Day 5 – Stanthorpe, Toowoomba, Eureka Stud - Cambooya

Although we went to bed last night marvelling at the night sky, brilliant with stars, clouds had started to gather when we awoke this morning and so it was not ridiculously chilly. I think that cloud cover saved us from a nasty frost. Peter and Tere Bonner, our hosts (remember, the distant cousins who forgot who we are?) had prepared a fabulous breakfast for us and joined us in the magnificent repast. There were hash browns, sausages, roast tomatoes, scrambled eggs, toast, fruit, yoghurt, juice, and so much more! It was a fabulous breakfast and we really enjoyed their company, solving the problems of the world.

Leaving at about 9am we headed back into Stanthorpe where Gary saw to a few shopping chores, including purchasing another wedding ring as his had slipped off somewhere unknown the previous day. I took the opportunity to upload the photos and blog. Our next stop was Stanthorpe Cemetery where I had promised my niece Jo who is doing our family tree that I would look up some grave stones and photograph them for her. The wind had picked up and it was a bit chilly but Gaz and I braved the elements and the total lack of knowledge where any of the graves were to begin our search. About an hour later we felt we had captured as much as we were going to and we headed off for Toowoomba.

An uneventful trip found us arriving in Toowoomba a couple of hours later, perfectly timed as we just finished our first audio book of the trip – The Rosie Effect (book 2 in the series). We listened to The Rosie Project on our last trip and I have The Rosie Result (book 3) to read while we are away. I love those books! We unpacked the car, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and then joined Kev and Maz on a trip out to Eureka Stud at Cambooya, a small town about 20km out of Toowoomba. Their daughter, Jordan, lives on the property with her partner, Angus, and we were invited for a tour of the horse stud and then dinner with Angus’ parents. We had a great afternoon and evening! Angus showed us all over the property, explaining all the different aspects of breeding racehorses – a topic close to Gary’s heart – well the ones that run fast and win anyway.

After the great tour, we went to Jordan and Angus’ house for some pre-dinner drinks and hi-jinks. Jordan insisted we play darts, teaming up in pairs. It was a pretty close contest but Gaz and I prevailed in the end with me throwing a double 2 to win the game. I didn’t know I can play darts! At least I now have a sport that I can indulge in with my crook ankle.

We then wandered a couple of hundred yards to the main house where we met Angus’ parents and brother, had more drinks, nibblies, and a fabulous meal. The last plate had barely been removed before Jordan was once again organising a game for us to play. This time it was Perudo, a very strange dice game where you have to lie and deceive your opponents. Once again I won, this timed teamed up with Kev. I was happy to pull an all nighter playing all the games they could throw at me, but strangely the others did not see this as a fun experience and we called it a night, arriving home about 11pm. Another great day.