Bigriggen 2008

Thursday

It was time for the annual pilgrimage to Rathdowney and the Bigriggen Campsite.

Mark, Sue and us turned up a few hours after we arrived, After spending the last 2 hrs setting up our tent we enjoyed watching other people setting up.

Our camp site

As the sun set we realised that the possums rely way too much on the campers for food and arriving on a Thursday, they hadn’t been feed in a while. We had one possum (we nicknamed possimo) not scared at all of jumping onto the arm of Mark's chair (between Mark and Sue’s) whilst they where finishing dinner. Possimo put his front paws on the table, Mark moved his plate away and possimo went after it, eating straight off the plate!

Possimo

Possimo

We all decided then and there that the food was going back into the cars for the evening (Mark and sue had one possum last year who ate a hole in the tent trying to get to the bread!).

Possimo

Thursday night was a freezing cold!


Friday

Rob rocked up on Friday – wanting to relax and settled into a book. Whilst Mark, Sue, Mikey and I went off to visit the Wineries – Kooroomba Lavender Farm first for a tasting. Great as always and a wonderful view. We then headed up the road to a new winery Bunjurgen Estate that only grows two types of grapes Shiraz and Chamborchin. It was wonderful – even Mark and Sue enjoyed it and they don’t like red wine! No tannins, organic, low in alcohol – we enjoyed all of them, it was great to have the owner run us through all of them, he was tasting just as much as we were!. We are especially looking forward to visiting next year to taste out their port! If you like Alaskan Malamo’s this is the place to come there are two massive ones and the wine is named after them.

View from Kooroomba

We ducked into Boonah on the way back to grab a few items then back to the camp site to meet up with Nick, Dionne and Phil (in his sparkling new white car!). Everyone caught up with each other over dinner and songs and night boule (light up boule balls).

Saturday

We all decided to drive to the lower portals and hike out, the brave boys (I wont say who didn’t you know who you are!) jumped into the freezing cold waters and swam up to the boulders – and as you can see from the photo’s they thought there white little bodies looked good! As one group of ladies said “quite the posers aren’t they”.

Freezing - Glacier Melt??

Dionne, Nick and Phil decided to do a rock scramble upstream for a couple of hours, whilst Mikey, Mark, Sue and I went back the way we came, we saw a metre long eel in the last portal (glad I didn’t get in the water!). Back to camp for a rest in front of the fire then dinner The boys then headed off for a session of night Frisbee, while the girls stayed by the fire with Possimo.

Sunday

Back to the real world – bye Possimo!


Gallery, slide show

Coffs Harbour Holiday 14-21 October


Tuesday 14th Oct

Drove south to Byron Bay grabbed lunch and had a quick look around. Then down to Grafton for a pitstop for a hot chocolate and a stretch.

Then to the Novatel to book in, just in time for the rain to start. We grabbed some supplies from the local Jetty IGA and Dinner.

Lovely room.

View from the Room on a good day

Wednesday 15th Oct

We drove into town, to have a look around as the weather was very over cast. Grabbed some lunch, then drove back to park beach Shopping centre to have a look around (Like a Westfields). Mikey actually managed to find a Texas BBQ joint (just behind the shopping centre), had a good ole chat to the yank behind the counter – so we had to have those for dinner – Yummy!

Michael at the Clog Barn

Thursday 16th Oct

The weather was yucky again so we ventured off to the Homemaker centre, grabbed some fish and chips for lunch, then back to the unit for some R & R. we had been recommended the Indian at the jetty (orborison) when we were in Byron. So we gave that a go – Very good food – nice and hot!



Friday 17th Oct – Mikey’s Birthday

It was a beautiful day so we drove to the Marina and walked through the Marina and over to Mutton bird Island (the marina connects the Island to the main land). Mutton bird Island as it is named is full of Mutton birds (so a bit stinky). We walked to the other side of the island and sat and watched the frolicking whales go home with their calves. The calves were especially active, we sat there for about an hour and a half watching about 6-8 pods – It was wonderful!

