Thursday 7 October 2010

Today was a better day. The weather was as beautiful as it was yesterday, so no complaints. The sun was out when we got up (rather late, we really felt like sleeping in) and we left again shortly after breakfast. The surroundings were beautiful. It’s spring and all the wildflowers are out and after the recent rains (we had a particularly wet September) everything looked fresh, green and colourful. Look at the purple carpet in the first picture and the yellow one in the next:

Since we were heading towards Warwick we decided to go and see Queen Mary Falls near Killarney. Since we didn’t have the use of the GPS and the maps weren’t detailed enough to find our way around we had to rely on the road signs, which aren’t always the best. However, driving off the beaten track is always a pleasure and eventually we saw the sign for the falls:

We took plenty of pictures at the designated stops and found the waterfalls without a problem. First Daggs Falls on the roadside:

Then some scenic views:

Further up (it was a steep climb and winding road at that) Queen Mary Falls. Here we had to park the van and we went for a mere 2km walk to view the falls. Not only did we see the falls:

but also a few water dragons, warming themselves in the sunshine on the rocks:

and a wealth of wildflowers:

I had heaps more of pictures, but unfortunately I forgot to use my macro setting a few times and the pictures didn’t come out sharp enough.

The walk lead us all the way down to the bottom of the falls and all the way back up again to the top where the falls were fed by a fast flowing little creek:

At the end of our hour long walk it was time for lunch (morning tea we’d had before the walk) and since the weather was still beautiful we had our lunch at one of the picnic tables close by.

After lunch we headed for Warwick, back via Killarney again, because I wanted to look for an Aldi store to buy a slip cover for my laptop, which I new were on sale today. After a short look around we found one and together with some groceries we needed we were on our merry way again.

We were heading for Stanthorpe this time, because I thought I had discovered a nice little camping with an actual address instead of coordinates (remember the GPS problem!) and we would arrive in time for afternoon tea and a bit of relaxation until dinner time. The name did sound pretty enough: The Happy Apple Resort (nr. 751; 28 32 57S, 151 56 50E), but it didn't quite come up to our expectations, particularly for what we had to pay for one night.  Never mind, we’ve got power, a spot for the night and tomorrow is the start of the rest of our holiday. :-)
See you then…