Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers

Every year I've lived in Brisbane I've promised myself that I would go to  the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers and I was determined that this year I would make it .....and I did!

Toowoomba is about 130 kms  west of Brisbane and has a population of about 160,000 people. It's perched on top of The Great Dividing Range and the surrounding Lockyer Valley is among the top ten most fertile places in the world......I do believe they are talking about agriculture and not the people lol.

Lee and Nicky and I set off early with the compulsory stop at Micky D's.........followed by the equally compulsory stop a half hour later at the first toilet we could find.....we must really rethink breakfast when we go tripping.lol

It's a beautiful drive and the sights from the top overlooking the valley are quite amazing. Toowoomba is a lovely town with great architecture and and just has a really good feel about it.

We started at Margaret Street markets and fell in love with this little guy.

Need a really big bread roll and some tomato sauce

Cute - don't know if I want goat goo on my lips though.

Not having had enough to eat at Macca's we headed to the Toowoomba Sports Club for lunch. Had a  Fisherman's Basket - yummy.  I must say everyone we met seemed really nice and friendly.......certainly a place to re visit.

Now at this point I have to say we hadn't seen a flower and after asking for directions we got a few vague."there are displays in all different spots" but it was a bit hard to pinpoint exactly where those spots were....and being strangers we really didn't know where to start. The answer was to get in the car and drive around....we eventually spotted tents and carnival paraphernlia and car parking people so headed that way. No flowers but they did have carnival rides and ice cream. Lee decided to risk her life on the ride below but Nicky and I decided we were food or rides people....definitely couldn't do both. To do both would court disaster....for all within throwing up distance.

Yes...those are legs in the air...like a giant Bamix.

By this time it had clouded over and we were freezing...still no flowers......so we took off again....in despair. Suddenly we saw them....flowers everywhere. Gorgeous, colourful and definitely worth the trip.

We even became flowers ourselves

Good trip home and hopefully I won't be hearing from any of the many police speed traps I saw.........counted about 8........how many didn't I see? Gulp!.

Started out for point A...got lost.....ended up at point B,C & D....never did find point A....but had a great day anyway

Lee and I set out at 7 am this morning with the intentions of having Breakfast at Maccas and to visit the Tree Top Walk in the Lamington National Park....... and.....before you ask.....yes.......I did see a lady eating a lamington!

Firstly, you need to know that in all Lee and my travels there is always a third "person" in the car with us. That irritating trout mouthed woman on the GPS. Lee hates to be interrupted while talking so she turns GPS lady off or the volume down. I however, feel she needs to be on full volume and I also wish she had a stick with which she could  prod us. The reason is simple....Lee and I get talking and we totally ignore GPS lady and we go past turn after turn that GPS lady is yelling at us to take and she's constantly demanding we do a U turn......even when it would be an obvious death sentence. Then she starts recalculating then re calculating her recalculations.....and it all ends in tears.

Short story is we never did get to Tree Tops but we did risk life and limb on some very narrow, windy hilly roads. We saw a couple of wild kangaroos and a whole herd of happy alpacas. We found a lake full of turtles and a toilet just in the nick of time.

We decided not to take this path - 100 metres down it we could see a huge sign saying DANGER Not really sure if they were warning the Python or us! We didn't go the other way because we're not morons (bad pun)

We did

This guy was so cute and he needed braces on his teeth

This was one of many turtles in the lake....see photo below...beautiful spot

By lunchtime we were tired of being lost so headed to Miami Beach to meet up with some friends in the Ocean View Caravan Park for a BBQ.

Miami Beach Qld... how damned nice!

No lifeguards in sight though...sad face

Andrew

Lee

Wendy and Brigit...really don't know how to spell that

Nice drive home, once again deaf to GPS lady's pleas and we totally missed the turn off to the Yatala Pie Shop....so sad. Sorry Michael...it was Lee's fault.

We did get home tired and pieless but safe and had a great day.