Maria pointing to some whales

We walked back to the Marina and grabbed some lunch (about 6 eateries there). We then drove to the Big Banana (can’t go to Coffs without going to the Big Banana).

Then back to the Novatel for a swim then changed for dinner. Mikey wanted to go to the SSS BBQ restaurant – it was fabulous – everything comes out on a stone grill so it doesn’t go cold.

They even gave him a birthday balloon and some choccies!

Saturday 18th Oct

We headed south to Bellingen – to go to the monthly markets – they were much bigger than we anticipated. There was a band, fresh food, 2nd hand and new goods & plants(lots of orchids). We ended up being there for 2 hours – definitely worth the trip. We then headed up to Dorrigo National park information centre, then the Dangar falls, then the Dorrigo falls. Then a 30 minute drive to Ebor falls. We were expecting to walk/hike into the forest like we do here in Qld, but all the falls were within a 100 metres of the car park.

View from Dorigo Nation Park

Goanna and Bush Turkey

Dangar Falls

Country view

Ebor Falls

Sunday 19th Oct

We went to the weekly Jetty markets then drove south 50minutes to Numbucca – a lovely seaside town. Beautiful clear blue water (not much beach) but absolutely lovely spot.

View from the lookout

We went to the most popular place for lunch “The V Wall Tavern” had a lovely lunch and a couple of beers looking over the bay and relaxing – this is definitely a great spot to down a couple of coldies ( I would put this above the Byron Bay pub now!). we walked the Bay walls that have all been decorated by tourist and locals with messages and marriage proposals etc. then drove back to the Novetel.

Monday 20th Oct

Headed into the Coffs Harbour Botanical Garden for a couple of hours, then back to the Jetty for lunch. Then drove to the small town of Sawtell for a look at the beach – very popular spot for the Locals.

Sawtell

Tuesday 21 Oct

Pack up and drove home – stopping at Woodburn at the Orchid Shop, Mikey’s version of Heaven! And Byron Bay park for a picnic lunch.



Wednesday 22nd Oct

Unpacked the car – sorted out the camping gear for tomorrow – off to Bigriggen.

Gallery, Slide Show

SA - 2008

10th – 12th Oct Visiting Debbie in SA.

I finally got a chance to visit Debbie down in SA (It’s been 3 years!)

Debbie picked me up from the new and improved Adelaide Airport at 10.30pm then we drove back to her place at Willunga (1 hour drive), then chatted till 1am in the morning.

Saturday 

A Beautiful 28 degree day.

Debbie took Rosie her fluffy white dog to the vet first up (as Rosie had been a little sick lately). Then headed to the Quarry markets at Willunga (much cheaper than Brisbane).

Then scoured some local op shops, then ducked into the Dentist to get Deb’s tooth fixed (she broke it in the week sucking on a sugar free lolly!)

Then off to body and soul for a special treat a 1 hour body massage – bliss!

more op shops and drove along the coast – an amazing view. Back home for a cheese platter and glass or two or wine and a chin wag of course.

We then drove into McClaren Vale (15minues away- in the wine region of SA) for dinner at Awganix. A great restaurant with a full Gluten Free Menu (the best I’ve ever seen) had a great local red wine and Kangaroo on corn and potatoes frittata, finished off with a port.

We then went and visited a couple of Debbie’s friends, before heading home for the night.

Sunday 

Another beautiful day – but a bit windy!

After a bit of a slow start we headed out to Victor Harbour for the local markets and shops – got some great bargains and nearly got blown away by the strong winds.

Then out to Myponga markets (no seriously that’s what it is called – I can’t make this stuff up!) had lunch then back to Deb’s to grab my luggage then off to Kingston Beach cliffs for a coupled of wines and relax.

Then off to the Lockleys hotel near the airport for dinner – then home.

Thanks for a wonderful weekend, it was great to catch up it won’t be so long next time. I can honestly say now that I don’t hate Adelaide!

a more sombre note Rosie the sweetheart had to be put down on the Monday afternoon. Her last hours were spent enjoying the sun and the view from the beach, with her Mummy.

