The beast has his Big new shiney black boots fitted .. very schmik indeed. Thanks for your great service, Scottney's Tyres.
Inspired by our bright and sunny day (never mind the gale-force winds) Chef decided to do a Big cook-up for us. It may look a bit grose, but that's just the steamy lids, covering a couple of meat sauces and satay chicken dishes, YUMMY.
With all the Big stuff done, it's time to move on.We sorta decided on maybe Tenterfield, thinking that it could be good for bird watching, so headed off on the New England Highway. It was heavily overcast, but the wind from the previous day had died down.
On the outskirts of Warwick, we read the flashing variable message sign 'Rough surface Warwick to Stanthorpe'. What? the whole way? Of course, we base all our 'rough surface' experience on our 2011 trip (when we were racing home from the floods and into the cyclones). That's a pretty high water mark (pardon the punn). But today, well it was nothing really. We may have disappeared into the odd very deep pothole, but mostly we could (safely) dodge them, and mostly the road was quite ok. Yes, it needs some work - but .. those boys and girls are out there getting the job done.
A rest stop in Stanthorpe was compulsory. Because A. who has been to Stanthorpe? and B. we needed some information. Afterall, maybe Stanthorpe is the place we should be staying. Also we needed a walk. While you're travelling, it's a challenge to get your daily exercise. Moreso in wet weather (oh be quiet .. yes, I exercise - my type of exercise that is). It was just a walk down the street, ok. I could hear the tinkle of wind chimes and look what we found ... a sculpture of the 'Roll-up Tree'. I took a (bad) picture and a search of the internet hasn't yielded a much better one.
I found this one in a brochure
From the brochure, here's a little bit about the sculpture...
As early as 1872 people rolled-up under
the tree in the town centre to exchange news, to collect their mail and to read
advertisements which were posted on the tree. The original tree was a towering
eucalypt that stood close to this site in Stanthorpe’s early tin mining days.
At a meeting in 1875 an effigy of the local Member of Parliament was burned
under the tree. The fire killed the tree. The modern tree was constructed by
Patricia Sheehan and John Ireland as part of the Stanthorpe Piazza streetscape.
The roll-up tree involved youth at the time and the leaves on the tree are
inscribed with youth and family names of the time. The tree is made of steel
and anodized aluminum and was unveiled in 2002.
After lunch (another late lunch, but then we're also on daylight saving) we set off to Curry Gap Reserve. We couldn't venture too far into the reserve because the ground was very wet and squelchy in places and when we came upon water flowing across a gully, with no way over, it meant definitely going no further. But we did see some birds.
On we went to Mt McKenzie. A lovely scenic drive through the country and all the country animals too see, sheep, cattle and a chook farm with thousands of chooks. The temperature dropped to 17 degrees as we reached the lookout. We saw some more birds and came home with a list of 30 species.
Quite happy with our efforts, the caravan park (it's peaceful with pretty amenities) and Tenterfield, we've decided to stay another night.
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