Warrumbungle National Park

Australia really is a country with a diversity of amazing landscapes and today we visited one of the most spectacular.  It was only through talking to fellow travellers that we learnt a little about the Warrumbungles.  They told us we shouldn't bypass them if we are in the area and I'm so pleased we listened....

We are staying at the very spacious Getaway Tourist Park in Coonabarabran that is the closest town to the Warrumbungles.  This is a lovely park with very friendly owners who are happy to share valuable knowledge about the area.  On their advise they said to allow a full day to visit the National Park and even then you would only be able to choose a few of the many walks.

We set sail around 9am with a packed lunch and maps.  No relying on your phone in this area as signals are a bit hit and miss.  Our first stop was at the Whitegum Lookout that is just past Siding Spring Observatory. It was a gently 1km walk out to the lookout and we were afforded magnificent views of the Warrumbungle Range.  The information at the lookout was very good and explained in detail how two volcanic eruptions formed the Warrumbungle Range.  

Back in the car and the next stop was the Visitor Information Centre.  I can recommend stopping at these centres whenever you are spending time in a particular area as they have more detailed maps than you get online.  

We did the short scenic walk around the centre that gave us a great view of Siding Spring Observatory.  The Warrumbungle area has many observatories as it has one of the darkest night skies in Australia. We have booked into one of the observatories in Coonabarabran to see the night sky and have it explained to us by "Donna the Astronomer".

We continued  on our journey through the park and stopped at Split Rock Picnic Area for a walk that we thought would be interesting. We walked in the shadow of the towering Split Rock Mountain that is truly magnificent but the path was not well kept and Philip was having a little trouble with his knee so we turned around at the 1km mark.  We studied the map again and decided on Old Woolshed Picnic area for lunch with a walk to Tara Cave prior to lunch to build up our appetite.

The walk was 3.4km return with a Grade 2 moderate.  I would probably Grade it a 3 because it was quite steep in parts.  The walk itself was diverse and the path was a mixture of bricks, wood chip and natural.  It was easy walking until we had to ascend the mountain where, as I said, it was quite steep. BUT....the views from Tara Cave were incredible and well worth the bit of pain to get there.  We were up so high, and it felt like we were on top of the world.  I stood and wondered about the aboriginals that had probably stood in this exact spot looking at exactly the same view.  It was quite moving.

The return journey seemed to take us longer than the uphill but I think we were quite cautious walking down the steep incline.  We were starving when we finally arrived back at the picnic area and I was glad that I had packed plenty of food!

After lunch we continued our journey through the National Park and found an alternate route back to Coonabarabran.  It was a dirt road but we drove through some very interesting farming areas that were in stark contrast to where we had just been in the Warrumbungles.  It took us a couple of hours but we were back in camp by late afternoon and throughly enjoyed sitting down and toasting our day with beer, wine and Stanthorpe Cheeses...

Doin it in Dubbo

We have been looking forward to Dubbo.  The Taronga Western Plains Zoo has been on my bucket list for quite some time. When I started researching things to do in and around Dubbo I found the list to be quite extensive.  Unfortunately though, we had only booked into the Discovery Park for two nights so we were somewhat limited as to what we could fit into this short period of time.  I did try to book an extra night but as it is still NSW school holidays it was never going to be on the cards.  

So, what did we decide.  The zoo was top priority so I purchased tickets online for our first day.  We knew that the 5km circuit that I decided to walk and Philip decided to cycle would take us the best part of the day and we weren't wrong.  The 5km turned into almost a 10km walk for me as I wandered in and out of the many animal enclosures.  It was fantastic.  Philip chose to hire a bike and he loved being back on the saddle! My favourites were the Meerkats, the baby Asian Elephant that kept me smiling as he played with a giant ball, and the Galapagos Tortoise.  My goodness they are HUGE!  We smiled at the little boy standing beside us who asked his parents why the big Tortoise was on top of the small Tortoise.  Randy old bugger.....  

Our intention was to have lunch at the halfway mark on the circuit but the line-up was out the door and around the corner.  We simply purchased a bottle of water and continued on the circuit, deciding to wait until we got home to have a late lunch.  The things that we were disappointed in were simply luck of the draw things. We didn't get to see the Lions as they were some distance away and all asleep and I only spotted one Cheetah and he was also a very long way away. But, it is definitely worth the visit.  The animals are as close to being in the wild as you can get and all extremely healthy. 

Philip taking a small rest in the Safari area.