Gallery, slide show

Whale Watching

Quick Update

On Saturday 13th September 2008,  Maria and I went whale watching off Moreton Island with Maria's Parents and work colleages. Some photos of the day can be seen in the gallery. 

Many pods of Humpback Whales were around us but we stayed with one pod for the whole day. The whales weren't very active initially an d spent most of the submerged for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, but as the day went on they did seem to get more active and spent more time on the surface.

Gallery, Slide Show. 

Mt Maroon Hike, 6th September

We (Nick, Dionne, Trent and the two of us) all headed down to Mt Maroon (near Rathdowney/Beaudesert) early Saturday morning, all squeezing into Dionne’s Car from Nick’s place.

Mt Maroon from the car park

Now this walk was much different to Mt Warning last month, and you could tell that straight away, just by the only other solitary car in the parking lot (there were about 40 cars at Mt Warning).

The last couple of days we had had some heavy down pours of rain, which worked to our advantage, as it is normally very dry and dusty. It was a beautiful day except for being a bit windy.

The first section of the walk was mainly straight up the mountain, no real track or signage (glad it wasn’t Nick’s first time), we had wonderful views no matter where we were.

The next section was a plateau, going around the outcrop, where we got to appreciate our surroundings.

Then next was the straight up rock scramble, then we had a little break where we got to appreciate the view and the tiny white wild flowers.

Then a 10 minute walk up the granite and we were at the top – it was blowy, but the view was magnificent, we sheltered on one side and had lunch for 30minutes.

Finally at the top, Mt Barney in the distance

We then did it all in reverse, the best hike we have done so far – highly enjoyable – just don’t do in the rain. Took us 2 and half hours up, 2 hours down.

We finished off the day with a beer and a massive serve of chips and gravy at the Rathdowney Pub




Gallery, Slide Show

24th Aug 08 – Mt Warning Hike

Mt Warning is located about 45minutes south of the Tweed Coast, so New South Wales Territory.

We picked a perfect day for a hike, it was lovely and clear and warm.

We picked up Mark and Sue on the way through at Oxenford.

Nick, Dionne, Phil, “super calves” Rob and a hung over Trent all joined us at the carpark. Which was very busy.

The Warning path is very well maintained, all the way up. Most of the walk is under the canopy of tree’s so not much danger of sunburn (except at the top).

Mt Warning is approx 1200m high, so you need some fitness. 1/3 of the track is mainly steps. 1/3 of the track is warn pathway and the last 1/3 is a scrambling up granite rock, there is a chaint o help – thankfully.

  

It takes about 2 hours to get up to the top, we all had lunch for about 30 minutes in the viewing area. It then takes about 1.30hrs to get back down.

Looking South

 

View Towards Byron Bay (needed my camera filters)

We all stopped off at the “Budda Belly” coffee shop, we had seen on the way, we crawled in for a coffee and cake.

Then home for a nice bath!!!

Gallery, Slide Show

2008 Stanthorpe Trip

Friday 8th August
We had a nice drive in via Aratulla and Warwick and had a quick look around the op Shop while Mikey had his KFC for lunch. We arrived at Applegrove, Dionne and Nick were already relaxing in front of the fire, with a beer and snack.

We unloaded the card at the school house then went and joined them for a drink.
Mark & Sue arrived and they unloaded. We all then headed to the Balladean Tavern for the traditional Friday night pub dinner. Back to Applegrove for a few more drinks and a catch up, waiting for Phil to arrive. It was going to be a cold night it was 4 degree's at 10pm!

Saturday 9th Aug
Well, last night did get very cold -8 degree's, So the water pipes at the Farm house had frozen, so no toilet flushing or coffee!!!! At some point last night amongst the drinking of the hard stuff (west coast coolers-may I add the boys only!!!) they all decided it that it would be a good idea for them to do a semi nudie run at 6am around the property (shoes, undies and hat optional???)It was -4 degree's!!!

Once we all had breakfast and the pipes had defrosted. We headed out in Dionne's Dad's 4x4 that fit all 7 of us in (no tour for us this year) for our own private wine tour at 10am.