Secret Places in the Suburbs

In March 2013 I blogged about a place called Whites Hill Reserve -  170 hectares of native bushland right in the middle of the suburbs. If it wasn't for the occasional overhead jet you wouldn't even know you were anywhere near civilisation. Last week I found Tinchi Tamba Wetlands - another adventure close to home. Today I found another. While it hasn't got the feeling of the remoteness of Whites Hill and doesn't have the watery expanses of Tinchi Tamba, it is a beautiful walk with lots of amenities - slap bang in the middle of the Chermside/Geebung area.

Mountains to Mangroves

The day was warm and a bit overcast but no wind. I walked a total of 10 km but only about 5 of them were in the actual corridor - the rest was getting there and back. The actual corridor is about 20 kms long and incorporates Downfall Creek. (so called because of many accidents that happened there in the early bullocky days)

The corridor is full of birds and wetlands and exercise equipment and playground equipment and picnic areas and BBQ'S

Lots of signage everywhere - even I can't get lost

Exercise equipment.......

....and more of the same

Downfall Creek - a bit dry at the momnt

Picnic spots

Beautiful area -very peaceful feel about it

I will certainly go here again.

My week went fast - I worked overtime every day and walked 3 km every lunch time. The only excitement was the attack on my person by a couple of over-protective magpies. It's mating season and I guess these birds thought there was a chance I might climb the light pole and steal the eggs from their dodgy nest - as one does. I solved the problem by taking a stick with me and defended myself accordingly. I am currently winning.

My exercise program is in full swing even though I'm still feeling the after effects of the swine flu....I think they call it that because it's a swine to get rid of. While I was down and out for 4 weeks I put on the weight I'd lost the weeks before so I'm back to square one. Doctor says I need to get my cholesterol down or go on medication..so I bloody well will. Don't want medication....every thing they give you seems to have side effects that you need to take something else for to combat the first pill. I WILL NOT TAKE THE PILLS

Having a day out with Lee tomorrow - looking forward to it - We haven't had any time together since I got the flu.

Busy Little Day

Slept like a log and woke up to a sunny Sunday morning. A spot of breakfast and then I headed off to the Tinchi Tamba Wetlands....only about a half hour drive from home.It's a lovely spot for a Sunday walk....a place I've been meaning to get to for ages but finally made it! Better late than never.

Being Fathers Day there were a lot of picnicking families and fisher-people and boats - wonderful place.

The sounds of the birds were wonderful

The opinion of the Jet Ski rider was that the water was F***ing Freezing. I'll take his word for it.

Is there anything as sad - or as useless - as a single lost shoe. Made me wonder whether the rest of him sunk in the swamp...or maybe got eaten by Crocs lol...I need to get out more

Two trees in love - all wrapped up in each other

Now...it really did look like a snake.....truly...and I didn't scream all THAT loud...did give me a fright though

Got home about mid day because I had a few things about to finish on E Bay - made $120 from the sales so was suitably impressed with myself. Listed some books for next week and took off to the movies. Went to see Into The Storm......was again impressed when they gave me a free ticket as I tend to go to the movies quite a bit...nice! The film was great...quite scary and mesmerising and I don't think I drew a breath for a couple of hours....this is again true....I'm sure I turned blue....well maybe a slight exaggeration. Another bonus on leaving......scraped into the under 3 hours by 2 minutes for the car park so that was free too. Now if only my choc top and popcorn were free it would have been quite a profitable day.

Again I am pooped.....will sleep well again tonight.  All that fresh air and free stuff fair did me in.

I think it's time for Midsommer Murders...then a few more episodes of Nashville. Early start tomorrow ...a bit of overtime....maybe if you do it BEFORE the work day starts they should call it undertime...I'll need to think more on that...or not :)

Saturday 6 September 2014 - Zillmere - Brisbane

Finally starting to feel human after a long and nasty bout of the flu. Nice sunny day so I started catching up with all the things that have been left undone whilst I was unwell. Lots of housework...which in my tiny place means an hour at the most....if you take your time.lol

See what I mean......

Lounge

Bedroom

Kitchenette

Laundry/bathroom

.......that's it...that's all there is to clean......love it.  100 yards away is the supermarket & pharmacy. Library next door but one and ten minutes in the car to work. The hardest part of the day was cleaning the balcony which has been neglected all winter and covered in dirt and grot due to the block of flats being built over the road. Will be very glad when the building is finished and the trucks stop rolling up with building materials and making the dust fly.

