On The Road Again - Tamworth And Beyond - Part 2

I promised you a Part the Second, and here it is!  I have been a busy bee on the blog this month, so just to finish it off ...  Here is a quick photo essay of our recent trip (well, recent meaning late June!)  The birthday trip for me.  We had a fabulous time, on our art gallery tour.

fab old building in Manilla NSW

I love silo art!

The Water Diviner by Fintan Magee

Mr P. checking it out, very intensely :)

'twas getting creepy out on the gravel road with the moon coming up

There were lots of crazy animals jumping out at us on this loooong drive back to our cottage.  Kangaroos and cows and feral goats and wild dogs and boar ...

Don't you just love an old-fashioned store?  In Armidale NSW

Mr P. looking serious again with The Artist's Mount by Tim Storrier
outside NERAM in Armidale NSW

a breakfast bagel at the Gallery Café aka Six Counties Café

Ebony Russell's Canyons at NERAM

I've noticed lately that placing mirrors under artworks is a bit of a thing!  And very good it is too.  We love the gallery in Armidale, and always stop there if we are passing through the town.

the start of Waterfall Way

looking down into the watery depths

beautiful waterfalls

Mr P. checking out the info.

Okay, I think it's time to stop here - for now.  I see a Part the Third coming up!  More art and food coming up next time.  See you for Part the Third in September!

Linking up with Min from Write of the Middle for her link party #WWWhimsy

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 Weekend Away!

Mr P.'s birthday has swung around again!  I won't even mention how quickly that happened :=)  So off we went for the weekend, to the Southern Darling Downs and New England areas, a few hours west of Brisbane.  It is such a change from the sub-tropics where we live, to the Granite Belt where the climate and geography are completely different.  It even snows on occasion!

The township of Stanthorpe is the main town in the area; it started off as a tin mining town in the 19th century, but became an agricultural hub when tin prices fell.  Now the area is famous for grapes and apples and vineyards.  I bought a few of the local varieties including one called Envy!  They were crisp and sweet and delicious.  

You can walk off the wine tastings, and climb the rocks at the nearby Girraween National Park if you feel energetic.  We have climbed them all in our younger days!  But nowadays we just relax, eat and read.  Sadly the olive farm that we always used to visit has been ripped out and turned into a tomato farm.  What the??!!  All those beautiful olive trees... 

Anyway my friends, here's a quick photographic journey for you of our brief trip:

we stopped off for tasty treats at Aratula Bakery

and checked out the historical cemetery
behind the old Lutheran church, now a private home

 

we checked out the cheesery

The figures represent soldiers and sailors, as this area was a major resettlement area for those suffering from mustard gas exposure after WW1.  Many of the streets are named after battles and place names in Western Europe.  There is a historical cemetery in the area, listing those who left to fight in the war, and did not return.

and found (Jersey) cows on a roof - she looks so real :=)

we stayed in a cottage at Cypress Ridge Garlic Farm

and Mr P. kept the fire going at night

we had lunch at a cosy pub in Tenterfield NSW
 - The Commercial Boutique Hotel, restored to its Art Deco glory

the rainy day courtyard for another time

I ate panko-coated fish and chips - see, salad!

while the fella had a beef burger with chips

gotta love a country café sign
 - mum used to make us rissoles when we were kids

look at these fabulous old 44 gallon drums cut down for seating!

there were hilarious hay bales

and cranky cows

and a Mr P. in the wild

and a drop dunny in the mist - spooky!

and a glorious sunset after the rain - that cloud looks like a fish!

We had a lovely time away, enjoying the misty rain and the cool weather.  Mr P. ended up with a big splinter in his finger after hauling in big bits of wood for the fire - ah the sacrifices ...  It was almost a full moon, and the moonlight shone in through our bedroom window all night.  Our wee break was so peaceful, and rejuvenating for the spirit.  Can't wait till our next getaway!

Our Murgon/Kingaroy Road Trip Part 2:

After checking out Mr P.'s museum recently, we also stayed a couple of nights in his old hometown of Toowoomba.  We always love visiting.  Even though it's summer, we had two extraordinarily foggy nights up on the range.  It was brilliant!

Toowoomba is located in a caldera (the top of an old volcano), at nearly 800 metres high on the Great Dividing Range.  From our hotel, you can see the hills surrounding the town.  You don't actually realise that it is a bowl until you're up high.  During the 2011 floods, water rushed down into the bowl sweeping people and cars away.

On our way from Murgon to Toowoomba via Kingaroy, we stopped at a cute cafe cum gift store in the wee town of Maidenwell.  We were amazed to find not just one but two fabulous cafes plus the old pub being well-patronised on a Sunday lunchtime.  Oh yes, I bought a cast-iron spider there; I'm trying to de-sensitise myself as my arachnophobia is huge!

cast-iron spider by Mr. Gecko

Unlike other silos on the Silo Art Trail throughout Australia, these are heritage-listed so cannot be painted over.  They really are magnificent, and are still used today.  Kingaroy is in the heart of a peanut-growing area, and you can still buy fresh peanuts here - sooo much better than packaged ones from who knows where.  There is a peanut van or two, and a peanut artwork in the town.  So cute!

historical silos at Kingaroy

artwork by The ZooKeeper

brilliant old car outside the pub at Maidenwell

an absolute beauty in Crow's Nest

inside the French cafe at Crow's Nest

street art in Toowoomba (by Buttons)

foggy night!

and a foggy morning

we had pastries at the bakery

and we visited the Japanese Gardens

and more fog rolling in

we took the scenic route home

this mailbox reminds me of that Russian folktale - Baba Yaga

Remember Baba Yaga? - the old witch who lives in a house that walks around on chicken legs.  I love the mailboxes that you find on country roads.

Well, that's all for this trip.  Just wait till February when we head to Northern Rivers again!

c. Sherry M.