Our first time on this trip to pack up and move on, we left Moree a little after 9am and headed north. We enjoyed another easy trip along the plain, loved the scenery and marvelled at the extensive paddocks under cultivation. There was a smattering of cotton along the side of the road that we assumed had fallen from passing trucks.
After an hour and a half or so, we found ourselves across the border in Qld in the beautiful town of Goondiwindi. Neither of us had been there before and we both were surprised how pretty (and green) it was. We needed to grab some picnic supplies from Coles and then we found our way to the Tourist Information Centre to wait for Kev and Maz. While we were waiting we had a chance to look at the special exhibition to Gunsynd – the Goondiwindi Grey. Gaz regaled me with stories – mainly how the horse he backed beat Gunsynd in the 1973 Melbourne Cup … but otherwise it was a great horse etc etc etc. There was also an art exhibition that I had a quick gallop (see what I did there?) through, and we also chatted to the lovely guide who gave us some tips for nice parks and cafes.
Kev & Maz finally arrived after taking a wrong turn on the way into town and it was decided that a cup of coffee was needed. Kev has had a sore eye for sometime now and sought advice from a pharmacist who suggested he hop in to see Steve, the lovely town optometrist. Unfortunately Steve was in Moree for the day! While this was going on, Maz and I checked out the old border bridge, the statue of Gunsynd, and some other weird commemorative thing around a tree. As best we could make out this is where the townspeople used to gather to watch the level of the river rise before they built the levee bank.
When we finally met up with the fellas it was decided it was now lunchtime so we made our way to the botanical gardens for a picnic. Lovely spot near some water … not too many gardens though we did see pelicans. I left some rocks behind, though there will be one less as we saw a massive crow come along and pick up my ‘peace’ rock as we were driving away. I was stunned! The others tell me crows pick golf balls up all the time – I hope my rock brings him happiness!
After our usual scrumptious picnic, we set off for what we thought was an easy 2 hour drive to Stanthorpe. OMG. The first bit of the road to Inglewood was good, but then it turned nasty. Not that the road was shocking … maybe not great, but not too bad … it was the kangaroos/wallabies. Dead and alive they were everywhere … and this was 3pm, well before dusk. They even had signs warning you how many crashes there had been. We slowed way down and precariously made our way towards our destination. Then there were sheep on the road; just dotted here and there, not what you’d call a flock. We saw one sheep run across the road in front of us and make a diving leap across a cattle grid – very impressive – I gave it an 8.5.
After that harrowing adventure we were more than happy to see Stanthorpe but then remembered we had another 20 minutes on back roads to get to our final destination – Aloomba Lavender Farm in Liston. This is near where my mum grew up and where I holidayed every year as a child. The owners are some sort of cousins but I don’t think they have a clue who I am. It’s a great spot though – very peaceful. We are in the B&B and Kev & Maz are ‘camping’ in their van.
It turned pretty cold after the sun set but we looked forward to heading back into town for a night out with my cousins, Clare and Kim (who did remember me) at a very nice Italian Restaurant, Anna’s. If you ever go there, do yourself a favour and order the stuffed mushrooms! We had a great evening and even managed to make it back to the farm unscathed, although we did dodge a possum, hare and a rabbit on the trip back. No kangaroos. Big day and in bed by 11. No phone or internet coverage here so I’ll have to post this tomorrow morning when back in town.
No comments:
Post a Comment