 The next thing on our list was the Old Dubbo Goal.  Dubbo Goal dates from 1847 as a courthouse lock-up. The West Main Gates and brick walls were complete in 1887 when upgraded from a Police Gaol to a Minor Gaol. The Goal was closed in 1966. As we wandered around the quite small complex that could house more than 100 inmates and reading about their various stories we shuddered at the cruelty that was handed out to prisoners in that era.  I was also left wondering why murder and rape in that period of time were accorded the same punishment -"death by hanging" but these days rape is considered almost a minor offence. The completely "blacked out" cells that were used for solitary confinement gave me heart palpitations and just thinking about the 21 days that prisoners were kept in these rooms for punishment with only their thoughts as company would be enough for them to lose their mind.

We thoroughly enjoyed Dubbo.  It is a much larger city than we envisaged and there is a lot of roadworks happening in the town.  Like a lot of towns in Australia the town outgrows the infrastructure.  The Discovery Park that we stayed at was very clean and tidy with a huge play area for the kids.  We were allocated a pull through site but sadly there was barely enough room for our slide and awning. I guess it is all to do with dollars and trying to fit in as many vans as possible.

We  have now travelled the short distance to Coonabarabran where we are staying for three nights. This is in the Warrumbungle Region that we can't wait to explore.

A little time in Tamworth

Tamworth is the home of Country and Western Music but we were not here for that reason.  Number one reason is that it was an easy drive from Stanthorpe and number two reason is that it is the home of two of our friends James and Bec and their gorgeous little girl, Victoria.  We met James when he and Bec were living in Port Douglas and James was our "go to" extra set of hands.  At that time he was studying to become an engineer and now has his degree in Civil Engineering.

We decided to stay in Tamworth a couple of nights so that we could explore the area.  In the end all we explored was Peel Street (for some more retail therapy) and the local restaurants!  We did take a tour through the Powerhouse museum that is well worth a visit but the rest of the time we simple rested up after quite a busy time in Stanthorpe. 

We had one lunch at Riviera Bar and Grill that was given five stars from Trip Advisor.  It was well deserved.  Its speciality is Italian cuisine with their pasta made by hand each and every day.  The waitress said that they were very lucky to have two chefs from Dubai (I KNOW!) that create all the marvellous dishes.  Now, I love pasta but it doesn't love me.  I can only have a few spoonfuls and my stomach is full to the brim.  Fortunately the meals served at Riviera are relatively small and believe it or not I finished my whole bowl of Duck Ragu Rigatoni.  Philip chose the Seafood Scoglio that was very spicy but delicious.  We also had a side of the Parmesan Truffle Fries that were soooooo good.  We washed all this down with beer for Philip and I lovely Prosecco cocktail for me.

We met our friends for Brunch at Rubys Cafe the morning that we were leaving. We ended up sitting over our meal for almost two hours but it was great to catch up on each others comings and goings.  Tamworth was slightly warmer than Stanthorpe but the days were sunny and it was easy to get warm. We stayed at Austin Caravan Park that was very spacious with lots of room between sites.  We got to chose our own drive through site that is always a bonus.

We really liked Tamworth and look forward to coming back another time in the future.

Between Two Rocks Winery

This was our last full day together so it was decided that we would drive to Leyburn where our friends live and also the home of Between Two Rocks Winery.  I had rung Cindy, the owner of the winery, to see if they were open and she kindly said that she would open just for us and have pizzas ready for our lunch.

You may remember me mentioning this winery some months ago when we were there for our friends 62nd birthday party. It is truly spectacular.  The views from the cellar door, that look out across the vineyard and beyond are million dollar views.  Inside the building it is both warm and inviting.  The bar where they have the wine tasting is one huge length of timber that was cut from just one tree.  It must have been one whopper of a tree and the owners tell us the building was almost built around the bar!

The wines in this little boutique winery are exceptional.  My favourite was the 2018 Sparkling Merlot but everyone was raving about the 2017 Tempranello that I believe is sold out but Cindy did manage to find one bottle for one of our party.  It was also great that Bryce, who lives in Leyburn, and another friend, Cathy could join us for lunch. Both are also a Julia Creek ex-pats. 

It was a delightful day and a great way to spend our last day together.  It has been a fun week with our friends and I would be lying if I said I wasn't feeling a little weary but that is just the way you should feel when you have had a truly wonderful time.

We have now left Stanthorpe and are enjoying some warmth in Tamworth.  It was a very balmy 28 degrees when we arrived at Tamworth that was quite different from the wet and cold conditions we left behind us.