Flats under construction

Anyway....for the time being my balcony is clean

After my "monumental" housework I walked up the road to the Zillmere Multicultural Festival. Zillmere is a very diverse area with people from all corners of the earth so I was keen to see the festival...and eat some food :)

Food wise I had a Brazilian BBQ Roll and a Kangaroo sausage and an Indian Vegetable roll...which was very nice and very spicy.

I'm still not 100% over the flu and am feeling pooped so I think it's time to hit my armchair and watch a few more episodes of Nashville

Mt Coot-Tha, Brisbane

With the help of Google I decided to go see Mt Coot-Tah  - the highest peak in Brisbane at 287 metres above sea level. Another hottish day but I came prepared with insect repellant and  I checked the map FIRST this time.

The drive up was uneventful except for all the road works that were happening which rendered my GPS less than useless and that bloody voice kept "RECALCULATING"!!. ANYWAY...I eventually got there and the day was beautiful and the scenery from the lookout incredible.

Brisbane CBD - a little bit smoggy looking but quite imposing

Lovely scenery

I read on Google about the J C Slaughter Falls and was anxious to see them. The writer said they visited in 2008, which was right in the middle of the last drought, and there was no water there. However they added a picture of  how the falls normally look. The picture was protected and I couldn't reproduce it here and I couldn't find any other pictures of these falls in all their glory. I now know why. Anyone in the world must have been sleeping if they weren't aware of the record rainfall and floods we have had so far this year. My expectations of a mini Niagara Falls were not met...see below...despite all that bloody rain!!

What a disappointment :(

There were some aboriginal paintings to be seen but they were quite a distance and my photos were blurry...will need to buy a super duper zoom lens methinks.

The biggest puzzle for me - being new to bush walking - is do I look up so I can try to spot a Koala ...or do I look down so I don't tread on a deadly snake.. Needless to say I saw NO koalas.

The walk took about an hour and a half and in some areas it was so steep my toes were touching my shins (I may exaggerate a tad but it did get steep). The scenery was beautiful, the weather perfect and I thoroughly enjoyed it - despite that bloody waterless fall!!

Agoraphobia-phobia and how not to go Bush Walking

17 March 2013 It suddenly occurred to me that I had only been out of the house once all week and was actively making excuses NOT to go out - not a good idea when you live alone so I decided to go bush walking at Whites Hill Reserve - just a couple of Kms from home but 170 hectares of natural bushland within the Metropolitan Area of Brisbane.

Whites Hill Trails

Things NOT to do when going Bush Walking in Australia

• Do not go alone
• Probably best not go when the temperature is 34 C
• Get a copy of the above map BEFORE setting out.
• Take insect repellent

It was a beautiful morning but it soon got very hot walking around this gorgeous bushland setting. I only saw a couple of other people plus two moronic boys on trail bikes who thought it would be fun to circle around me then ride off. I must admit it was quite scary but there was nothing I could do. Twits!!

The track was quite steep and got very narrow in places - I picked up a big stick in case I saw a snake. Thought I could drop it in horror and run off screaming or something useful like that. lol

I didn't see any wildlife but I heard THINGS and was stalked by a rather persistent bee.

I don't know what lives in that hole but I didn't wait for introductions!!

This was a very pleasant spot for a rest

At this point I realised I was quite lost and although I could hear cars way off in the distance it occurred to me that I probably shouldn't have gone alone just in case something happened. I mean I did have my phone so I guess I could call someone and tell them I'm lost and they could say where and I could say I don't know..I'm lost....then what ever lives in that bloody hole could come out and bite me. Oh dear...imagination running riot. I finally found the edge of the park and saw the map that's at the top of this blog.  The pink note top right says "you are here". Where I needed to be was bottom left. I took a photo of the sign and set off back the way I came feeling confident with the map on me....HOWEVER....the map is obviously an old one....there were in fact many more twists and turns than were shown. Getting grumpy and a bit of heat stroke at this stage. Finally found my way back to my car....2 1/2 hours since I left it...should have taken me about 45 minutes lol.

Well I'm back home....dirty and hot and smelly but will go again..on a cooler day....armed with a map and insect repellent and another person to kill the snakes.