On The Road Again - Tamworth And Beyond - Part Three

You asked for it, so here it is!  Well, maybe you didn't but you're getting it anyway :=)  More about our recent trip down south/out west.  We love a roadtrip!  And art galleries, and mountains and wildlife, and food, and architecture - well, you get the drift ...

we saw kangaroos at Ebor-Guy Fawkes Cemetery, NSW

  

we stayed at The Pottery Shed cottage in Boambee near Coffs Harbour
- see the wee gas stove?

we took a walk on the Coffs Harbour Jetty

and joined lots of folk taking a morning stroll

heading here!

I bought a small ceramic whale here, by Indigenous artist Tony Hart

I ate a fabulous rösti with grilled halloumi

while Mr P. had "magic" apple-cinnamon pancakes

we had lunch here in Sawtell (as per above)

we visited the brilliant new building holding the Coffs Harbour Council/Library and Art Gallery
 - artwork on wall by Reece Flanders titled River Connections

Mr P. and I loved this building!

and we enjoyed walking around the top storey of the building

we had time for a coffee!

And then we drove the 4.5 hours home, back to Brisbane.  Some misguided people would like to suggest that time goes backward when you cross the QLD border.  How silly of them, and how clever of us to keep 'em away - hehehe ...

the whale by Tony Hart

On The Road Again! Heading To Tamworth, New South Wales And Beyond - Part One

Mr P. and I love a road trip, as regular readers will know.  And we always try to get away for our birthdays, so off we went in late-ish June for mine.  This was to be an art gallery trip, as we knew of two new galleries that had opened recently - Tamworth Regional Gallery, and the Yarrila Arts Museum, both in New South Wales.  (And we snuck in a visit to NERAM - the New England Regional Art Museum.)  Funny how every gallery and art museum has to have an acronym these days.

a sculpture in Warwick QLD - on our way! 
 (Designer John Simpson, who sadly passed away before this was erected,
though his ashes are interred in the foundations.)

Bluff Rock, known for the massacre of the local indigenous tribe

Sadly, the local indigenous people were thrown off this rock by European settlers (so the story goes), most to die, and the rest injured and never seen again.  This massacre was in retaliation for the (supposed) murder of a shepherd on Bolivia Station.  But there are conflicting stories, and who knows the truth of it?  Tragic in every sense, anyway.

a bit of street art in Deepwater - a platypus!

Deepwater River - sadly, no platypuses seen :( 

and ... the bridge over the Deepwater River

You guessed it! It's Uralla, on Thunderbolt's Way (he was a local bushranger!)

the Uralla Institute building

and the Moonbi chook

the new Tamworth Regional Gallery (and Mr P. looking serious)

their fabulous new gallery 

in the small town of Manilla - old silo, and some old tractors

and the Manilla fish!

You can just see the stained-glass window to the left of the fishy mouth - which is a depiction of the Manilla fish!  Manilla is a small town on Fossickers' Way, apparently famous for fishing, paragliding and mountain biking!  Who knew?!!  Oh yes, and the best coffee, even at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon!

forgot to add Captain Thunderbolt (aforesaid famous bushranger!)

a wee train going by in the tiny town of Nemingha

the real estate agent of Manilla town

I just had to add in this photo!  Can this be real?  I laugh every time I see this.  Do we call him Purt for short?

That's enough for now; more to come in another post!

c. Sherry M.

A Long Weekend in Historical Maryborough Queensland

While we may not be able to travel interstate or overseas, we can still travel within our state.  A dear friend was having an art exhibition in beautiful and historical Maryborough recently, so we headed up for the weekend.  We stayed in a waterfront hotel (down the road at Hervey Bay), with views of the marina and bay.  And it rained ... and it rained ... but who cared?  Not us.  We were just happy to be away.

a view from our room

We stayed at Hervey Bay (30 km/19 miles) down the road, and drove back to Maryborough each day.  The whale watching boats were in the marina below us, so we could watch them go out each morning.  

there were Alice in Wonderland figures

Our friend had her exhibition at Gataker's Artspace, which is in the historical part of town.  It is full of lovely old buildings, cafés, river walks, museums and artworks.  A great place to while away some time.

and chandeliers in the local pub 

We had dinner at the Federal Hotel, after the opening night.  It was cold and rainy, but we sat outside - 'cos we're tough:-).  Dinner was a tasty salad and a glass of wine.  

we ate roast veg and halloumi salad

and grilled chicken salad plus a poached egg

there's lots of street art like this

The signal boxes around town are decorated with steampunk/historical art.  So cute, so colourful, so fascinating.

You can visit Mary Poppins at The Story Bank Museum

P. L. Travers, the writer of Mary Poppins, was born in this building, which is now restored and converted to a museum.  Kitsch you ask?  No my dears, it's fun and interesting and full of art.  We loved it!

and take a ride in the lift with me and Mr P.

and zoom up and down the banisters with her

you can eat a sloppy joe here

We ate lunch at Portside Café, overlooking the Mary river.  Known as Moocooboola by the indigenous Kabi people, this river is the home of the endangered QLD Lungfish and the Mary River turtle.  The Port of Maryborough was one of Australia's busiest immigration ports from the 1850s.  It is now a quiet country town but still shows its history in the buildings and museums. 

or a beef and beetroot salad

take a walk and check out beautiful old buildings at Portside

buy yourself some pig at the local butcher

admire the bollards down by the river

view the beautiful old buildings

check out more street art

Is it co-incidence that all those cars are the same?:-)  And check out all those air-con units - like sentinels watching over the car park.  

wander past more street art

Here we have The Match Making Machine by Russell Anderson.  You can find his public art in various towns around Queensland.  He is one of my faves.  Another couple was checking it out too, and mumbled something about: 'You Queenslanders like this sort of thing...?'  We wondered how non-Queenslanders were even there, as our borders were and are still closed!

enjoy a hearty Benny with bacon at Hervey Bay

We had a late breakfast on the Sunday we were leaving, here at Eat at Dan & Steph's (alumni of the tv cooking show My Kitchen Rules).  Fabulous food, a view of the bay, just slightly iffy service.

eat grilled halloumi and corn fritters

head to Hervey Bay and watch the dragon boats head out

and maybe buy a sculpture like I did!

I couldn't help myself, dear readers!  I bought one of our friend's pieces - The Red Queen.  Catherine made a beautiful body of work for this Alice exhibition.  I was in love with all of them.

We had a wonderful weekend here, and will head up again soon to pick up our sculpture when the exhibition ends.  If ever you are here ... spare a day or two to check out this marvellous wee town.