1st stop the Pyramids Roads Wines for the Musketella that everyone loves.

2nd a new one for us, Bald Mountain for a tasting.

3rd on to Symphony Hill, one of our favourites, with Merlot the dog, who took a serious liking to a lotus in the driveway :)

4th Heavenly Chocolates for our chocolate fix.

5th Lunch at Gardino's (which we found out later had only just reopended with new owners) nice food, but a bit slow.

6th Granite Belt Dairy Farmhouse Cheese for some very strong cheese.

7th Old Caves Winery, that is right next to McDonald's and the Shell servo, was a nice surprise. Lots of different liquors and some great ports. This is where Mike our old tour guide use to get his complimentary armchair port - great stuff.

8th Banca Ridge (which is now the Qld College of wine tourism), now by this point some of us where truly wined out, and ended up staying outside and kicking the footy around - now they really missed out on this great experience. This is a great winery, clean, modern with still the country charm. The service was great and the wine to our surprise was great, had the best ever fortified Shiraz for drinking with chocolate - now that's my sort of drink!!!! Gerard behind the bar was very open and insightful about all of the wines and how they are made. They also have a restaurant, so we all agreed to come back for lunch next year. The Menu looked great!

9th and final stop Severn Brae Estate, more ball kicking and just 3 tasters left, not including Phil who was tasting the scones and cream!

A quick embarrassing stop at the drivethru for more westcoast for the boys...I just don't get it!
The girls got a platter of cheeses, dips, nut, fruit and crackers and a couple of bottles of wine and sat around the fire and chatted.
Whilst the boys played night Frisbee (a light up Frisbee, with light up headbands) out in the cold.

10th Sunday
We were prepared for the frozen pipes this time and had filled up some saucepans with water the night before. We had also figured out the old wood fire oven and stoked that up to keep the chill out.

Mark and Sue had a bit of a jam then went to Ballendean Winery to stock up. Whilst Nick, Dionne, Mikey and I went to Stanthorpe for supplies and the Jam Works and the Bramble Patch, to get our chutneys and jams for the next couple of months.

We then went back to Applegrove grabbed Phil, who was trying to have a nap, and went outside in the yard and played soft ball with my new bat (which we manged to crack pretty quickly). We played for about an hour and we were all totally buggered afterwards. Mark and Sue were back so we all had a small lunch and Mark got his guitar out again and had a little sing along. The girls started to prepare the food for the evening dinner and the boys rearranged the lounge for the Sunday nights entertainment/skits.

We drew numbers out of a hat and Dionne was first up.
An amazing effort with the costume, which she made herself.She never missed a beat to the "Love Song" by McGregor & Kidman from Moulon Rouge. Excellent performance!!!

Second was Sue singing "Stuff like that, there" performing in a fat suit, much to everyones surprise (especially Mark). She did a great job. We saw a whole new side of Sue that night!

Third up was me ripping of the Carlton Brewery Flashbeer commerical. It was way more energetic than it looks.

Next up was Mikey dressed as a Nun for "How do you solve a problem like Maria". Very cute, mind you I haven't seen too many Nuns wear fishnet stockings!!!

Mark then played and sand a love song "flowers" by Kevin Bloody Wilson - Go the Mullet!

Nick performed his prized morrow song. Where he prerecorded his music and back up vocals and sang along. He even made his own costume. Great Stuff!

Phil was last with about 10 different impressions, who knew a white bowl and a toilet plunger could mean so much!!!

Then outside for a couple of group photo's, before sitting down for a Roast Lamb, Veg and oven backed potatoes.

We sat down infront of the fire with a few drinks and reviewed the photo's and footage followed by desert.

Monday
Packed up the houses, Mark and Sue then headed home.
Then the rest of us braved the freezing cold winds, and headed to the National Park to climb the Pyrmids. It is a really large exposed granite rock, very steep. but we managed it! A quick stop at Maccas for lunch then the 3 hour drive home.

Gallery can be found here
Slide Show can be found here