cold weather clothes - that can wait until we get to Queensland.  We are heading to Toowoomba to house-sit for 2 weeks.  It will be nice to spread out and stay in one place.  We can take it slowly as we have 4 nights to spend on the way.

Day one sees us back at Forbes at the lovely free camp overlooking Forbes Lake.  This is a beautiful and popular spot and is well placed for a northwards drive from Canberra.  We tried some fishing and as usual had no luck.  There's a lovely walk (about 1km round trip) from the camp to the shopping area and back, through the parks and across the bridges.  At least we got a bit of exercise there.






The next day we drove north on the Newell Highway through Parkes and Dubbo to the Warrumbungles National Park.  It's been a few years since we were in the Warrumbungles which are notable for their magnificent rocky volcanic plugs.  We checked in at the Visitor Centre to pay our camp fees and were directed to the unpowered caravan sites at Camp Blackman which has defined paved driveway sites and there were plenty of caravans there.
  We drove around looking at the sites and decided to make our way to Camp Wambelong which is a flat grassy area on the creek.  This was a much better option for us with no crowds.  In the late afternoon and evening we were entertained by a mob of about 15 wallabies.  

On our way into Coonabarabran the next day we drove past the Siding Springs Observatory which overlooks the national park.  We continued north through Gunnedah, past Lake Keepit to Manilla, where we stopped for lunch.  Manilla hosted the 2007 World Paragliding Championships.  A few months ago we saw a documentary on this event when some competitors were sucked into a thunderstorm with tragic results.


We continued northwards to Bingara where we camped alongside the Gwydir River.  A nearby calistemon tree in full bloom was host to many birds.  The birdsong near our camp was so loud - a delight to listen to.  A quick trip into the town to fill up with fuel and a stop at the art deco Peter's Milk Bar and Roxy Cinema for a look.  Last time we were in Bingara the cinema and visitor centre were closed.  This time the visitor centre was open but we had missed the 2.30pm tour of the theatre.  There are 2 tours each day, at about 10am and 2.30pm.  We did manage to get a quick look inside though - and it's on our list to do the full tour on a future visit.

From Bingara we drove to Inverell via Myall Creek.  In 1838 this was the site of the Myall Creek Massacre, where many aboriginals were killed.  There is now a Memorial Site and walk which tells the story of this tragic event.  Hundreds of aboriginals were killed in this area as they were defending their lands against the encroachment by white settlers.

Our final stop on our way to Toowoomba was at Dalveen, just north of Stanthorpe.  We're back in Queensland now so no daylight savings time here.  It's strange having sunrise by 5am and sunset about 6pm and has taken a few days to get used to.  We've settled into the house we're looking after for a couple of weeks.  We have been accepted by the chooks (6 lovely big fresh eggs every day) and the cat.

A Weekend in Hobart

Hobart, one of Australia's oldest settlements, nestled under Mount Wellington and the capital of the island state of Tasmania.  We flew from Canberra to celebrate a family birthday there.  The dinner at Ethos Restaurant was excellent and a good time was had by all.  It was great to catch up with family we hadn't seen for nearly 12 months.

While in Hobart we took the opportunity to visit the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) which was donated to the people of Tasmania by philanthropist David Walsh.  The MONA should be on the list for everyone who visits Hobart.  We had no trouble spending over 4 hours wandering through the many galleries.  The artworks are diverse with exhibits from ancient Egypt through to the 21st century.  The works are extremely well presented and there is a mix of interactive, visual, sound and multimedia to delight the senses.  The entry fee (for non-Tasmanians) is money well spent and the cafe is worth a visit for lunch.  The MONA has recently catapulted Hobart into the Top 10 of Best Cities in the World to Visit.  We can relive our experience there through a link which records what we have seen (and missed).  Technology at its best!

The next day we had a few hours to spend before our lunchtime flight back to Canberra so we drove through the rainforest to the top of Mount Wellington to see the spectacular views.  The top of the mountain was in the clouds and at 4C it was cold and damp.  There is a good information and viewing platform at the summit and several paths to wander.

Two Weeks of Bliss at Micalong Creek

After our relaxing 9 days at Carcoar Dam we packed up and drove to Micalong Creek near Wee Jasper.  There are several camping areas in the Wee Jasper Reserve, all with plenty of water and some good facilities.  There’s very limited WiFi and mobile phone connection – usually at the top of the many hills.

