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Published: October 13th 2011
Monday 10th October – After a hectic and exciting weekend, we chose today to unwind a bit and to plan our on-going journey south. There are still a couple of places we would like to visit from Warwick but the overcast weather meant that today was probably best spent “nearer home”. David has kindly given us “carte blanche” regarding our departure date but, because the caravan storage was arranged up to today, we needed to visit the caravan park first thing to extend the stay. Rain delayed our short journey until late morning so we decided to have an early lunch and do our chores in the afternoon. When we eventually arrived at the caravan park, the proprietor was happy for Sweetie to stay where she is. We took the opportunity to return a few things to the caravan but the main transfer of things will probably take place on Thursday ready for a Friday departure. Afterwards we drifted down into town with the intention of visiting the famous Warwick Rodeo Heritage Centre. We’ve seen it loads of times, passing by on our way to somewhere else – it’s a pretty big building. However, finding it in order to visit it
proved altogether more difficult. It’s on the edge of the City Business District – very central to Warwick - and I’m ashamed to say we actually drove straight by it and didn’t notice it. We were reduced to asking at the Information Centre and its location is so obvious we were both hugely embarrassed. Nevertheless, we paid our entry fee of $5 each. This is the pensioner concession rate but the young girl in reception didn’t even ask us if we were pensioners – do we really look that old? Worse still, for some reason the sign said: ‘Aged Pensioners’!! We had the place virtually to ourselves and it was fascinating to watch the video of the development of rodeo in Australia. The video actually included a young Rolf Harris! Of course the riding skills of these horsemen and women are magnificent and the most talented Aussies have competed successfully against the world’s best in North America. Warwick Rodeo is regarded as the leading rodeo event in Australia and the “Hall of Fame” contains all the names and pictures of all the “big” names of the event. I was impressed with all of the fancy, engraved saddles that past winners
have donated for display in the centre.
We drove nearer to the main shopping centre and were able to park quite close by. Warwick seemed surprisingly quiet so my shopping venture around Woolies was easy and swift. Back at David’s, after a short “smoko” (an Aussie tea break!) we all spent a bit of time doing some gardening. It’s a massive project keeping the garden under control and, even with three of us tackling it, we hardly made any impression into what needs doing. David said he was happy for us to stay as long as we wanted if it meant getting on top of the gardening chores. Darkness fell and with it came a neighbour’s cat which has a habit of prowling the bushy back garden in search of small wildlife to pounce on. David is a bit of a bird lover and, with some very young birds currently resident in the trees, he has taken to patrolling the garden occasionally armed with a powerful water-pistol. It certainly frightens the cat off but hasn’t deterred it entirely. The evening meal was another tasty dish - teriyaki tofu base with rice and veggies followed by fruit and custard and/or
ice-cream. David’s super-duper TV recording system means there’s no end of interesting programmes to watch although we’ve just about caught up with a whole series of Heartbeat in the short time we’ve been here! Tomorrow, weather permitting, we have pencilled in a trip to Girraween National Park which is about an hour’s drive away. The alarm will be set for an early start so we hope the “frogs’ chorus” will not be as disturbing as it has been.
We were able to shut the window fully in our bedroom overnight so the frogs were not so obvious. So after a reasonable night’s sleep we awoke to the alarm at 7:30am. Alas, by the time we were ready to go it had gone 9 o’clock but by then we were armed with a picnic, a flask, walking boots and warm clothing. Girraween is beyond Stanthorpe and since that is the coldest town in Queensland we went prepared for cooler weather. As it happens the weather was glorious and after about an hour’s easy drive we were on the edge of the National Park. David advised us to look out for a cottage industry on the way in called Wisteria Cottage.
We spotted it easily enough and also a sign for its industry – ‘Heavenly Chocolate’. We knew we would have to come back out of the park the same way and with David personally endorsing their goods fully, we felt that would be a brilliant way to end an active day. We found our way to the Information Centre but unfortunately it was closed. We spotted a bit of a Ranger’s conference going on and later we were to find out what it was all about. So armed with our one and only leaflet we found our way to the main car park. It was time for a cuppa and some cake and the numerous picnic facilities were well placed and handy so some coffee and some of David’s Dorset Tea cake went down very well.