Judi x

Wine anyone?

It is wet and cold here in Stanthorpe today so what better thing to do than a full day wine and cheese tasting tour. The tour started around 10am and finished at 4.00pm and all up we visited five wineries, one cheese factory and a delicious warming lunch at Blue Pot Pantry.

Our first winery was Whisky Gully Wines.  I don't know whether it was just because it was first up or not but this winery was my pick of the day.  There Piazza Red with its smoky bacon flavours was a winner as well as the Republique Red that was a nice blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. I am not normally a dessert wine drinker but the Entente Cordiale was quite a treat.  The suggestion to serve it in a glass with 1 part gin, 2 parts Cordiale and topped with soda water and a slice or lemon, won me over.  Can't wait to try this on a balmy evening.

Next was Ridgemill Estate where, once again we tasted some very good wines.  We settled on a 2019 Riesling and Rose that satisfied our wine palate.  We learnt a lot about wine tasting today but just can't quite master the drawback that sounds like a shoooshh sound.  My sound came out more like a snort 😩....

Our third winery was Casley Mount Hutton.  I loved sitting around the bar for our tasting and our young host was very knowledgeable .  There were some pretty impressive wines to taste and it was here that we purchased our one and only bottle of Port aptly named Decadence.  It has been a best seller for the winery and our host said that if they could go back 10 years they would have tripled the batch!

From here we drove the short distance to our lunch destination at Blue Pot Pantry.  This little gem of a place had a nice selection of homemade sauces, condiments and jams.  I decided on the Worcestershire Sauce and Fig Jam so stay tuned for the taste test.  Once we were all seated at our table the meal came quite quickly as we had already pre-chosen what we wanted.  I chose the Beef Steak Pie and Philip the Lamb Sausages.  My meal was both delicious and filling whereas I think Philip could have had another sausage. I did share. This was all washed down with Green Tea for me and Cappuccino for Philip.  No wine with the meal as we had already had our fair share prior to lunch 😁.  We enjoyed our meal to the sound of the heavy rain falling on the galvanised iron roof.  Is there any better sound?  The rain did not let up all day so we patted ourselves on the back for choosing this activity today.

After lunch we once again piled into the mini van and headed to our third winery, Kominos Wines.  The host was informative but the only wine that we both liked and purchased was an Unwooded Chardonnay and I am a little apprehensive about opening this wine because I think we may be disappointed.  Anyway, we will have to wait and see.

Next place to visit was Stanthorpe Cheese. There was nothing wrong with the cheese here and I ended up purchasing four different types as well as Black Garlic and Lemon Butter.  The presentation and tasting could have been a lot better.  It was very rushed but as I was purchasing my goodies I realised that they were about to shut the shop for the day hence the hurry. I'm sure we are going to enjoy the cheeses with our wine purchases.

The very last winery for the day was the Heritage Estate Winery.  They say you should leave the best till last and this was certainly the case here. This winery has won many gold medals and accolades must go to the winemaker, John Handy. John grew up on the property and has been making wine (solo) for 15 years. Heritage Estate Winery has been given the prestige James Haliday 5 Star award. Rightly so, as there wines are impeccable and I can't wait to open our first bottle. The cellar door was originally an apple cold storage facility and the renovation has been done very tastefully. The table that the 10 of us sat around was originally from Parliament House and we wondered at what stories it could tell.

We are going to have a quiet day tomorrow. The men want to investigate the nearby museum and the girls a little retail therapy. We will all meet for lunch at the RSL.  You can't say we are not supporting the local economy.......

A day in Tenterfield

 One of the places we had on the "places to visit" bucket list while we were staying in Stanthorpe was Tenterfield.  The McCowen family originated from here and Philips father grew up on Aberfeldie Station at Bonshaw, just outside Tenterfield.  Other distant members of the McCowen family still live in the area but we have lost contact with them over the years.  However ,we will endeavour to track them down when we leave Stanthorpe on Friday.

It's been terrific that our six member party can all fit in one car and travel to our destinations together so we all piled into the car on a wet and dreary Easter Sunday and drove the 70km to Tenterfield.  Half of our party love to go hunting around in second hand shops and Tenterfield has many of these shops.  Lex purchased some beautiful crystal glasses and a gorgeous teapot for next to no money.  We also purchased more winter items.  Philip bought a very warm overcoat and my purchase of a cap hat was perfect for keeping my head warm. We stumbled across the Tenterfield Saddler shop with and purchases of leather belts were made.  It is now more a museum than a shop and the manager was very chatty so we gleaned a lot of valuable information. Of course we had to have the obligatory photo.......