Our drive through Cowra, Booroowa and Yass was very pleasant with not much traffic even though we were into the first week of NSW school holidays.  We stopped off in Booroowa for a look around the Information Centre and to get a pamphlet on the Woolfest festival which is held each year over the October long weekend.  The festival’s highlight is the “Running of the Sheep” on the Sunday, when hundreds of sheep run through the town’s main street.  It’s on our list for a future year.

About 2 hours after we left Booroowa we pulled into our campsite at Micalong Creek.  The road from Yass to Wee Jasper is sealed all the way but it has some narrow winding parts.  The last few kms in particular are very narrow with some hairpin bends.  We were surprised to have a B-double truck loaded with rock come towards us on this narrow section.  The Yass Council is quarrying rock from near Wee Jasper and some of the truck drivers use the direct road to Yass as a short cut instead of taking the Tumut road and turning onto the Hume Highway to get to Yass.  Hopefully we won’t encounter any of these big trucks on our way out.  We have spent many happy weekends and holidays camping, caving and fossicking in the Wee Jasper area in the 1970s and 1980s so this was a bit of a nostalgia visit for us.  The facilities have certainly improved over the past 20 years!  We set up camp about 5 metres from the river with an olive tree and an apple tree both in full bloom for us to look at.

We have a family of ducks nearby and we’ve spent the past weeks watching the duckling grow from a hatchling, take its first swim through the rocky rapids and now it’s getting it’s true feathers.  There’s plenty of wildlife around – wombats, wallabies, possums and many different birds as well as plenty of ducks.

Micalong Creek is a “General Trout Stream” and the fishing season opened a few days after we arrived.  All of the camping areas filled up for the long weekend and there were plenty of fishermen about.  Unfortunately no-one was catching any fish.  Cherryl caught a small rainbow trout – had to throw it back – and a fellow camper caught a large brown trout, but that was all the luck we had.  Even the local fishing club competition could only manage one 200gm trout.  

The local pair of cormorants was having more luck though and we were entertained by these “fishing birds” seemingly herding the fish downstream and checking out the hollows in the river where the fish like to swim.  We saw them catch a few small fish, so we know there are some fish in the creek.

On the Sunday of the long weekend we ventured to the local market to try some of their offerings.  We can certainly vouch for the sausage sandwiches and the egg and bacon sandwiches – delicious for lunch.  There was plenty on offer with home made jams and pickles, cakes, jewellery, handicrafts, alpaca wool, freshly picked lemons and “trash and treasure” among some of the goodies.  The local karate club put on an exhibition with all ages participating.
We bought a book called “Wombat Pooh” from the author Jennifer Burton, who has also written a book about the Wee Jasper area.  The book is targeted at 4-8 year olds and has been a hit with the grandchildren, particularly since we have a photo of the author with the book and also with Boswell, her dog who features in the story.  One of our fellow campers tried some fruit cake and came back to camp armed with the recipe.  Max’s Fruit Cake is very easy to make - even in the caravan -  and is delicious.

Max’s Fruit Cake

Soak 1kg of dried mixed fruit in 600ml of chocolate milk or coffee milk for at least 24 hours.  Add 2 cups SR flour and mix well.  Pour into a lined cake tin and bake at 160C for 90 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

The weather has been pretty good while we’ve been here with only a couple of wet days when we’ve had to use our generator.  We’ve had cold nights and clear sunny days most of the time.  During our first week it was quite hot – into the mid-20s – for a few days so the children in the camp were swimming and riding the rapids on rubber "donuts" and body boards.  The water is still very cold so they didn’t stay in very long.  The second week has been cooler but still sunny for the most part.  We’ve had our Canberra based grandchildren with us for a few days of “Camping with Grandma and Grandad” in their school holidays.  They seem to be enjoying themselves, especially since we’ve gone through the “technology withdrawal”.  There’s no TV or radio here either so it’s very peaceful just listening to the river.  Robert has taken them into the entrance of one of the caves a couple of times for an adventure.

The campsites here are very popular and are well maintained by the rangers.  At $7.50 per adult per night the cost is reasonable.  There is a playground and hot showers at Billy Grace campground, although only cold showers at Micalong Creek.  The Ranger Station at Billy Grace sells worms for fishing and also fills gas bottles.  Wee Jasper has a pub, but no general store or fuel these days so any shopping must be done at either Yass (about 1 hour) or Canberra (about 1½ hours).