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Wow what a day!
Labrador to Dalveen, leaving before 9am and arriving at 5pm. How can it take to so long to travel a mere 240km? - I hear you ask.
Well, you go the long way.
From Val's, we went to pick up Steve. We left Steve's a little before 10.30 and drove to Canungra for morning tea/lunch (depending on which car you were in). The drive from Nerang to Canungra includes some truly incredible scenery, but there was more of that to come.
The next stop was Rathdowney for lunch (or a snack, again depending on which car you were in). It was very hot and sunny.
The countryside had been feeling the effects of the long dry winter, and looked parched.
We were now on the Mount Lindsay Highway. This road crosses the border into NSW and joins the Summerland Way. This portion of the road is unbelievabley spectacular. It leads through a volcanic region, part of the Tweed Volcano Caldera. If you have never seen this part of Australia - do yourself a favour, and go see it. Absolutely brilliant motorcycling road. Not o brilliant in a campervan - but you can still appreciate the scenery and use your motorcycling imagination. I think we will be back. On the bike.
The Mount Lindsay Highway is actually not a highway, and once you get over the border into NSW it becomes Mount Lindsay Road, but road is actually a very generous description. But as I told my husband, I have seen worse roads. On Top Gear. When they have travelled to South America, Eastern Europe or Africa.
If it was only a bad road, it wouldn't have been such an adventure - but we were also hit with a big storm. Can I just remind you that we are driving on mountain roads, in high wind and high rain? Lightning everywhere. And big trees. After a long dry winter with no storms. Those poor trees were really being tested.
Let me tell you though, it is very reassuring to be travelling with three men with the combined skills of the army, the navy, the air force and the scouts! They would be able to protect me from anything, right? Plus stay calm in any crisis, I am sure. Anyway it meant that the storm could do its worst and I felt quite safe.
But we came through without a scratch. As we turned north and back into Queensland, the storm receded and the roads got better. The only danger seemed to be from the animals and birds who wanted to share the roadway with us.
We visited Queen Mary Falls at Killarney.
What can I say? Words cannot do it justice. You drive up a hill, just past some farmland, and all of a sudden you are there. In the carpark are some spectacular birds, and they are not scared to show their faces. King parrots, rosellas, wrens and satin bowerbirds. Yes bowerbirds. And the bower full of blue objects, in proper Satin Bowerbird style and right next to the carpark. And of course the falls! Quite spectacular. Wait till you see the photos!
But photos cannot do it justice. You have to be there. If you can, go there.
We stopped at the cafe for coffee, the little shop was full of local historic information, very interesting.
From there we left for Dalveen where we are spending the night.
Some of my 19th century relatives lived just near here, in fact the main road, Mountain Park road, is named for their farm. Mountain Park, which belonged to the Johnstone family, back in the day.
Mary May Johnstone married Robert Flint, when she was 15, in Warwick. Robert went on to select land in Maryland which is just a hop skip and a jump away from where we are spending the night.
I better leave it there - if I start on stories on my ancestors, I will be here all night. But you will be asleep, right?
Tomorrow we plan on spending some time in the Granite Belt area, hopefully a couple of bottles of wine for the wine rack (did I tell you our campervan has a built-in wine rack? It may only be a very small space, but don't worry - we know how to spoil ourselves in a very small space!)
It is starting to get cold, and we are very tired. Did I tell you we stayed up and watched the Formula One last night? It didn't end until after midnight. I really need some sleep now.
Until tomorrow!
- comments
MrVal Well done Angela, it will be good to look back on your blog and remember what we did :-) I was looking at the map and it look more like we were in a Cessna airplane rather than campers going by the straight line it shows, I can assure the folks reading your blog that it was not a straight line at all!!! lol
Sue Thanks Angela, wish I was there with you, but the other "wife" took my seat. hahaha