While we were hanging around on the Main Street waiting for all the group to re-unite we got talking to a couple who owned Bald Rock Tourist Park.  There were terrific ambassadors for their town and suggested that we head to the Rosenhof German Cafe for lunch.  They even went to the trouble of ringing ahead for us to organise a table. What a great recommendation!  The owner/host greeted us and showed us to an outside table where we waited until they cleared an inside table for us. This took no more than five minutes.

Inside the converted cottage it was warm and inviting.  The staff were friendly and efficient and also very patient with our group.  We started the meal with a bread basket full of a variety of home baked breads with both garlic and plain butter to slather on the top and we just couldn't resist ordering a serve of the Ricotta, Potato and Spinach slice on a bed of beetroot salsa. We washed this down with a variety of beverages but my Vodka and home made lemonade was a perfect aperitif.

It was hard to chose from the extensive list of mains.  Some of our group chose the steaks and pork that were fire grilled over an open spit while some decided on the German Sausages with Sauerkraut.  I went for the Parmesan Crumbed Pork Cutlet with German Potato Salad.  It was a huge meal that I gladly shared with Philip but halfway through I almost wished I hadn't shared as it was one of the tastiest cutlets I had ever eaten. 

The cherry waffle dessert that a couple of us ordered made me drool but sadly I could not fit in a single morsel after my main.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this restaurant.  The host took us for a guided tour around the building showing the renovation process and then stopped at our table often throughout our meal to relate some great stories from his home country, Germany. It was almost 3pm when we rose from our table and even then it was with reluctance.  We probably could have stayed there for hours enjoying the wine and German Beer.

No dinner for us tonight and we were snuggled down in bed by 6.30pm.  The weather is still very cold and miserable but we are looking forward to the next few days when we are hoping the sun will shine.

xx Judi

Our trip so far.....

After all our preparation we were ready to hitch the van on the 27th March.  It was around lunch by the time we were finally on the road and we made it to Rollingstone for our first night.  We have our set-up down to a fine art nowadays and it takes us just 30 minutes, but then........there is the satellite dish...

When we purchased the portable dish the salesman assured us it was very easy to set-up and he was partly right.  It takes no time at all to stand the dish on the ground and wire it into the van but what he omitted to tell us is how long it takes to find the satellite!  This can take up to an hour.  It is a painful process as you can only move the dish centimetres at a time and even then you might bypass the signal. We have gradually improved on this time but we have now ordered a completely automatic dish to sit on top of the caravan roof that will be installed at the service. 

Rollingstone Beach Front Van Park

Our second night we made it as far as Proserpine and stayed at the Proserpine Tourist Park.  This is a lovely shaded park and we were lucky enough to get a pull through site to stay hooked up.  After we set up (no satellite dish here as the Digital TV reception was very good) we took a long walk into downtown Proserpine.  It was Sunday so nothing was open but it was an enjoyable walk.  Philip's knee needs the walk after sitting for any length of time so we are taking that into account now.

We had quite a bit of discussion about where our next destination was going to be as the towns that we would be passing through on our chosen route were few and far between.  Nebo was only 200km away and Middlemount would have been perfect but there weren't any van parks here.  So it had to be Dingo that was a 450km drive.  However the Dingo Van and Motorhome Park was perfect and well worth the stop.  There was an organised happy hour at 5.00pm and as there were only two other couples in the park and both couples had been on the road for years we were able to get a lot of valuable information about our future destinations.

The next day we only drove the short distance to Taroom and stayed at the Taroom Caravan and Tourist Park.  The manager was helpful and the site was a very handy drive through but the facilities were filthy and it is not a van park that we would recommend. However, it is the only one in Taroom so you know, beggars can't be choosers.

However our next stop at the Oakridge Tourist Park at Oakey made us quickly forget about the previous night.  This is a great park with large grassed/slab sites and immaculately clean facilities. The managers even invited us to help ourselves to herbs out of the garden that satisfied my culinary habit!

So that brings us to Stanthorpe where we have met up with our friends and where we will stay until the 10th April.  We are having a great time and talking our heads off while catching up on each others news.  It is very cold here in Stanthorpe but not unexpected.  We have however spent some $$$'s on extra warmth.  We tell ourselves this a good thing as we are supporting the local businesses.....

