"Evergreen", Gundiah, Qld

 We have had a lovely quiet time caretaking our son's property "Evergreen".  We have been waking to magnificent sunrises with the sound of birds chirping.  It hasn't all been sunshine though.  The first few days were showery but the upside of that is that it gave me some glorious sunsets.

We have been entertained each afternoon by the resident kookaburra that finds the longest worms that I have ever seen, in the mud puddles created by the rain.

My daughter-in-law gave me some home grown pumpkin and sweet potato before they left to go camping so I have been coming up with vegetarian recipes to use the produce.  The best recipe was the lasagne that was very delicious and will be repeated.

Of course there has been drives around Evergreen that is looking lush and green after all the rain.  The cattle are in prime condition that is in stark contrast to just a few months ago when the country was extremely dry and our son was hand feeding the cows.  It's hard to imagine but it is the reality of life on the land where you can go from feast to famine in a matter of months.....

 

Philip found a broken fence wire on our drive and quickly repaired the break.  You can take the man from the country but you can't take the country from the man! He really does enjoy being back on the land and will come back down later on the year to help our son with a new fence line.

Tomorrow we head to Toowoomba for two weeks.  In that time we will also make a trip to Brisbane so that I can have some pre-cancer sun spots removed from my face.  We will also enjoy spending some time with my mum and I'm sure she will have lots of chores for us.......

Mary Valley Rattler Steam Train

As an early Mothers Day present, Marco and Suzie purchased VIP tickets aboard the Mary Valley Rattler.  The train departs from the old Gympie Railway Station that has been restored to its former glory. The train is run by volunteer workers and it is really a credit to them as to how professionally everything operates. 

 Our journey was the annual "Bushrangers" ride where people were invited to dress in period costume.  Many did and put a lot of effort into their costume.  The bushrangers come riding along the track on their trusty steeds and ambush the train at one of the stops.  When they board the train they go from carriage to carriage demanding, at gunpoint, the gold that we are given as we board the train.

Waiting for us, on entry to our cabin, is a delicious tray of snacks including cheese, salami, pickles, grapes, chocolates, biscuits both sweet and savoury.  It was a meal in itself but at our destination lunch stop at Amamoor Station, we were handed a lunch pack that consisted of Thai Beef Salad and Chicken Nachos!  Everything was soooo delicious.

Once we reached Amamoor Station the train is detached from the carriages and turned around on a giant turntable.  I have seen these operate previously and the process still amazes me. 

Amamoor is a very cute little village that consists of nothing more than a general store but a couple of the locals have set up produce stalls that are well patronised. I didn't see anything that I needed.

On the journey to Amamoor our carriage was the second from the front so of course on the return we were second from the back.  It was certainly a lot rougher on the return journey but still very enjoyable.  I would thoroughly recommend the Mary Valley Rattler if you are in the Gympie area.  It is a unique experience that embraces the early days of steam travel.  There were certainly bushrangers in this area at the turn of the century and even though our bushrangers were "pretend", it would have been terrifying for travellers back then.

 

Travel Time

We left Undara on Monday and stopped at Charters Towers on Monday night.  We arrived with plenty of time to check out the giant mural that adorns one side of the buildings in the Goldtower Central Complex.  It really is quite spectacular but it was a shame that we couldn't get too close.  The builders are still working on the complex and had the area roped off.

We stayed at the Dalrymple Tourist Van Park that is one of our favourite van parks in Australia.  The drive through site with its lush green grass, that you sank in up to your ankles, was perfect for us.  On arrival and check-in you are handed complimentary home-made date slice and we could not resist purchasing a slab of the home-made Rocky Road.  The caravan park itself is beautifully landscaped with gardens and lots of shady trees and it is maintained to perfection.  The owners have shown this park a lot of love.

Last nights camp could not have been more different!  Philip and I wanted to make sure that the Winnie could successfully run "off-grid" using solar, and are pleased to report that everything is fine apart from the water pump turning on and off for not reason.  That is something to look into when we arrive at our son's place.  So getting back to our camp for the night, we pulled into a gravel pit around 20km south of Capella.  We had the huge space to ourselves and immediately set up our table and chairs outside as no air-conditioning made it a little warm inside the motorhome.

It didn't take long for it to cool sufficiently for us to go for a short walk before settling in for the night and we were rewarded with a magnificent sunset.  On the eastern side of our camp we could see Peak Hills in the distance and the grain silos on the adjacent property really stood out with the sun setting over them.

On our return walk we went a different direction and came across this.......

Seriously, people are such pigs.  These are old air conditioners just dumped on the ground because, presumably, it would have cost money to take them to a refuse site.  Further on we came across a mountain of truck tyres that are dumped here for the same reason.  It will take more than a hundred years for this lot to break down (if ever). 

Next stop will be Mt. Larcom and then Gundiah.  

Stay tuned.....