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Published: September 13th 2010
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The weather forecast had painted a gloomy picture for Friday and as we poked our heads through the curtains we could see that, unfortunately, it was very accurate. Of course we know that the whole of Australia is desperate for water so we try not to whinge too much. It was lucky that, because I had made arrangements to have my hair cut, we had planned for a quiet day. We all went into town and Graham and Daphne did their best to fill in the time but I was a lot longer than I had bargained for, mainly because I sat and waited for nearly half an hour before I got any attention. Still, as I’ve found on previous trips, hairdressers in Aus are generally very good and the young lady who eventually got round to me did an excellent job. If we return to Warwick I’ll definitely go back there again. While I was sat waiting the heavens opened so I really didn’t mind being kept waiting - at least I was in the dry. After what seemed like hours I managed to escape and met up with Daphne and Graham at our favourite café for lunch.
It
carried on raining throughout the afternoon so the only sensible thing to do was vacuum through the house! In the evening Graham went out but he’ll be writing about his experience separately.
The weather forecast for Saturday was much better and so it proved to be. Although there was a slight breeze there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Graham has got into the habit of getting out early (weather permitting) and going for a brisk walk while I loll around in bed and Saturday was no exception! I eventually got going and filled a flask while another batch of delicious sandwiches was produced by Daphne then off we went to Leslie Dam. This is the main source of water for Warwick and it has been only about 10% full for many years so the water situation for the area has been dire. Leslie Dam didn’t quite match up to the delights of Moogerah Dam but it’s still a pleasant area. We couldn’t walk across the dam wall as it was shut off, as were some other interesting looking areas. On the slopes near the dam wall we could see the sculptured faces of Patrick and Catherine Leslie.
These had been sculpted by the same chap who did ‘Tiddalik the Frog’ and are very impressive. In the mid 1800s Patrick Leslie was the first person to buy land in Warwick. We drove on round the lake and found a spot to enjoy our morning cuppa lakeside. On our way out of the park we spotted a very laidback goanna who obligingly posed for us.
As we hadn’t spent as much time by the dam as we thought we might, we decided to motor on and complete the ‘Sprint Route’ - a tourist route relating mainly to Leyburn where some famous motor sprint races have taken place for many years. They take place in August each year so we just missed them. The roads were very quiet today but apparently they are often busy with vintage car rallies or bikies’ groups. Leyburn is a picturesque village with some lovely old buildings including a shingle roofed church dating back to 1871 and an art gallery. We had our picnic by the river which is where we found the ‘Racing Car’ another sculpture by Vern Foss. The sculpture is of the Delahaye type 135 sports car which won the 1949
Leyburn Grand Prix and was driven by John Crouch. Talking of racing, we went into the Eurodragsters website and there was a photo of Sarah in 'Ramraider' on a practise run. She is taking part in the European Finals Event at Santa Pod in Northamptonshire, UK over the weekend. We know she hasn't driven the drag car since returning from Aus so she will be relishing this opportunity. It took us a while to get used to the idea of Sarah doing a quarter of a mile in about 9 seconds but we know she loves a challenge and doing exciting things so over the years we've always followed the events.
We had the idea of going on to the Glengallan Homestead but we discovered we were on the wrong road for that (we will get there at some stage!) so we went back into Warwick, had an ice cream and then went to see how the sculptors were getting on. We chatted to Dorothy, who always seems to be there giving spectators like us lots of information. She said that there were 14 sculptors taking part from all over Australia, Argentina, the Czech Republic and even the UK.
Three monumental sculptures would be donated to various community groups within the Southern Downs Region adding to the sculpture trail which we have so enjoyed discovering. All the rest will be auctioned off on Sunday 19th September, an event we’ll try and get to. After that we parked by the river and went for a short stroll which was a lovely end to the day.
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