Easter has come and gone so belated Easter wishes to you all and I hope you didn't overindulge on the chocolates 🍫 🍫 

xx 

Preparation

We are preparing to head south in the Van again.  This time we are meeting up in Stanthorpe with ex Julia Creek friends.  We will have a week with them commencing the Easter weekend and I am very excited to be catching up with them.  Stanthorpe is within the area that I grew up in so I am looking forward to doing some reminiscing.  After a week with our friends we are going to head into NSW.  As it will still be school holidays, I have been making some bookings at various caravan parks along our holiday route so that we don't get to destinations only to find that they are already booked out.  

We will head to Tamworth after Stanthorpe where we will hopefully meet up with friends and then it's on to Dubbo to explore the area.  I have always wanted to visit the Taronga Western Plains Zoo so that is definitely on the agenda.  We would then like to get to Broken Hill but will be a bit time restrained as we have to have the van at Bennets Green (Newcastle) for its service on the 20th April.  We will just play it by ear.

After Newcastle we are going to meander south with stays at Bowral, Goulburn, Batemans Bay, Huskisson, Jervis Bay and then Kiama.  The visitnsw.com website has a lot of valuable information so it was very easy to plan this trip.  After we have completed the circuit we will head into the ACT and Canberra to spend a little time with family.  By this time we will probably be freezing to death and will be looking to head north again into warmer climes. 

On the home front we have been preparing the car for the trip with wheel alignment and servicing and next job to tackle is a little fibreglass repair to the caravan from our last trip ****sigh***** It is not a lot of damage but enough to annoy us.

I have put the piemaker to good use lately. Apart from making delicious meat pies I have found it very successful in making frittata's.  Everybody knows by now that I never have any food wastage in my home so the frittata's  I made were from leftovers from the fridge.  They were quite delicious and I will keep this little leftover trick up my sleeve.  

Speaking of leftovers I was complaining to a friend that all recipes seem to be portioned for 4 people and as there is only 2 of us we either eat more than we should or we are left with leftovers.  My young friend says that her and her partner have had great success using the Hellofresh food packages.  They are portion controlled so there is very little wasted food.  I have decided to give Marley Spoon a go as they don't charge a delivery fee to our area.  My first three meals arrive next Monday so I will let you know how they go.  I'm quite excited!

We have finally had the shutters installed on the southern side of our balcony.  The shutters have been here quite awhile but finding a builder to install them has been difficult.  Anyway, they look great and they give us much needed privacy on that end of our balcony.

Well my friends it's almost lunch time. I am grilling steak with a beetroot, apple, halloumi salad today.  The beetroot has been quietly baking away in the oven and should now be cool enough to handle to peel. Oh....I almost forgot to mention that it is 8 weeks today since Philip had his knee replacement and he is now back on his bike!  My husband is a legend.....

Take care folks...

Feeling Discombobulated

"Had one of those days when you felt frustrated, blocked, irritated, a little emotional, and generally out of sorts? But not quite sure what was underneath it all? A day when you were pulled in multiple directions, without knowing which way to turn?

You weren’t pressured enough to call it stress, and your irritation wasn’t strong enough to be classed as anger. You weren’t on on top of your game, and you’d lost contact with your usual brilliance. You were a little impatient, and you may have put it down to tiredness. Or maybe something else entirely. You might be feeling feeling confused and perplexed as to why carefully laid plans just weren’t working out. Someone you were relying on let you down unexpectedly. Or you felt you had to compromise your authenticity in a situation that has now left you wondering why.

A possible (though multi-syllabic) way to put a name on what you’re feeling is to call it ‘discombobulated’. It’s a word that sums up the kind of generalised anxiety that you can’t put your finger on, but you know that something isn’t quite right. Feeling discombobulated can be a low-level but disconcerting fear of something not working out the way you’d like it to, and you may not have control of the outcome."

Philip and I have both been feeling discombobulated.  We are putting it down to the whole knee replacement process.  First the operation (that you have n0 control over) and then the healing process time frame (that you have no control over).  For Philip it has been frustrating and for me, well I have been trying to alleviate his frustration.  It is a long journey but we can definitely see a light at the end of the tunnel.

OK.....moving right along.....

We have had a very busy few weeks in between trips to doctors, physiotherapy and general business but we have managed to fit in some quality time with friends and also just by ourselves. Valentines Day was spent with friends at a local restaurant and check out this beautiful flower arrangement that my DH had delivered to our door.

