Nice Days Out

My friends Jane and Harry live in Gympie which has been badly affected by the floods, thankfully their place is on high ground. The train line had been damaged by the floods and an overturned lorry so I travelled half way by train and Harry met me.

We visited Noosa and Montville before but they are such lovely places it was good to go again. 

Once again there were lots of people getting in the way of a good photo! so I bought some postcards.

Last time I was here we walked around the park

17 years on we were content to stroll along beside the river and the beach!

Me & Jane

We had lunch at Sum Yung Guys. The restaurant was started by four local guys, one of which is Matt Sinclair, the runner up on Australia's Master Chef 2016. All four of the owners are huge fans of Asian cuisine. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Harry had Thai green chicken curry, Jane and I shared Blackened barra larb (Barramundi), with Nam Jim Jaew, roasted cashew and sticky rice; and Roast sweet potato salad with cashew sambal, salted coconut and aromatic herbs. It was all excellent, the sweet potato dish was just divine. After lunch we drove back into town for ice cream and a bit of retail therapy. 

 

The following day we went to Montville

We did pretty much the same here - strolling around, retail therapy and eating! We didn't have a full lunch because Jane cooked some delicious salmon for dinner later, so we treated ourselves to coffee and cake at a lovely old colonial type restaurant with beautiful views.

I just couldn't help myself, I had to cross it's legs!!

Harry outside a lovely old clock shop

There were lots of beautiful hand made cuckoo clocks

I've never thought about owning a cuckoo clock, but if I could afford one

I would love to have any one of these.

I was trying to get a video of one of the clocks striking, with the figures

going round or a cuckoo coming out, but by the time we worked

 out which one it was it was too late!!

And of course no outing is complete without a visit to a charity shop!

On the way home we visited the Ginger Factory

It was almost closing time when we arrived, had we been earlier I would have definitely had a ride on the train. I bought a jar of ginger marmalade and a few souvenir gifts.

The next couple of days were spent relaxing at home and visiting a nearby neighbour who has a menagerie of horses, camels, dogs, birds and a cat.

I hope it won't be too long before I visit my dear friends again.

∼ Be safe and well∼

Polly x

17 Years

2005, 17 years ago, that's how long it was since I had last visited my friends Jane and Harry! We couldn't believe it, and had to reminisce about when past events happened. One memorable event being when they installed a new water tank. They say I helped, I didn't really, I was more like the project manager and official photographer! 

Harry setting out with the tank securely tied to the tractor

Arriving at the platform

Block and tackle in place, a few heave ho's

 and it was in place alongside the other two.

Back in 2005 they lived in this cabin which wasn't bad, although when I think back it didn't have air con, and the doors didn't have screen doors, so they were often left open to allow a through draught, and to allow the cat and dog to come and go, and probably all manner of insects and possibly an ocassional snake!! Thank goodness I didn't overthink things then!! 

Cabin now

Having said that I actually went inside to have a look round, with all senses on high alert!! It's in a bit of a state now, no doubt home to all manner of wildlife. Harry installed the solar panels which provide all their electricity with plenty left over to sell to the grid.

In 2005 this was the view from the cabin looking down to what was the pole barn

Which is now where their new house is 

surrounded by 80 acres of lovely views

Drive up to the house

Jane with Ziggy and Duke

One day, before my visit, Harry went to move this cushion and got a bit of a fright when he saw this little blue tongue lizard. I think it has taken up permanent residence.

We saw a snake on the patio (we were inside), I think Harry said it was a young red bellied black snake, probably looking for mice. It retreated when Harry moved towards the door. I felt a little bit unsettled for a while.

Possum

We had some lovely days out - coming next.

∼ Be safe and well∼

Polly x

Mount Coot-Tha

Mount Coot-Tha is many things to many people. To the Aborigines it was a place to collect honey produced by the native stingless bee. For TV companies it is the HQ of television towers, sending constant signals across Brisbane, and for avid bike riders it is a challenge as they don their lycra to ascend the mountain each morning, pushing themselves through the burn.

But for most, it's a short drive from Brisbane CBD to spend a lovely day out.

The panoramic view of the city is spectacular. Visitors have a choice of enjoying the views, lunch at the restaurant, a snack at the cafe or a picnic or barbeque in the beautiful grounds. We had coffee and cake. 

For the more energetic there are bush walks, cycling routes. horse riding, walking and hiking.

It would definitely be a 'go to' place for walks if I lived here.

I've been finding my way around the city on my own, travelling on the bus. I got confused though! Two buses took the same route but one went further, I got on the one that went to the end of the route. The driver was lovely, she said to stay on, because I would never find my way back to where I wanted to be. The route went round a loop back to where we had just come, and she showed me where to get off. I was fine then because I recognised the area from when I went with my daughter. I had a nice time wandering around.

City Hall            Arcades

And finished my day with a delicious iced coffee and scrumptious chocolate brownie, it looked so good I had to take a photo! We have been eating way too much lots of lovely food.

∼ Be safe and well ∼

Polly x

Out And About

Oh I do love hot weather. I love all encompassing warmth, and I love having breakfast outside, which to be fair I did quite a lot last year at home.

I start my day with breakfast on the balcony reading and enjoying the view.

Last Thursday my daughter read about a market in the city, unfortunately it was mostly a food market, which we weren't really interested in because we were still full up from breakfast. 

After a walk along the river we went to the City Botanic Garden 

The site of Brisbane City Botanic Gardens was selected as a public 

garden in 1828 by New South Wales Colonial Botanist Charles Fraser.

Originally the garden was planted with food crops to feed the convicts. In 1855, a portion of the land was declared a 'botanic reserve' and Walter Hill was appointed as curator. It incorporates Brisbane's most mature gardens and features many rare and unusual species of plants.

This Banyan tree was planted in the 1870s, during Walter Hill's curatorship, and is the largest Banyan Tree in the gardens. My photos don't really do it justice. 

The species is originally from India and can cover many acres when very old (500 to 600 years). The aerial roots enter the ground, forming new trunks. In this way, the huge branches can extend further and further away from the parent plant. With over 20 species of figs, the City Botanic Gardens holds one of the largest collections of figs in Australia. This tree has the largest and most impressive aerial root structure in the gardens. With a circumference of 49 metres and enormous aerial root structures it is believed to be the best known example of its species in Australia.

I don't know what this was, it was quite impressive and was as still as a statue. I did wonder if it would suddenly lurch at us, like the small dinosaurs in Jurrasic Park - must learn to control my imagination!!

Starting to feel hungry we headed to the CBD for lunch. All the restaurants here ask for proof of covid vaccination to enter. We finished our day with a bit of retail therapy.

Elsewhere, this is a local shop which at first sight I thought was a charity shop, but it's a private business. I don't know how she makes any money though, everything is piled so high you can't seen anything underneath. I did walk through but was concerned about knocking something over! 

∼ Be safe and well∼

Polly x