The main car park was handy for several walks so we selected a couple to do, one of which was a bit challenging. To get to our first walk, Granite Arch, we had to cross a beautiful, rocky creek area with fast flowing water and rock pools – it was so pleasant we could have spent our time just in that area. We
walked on to where the path divided – one way to Granite Arch and the other way to our other chosen walk, The Pyramid. Granite Arch was easy to get to walking through blackbutt and stringybark woodland to Giraween’s very own natural archway. The archway is a collection of seemingly precariously balanced boulders and was formed following various powerful acts of nature which started up to 225 million years ago. Nature’s forces have combined to erode certain sediments known as traprock leaving collections of odd shaped granite boulders of which the arch is an excellent example. It was well worth the extra walk. Back along the track we rejoined the path towards the mountain known as The Pyramid – a walk to the summit of which includes one of the toughest climbs in the park. The peak could clearly be seen from some way away and a few people – specks on the horizon – had obviously made it to the top. The path along the lower slopes was relatively easy but once the serious climb started, even though there were well-constructed steps for much of the way, it became hard work and we would have to be at our
Ballandean's own 'Fruitisforus'
in the midst of a successful fruit growing area. Did these creatures roam the earth millions of years ago?best to make it to the very top. As usual, Graham charged on ahead but soon found the going much tougher than he had envisaged. After a series of short breaks and short climbs we both made it to a point just above the tree-line affording us magnificent views of the surrounding countryside. We knew that the summit afforded 360 degree views but to get there would require a “scramble” up steep, smooth rocks which, according to two couples who were on their way down, ‘was as much of a mental battle as a physical one’! I felt we had gone far enough and Graham had clearly overdone it. He didn’t take much persuading to abandon attempts to reach the top although we both climbed just a bit further to take advantage of a natural “rest” area where some suitably shaped boulders made ideal seats. The views were stunning. While we rested, the last couple that had been at the top made their way down past us so for a while we had the whole mountain to ourselves.
Eventually we began our climb back down and the smooth rocks proved very tricky for me. Graham seemed to have learned
his lesson as he was in no hurry to charge on again but, of course, going down the steps was far easier than the climb had been. Eventually, though a bit later than planned, we reached the rocky creek area and spent a bit more time admiring the scenery. Back at the car-park we had to negotiate some new safety fencing that was being erected so that contractors could lay a concrete path linking the Information Centre with the picnic area. Had we been a few minutes later we would have had to make a long detour to get back to the car. After our belated picnic lunch, and as the safety fencing now prevented us from easily going back across the creek to do another walk, we drove to a different walk area some 4 kilometers further into the park along a gravel road. Two walks were advertised here – one to a waterhole and another to The Underground Creek. As we had seen a few waterholes already today, we chose the longer walk to the creek and we weren’t disappointed. The walk itself was interesting although we were a bit concerned that it might involve a climb. The
2 kilometer path was quite undulating, passing through swampland, woodland and shrubland with plenty of wild flowers and birdlife but, fortunately, was easy compared with the Pyramid walk. Soon we reached the creek area where the Bald Rock creek disappears beneath boulders that, in years gone by, fell from an overhanging cliff face. It was a magnificent collection of odd shaped boulders forming a challenging climb to reach points where the creek disappears and re-emerges lower down. The climb was too much for me although Graham managed to scale the boulders for a close up view of the main features including a small water-fall. The cliff-face was a magnificent “wave” shape and I was surprised that it wasn’t mentioned in the advertising literature. Like me, for many people who couldn’t do the climb, it would be the main attraction. The creek meandered under the boulders to a large waterhole which itself was a fascinating feature.
Back at the car we made our way out of the park and headed for Wisteria Cottage where we planned to sample some Heavenly Chocolate. Imagine our disappointment when we discovered that the business only operates from Friday to Monday. We had no reason
to hang around so we got back on the main highway and headed for Warwick. On the way we spotted the sign for Vincenzo’s where we had had some very nice soup for lunch on Sunday and decided to call in for some late afternoon tea. Graham had an apple turnover with his but I resisted the temptation – although it looked very nice. We chose the same route home as Sunday – the Old Stanthorpe Road from Dalveen – along quiet back roads part of which is gravel. Because it was late afternoon there was a preponderance of kangaroos and wallabies about and all of them seemed to want to be flattened under the wheels of the car. Graham had to be particularly cautious but we had a pleasant rural drive back to David’s after a truly enjoyable day. David’s delicious fettuccine dinner provided a splendid end to a great day in the National Park.
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