We have also enjoyed a delicious meal at Vivo Restaurant that is right beside our building.  We have had a few meals here that have been a hit and miss but this last meal was definitely a hit.  Philip had the Pork and I had the Veal.  We had a shared Bruschetta for starters and finished our meal with Irish coffee.  These are meals that I would not cook at home so it makes it all the more enjoyable.

Talking about meals that I have cooked, I made a rather unusual pasta dish for lunch today.  The sauce consisted of scallops, chorizo, mushroom, zucchini, lots of garlic, parsley, sage and lemon. It should have been mixed with Angel Hair Pasta but as I didn't have any in the pantry we had to settle for spaghetti pasta. It was totally delicious and will be on repeat in this household.

Another dish that I hadn't made in quite awhile was a greek salad.  I had forgotten how tasty it is especially when served beside a lamb chop and tzatziki.  There was a small amount of the salad leftover that was perfect in an omelet the next morning.  I am the master of leftovers :-)

And lastly, let me leave you with this glorious sunrise photo.  We really do live in paradise.

Bunya Mountains

The Bunya Mountains are a place that we have never had time to visit but had heard nothing but good comments so we decided to visit them while we were in the area.  I started researching with the Wikicamps app to find the best place to set up camp and I booked us initially into a site at the National Park that is right where all the walks are located.  However, after reading some of the comments we realised that we didn't have a hope in hell of getting our rig up the steep, windy narrow road.  I'm so glad I read those comments!  We then found a little place close too the Bunyas called Bell that had one caravan park that looked amazing. I feverently hoped that they would have an available site as they didn't have many on offer. I shouldn't have worried because we were the only van in the park for the first two nights.

We set off from Leyburn after an amazing couple of days with our friends and set off for Bell that was only a little over 200kms.  But once again I managed (with help from the car GPS) to find all the backroads into Bell.  Why do the car navigation systems do that?  We had a couple of turnarounds that are not an easy feat with our 12 metre set-up and managed to damage the van front hatch in one particularly bad U-turn, but nothing that insurance won't cover.

Arriving into the little town of Bell was a very pleasant surprise.  We quickly unhitched and set-up our camp before putting on the walking shoes to explore this lovely town.  We particularly enjoyed wandering around the Bell Catholic Church grounds where the Biblical Gardens celebrate the fourteen Stations of the Cross.  The gardeners only filled the garden beds with plants that were specifically named in the Bible. 

We had an early night as we wanted to have a full day of hiking the following day.  From my research most of the tracks would take several hours.

The following day we woke to a glorious day with just a few fluffy clouds in the sky.  We had a hearty breakfast before we started our 30km journey to the Bunya Mountains.  Once again the car navigation sent us on a few wild roads but without the caravan behind us we were not worried.  As it turned out we actually did the "Tourist Circuit" that was perfect.

The first thing we noticed at our first stop in the Bunyas is just how cool it was.  A stop at one of the lookouts showed us the reason why.  We were at a very high altitude.

After a small walk around the lookout we made our way to the Bunya Mountains summit where our 10km walk began.  Surprisingly there were a lot of people walking the tracks and as is usual we stopped and talked to them about what the track was like further ahead and what we should look out for.  The tracks are well marked and I think from memory that there are four different circuits of varying lengths.  We took the longest one that was a relatively easy walk.  There was some uphill/downhill but the paths were wide and well kept.  We passed through so many different picturesque areas.  From rainforest areas with all the ferns associated with these areas to open Eucalypt forest areas that were much drier.  We walked along little creeks that sadly were quite dry and walked paths to waterfalls that were not flowing at all.  That was a bit of disappointment. 

The walk, with photo stops, took us almost four hours but well worth the effort.  The last four kilometres were the least interesting as we were walking along an old forestry track.  I kept thinking that we would have an uphill walk in this section but it was remarkably flat.  I must say it was a relief to finally reach the end of the circuit and we headed straight to one of the restaurants for a well deserved cool beverage and lunch.  It was so delicious and more so because we had built up a real appetite!

After lunch we strolled around the very lovely village area and both agreed we would come back to visit another time.  We drove a different way home passing through the little town of Kumbia.  I had relatives who lived here at one stage so I was interested in seeing this pretty little town.  We were home mid-afternoon and thankfully made it home just before the sky opened up and the rain tumbled down.  

If you are ever in this area I highly recommend you put it on your bucket list of places to visit. You will not be disappointed.  If you don't have a van like us there are many accomodation options open to you in the Bunya Mountains village.  Just do it.