Visiting Friends in Wallangarra

I planned a trip to visit some friends in Wallangarra during the U.S. presidential election.  Because they don't own a TV, I wasn't able to watch any of the coverage of the election night results.  On the drive, I tuned into an AM radio station at a time when the commentators were debating whether or not McCain/Palin had any chance to win.  They decided not.  I tuned in at just the right time.

Max and I left Brisbane in time to spend an hour or two at the Rail Museum in Ipswich.  Since Ipswich is enroute to Wallangarra, I figured I could wear out Max at the museum so he would nap for the remainder of the 3-hour car ride.  It worked--he didn't wake until I was ten minutes outside Wallangarra.  Despite Wallangarra's small size, I managed to get lost twice and took fifteen minutes to find Bill, Caz, and Baxter's home.  I have to give myself a little credit: most of the streets are cut into three sections by a highway and railroad tracks so it is difficult to know in which section a street number will be.

Caz and Baxter were a part of my Mom's Group here in Brisbane.  Caz and Bill decided to make the big move to the country which they had been dreaming of for years.  They chose an absolutely beautiful spot.  Wallangarra is located on the west side of the Great Dividing Range.  They have four seasons and much more rain.  I found myself comparing it to Denver--the air feels very dry yet storms move through the area frequently.  It doesn't get nearly as cold as Denver.

Wallangarra is in the middle of a wine growing/fruit growing region and is near 4-5 national parks.  Caz and Bill decided that we needed to buy a local winery that they saw was for sale.  Sounds appealing!

My place of rest while Max napped

This is a close up of the view from Caz's house.  The mountains are in Girraween National Park.

Caz's Kitchen: the fireplace adds a coziness to the kitchen.  I'm taking this picture from the adjoining lounge room.  I think that I'd copy this layout if I were to design a home.  There is something very appealing about having the woodburning fireplace as a centerpiece in the kitchen.

Max napping in Baxter's room: he rose early and we had active days so he napped really well every day.

We joined Baxter in his daily routine.  He paints first thing in the morning then has a bath to clean up before eating breakfast.

Caz and Bill have a very musical home.  There are lots of musical instruments and they constantly play music and videos on their computer that is set up in the lounge room.  With music, comes dancing...Max now recruits us to join him on the dance floor.

One of us is excited about cuddling

Wheelbarrow rides in the back garden: Caz is excited about the flat back yard (their Toowong rental had a diagonal hill across it) and the chicken coop to raise "chooks."

We took a swim (read: waded) at this dam.  The water is public but the land is owned by a Wallangarra resident on one side and is Girraween National Park on the other.

Bill and Caz watching the boys

Baxter loves the water

Max and Caz holding hands

Caz cooked us a yummy veggie pizza on homebaked bread (although it mostly looks like she is dancing...knowing Caz, she probably was).

The boys chatting on the front verandah (or where one would be)

Playing in big boy underwear after hot tubbing (which was actually an old spa that we filled with cold water from the hose and with hand carried buckets of warm water from the house)

A Mouthful of Banana

Wallangarra's public playground (attached to a rest stop for drivers on the New England Highway that runs through town)

Climbing Skills

We crossed the border into New South Wales (the state where Sydney is located) to visit a pool and rail station museum in Tenterfield.

The museum was small and geared to adult patrons but the kids still liked it, especially Max, the train obsessed super boy.

A play session in the evening.

Max's temperament on our last night--he went to bed very soon after this picture was taken.

Max was really tired the last day that we were with Baxter.  He and Baxter were not getting along very well.  I think two-year-olds, especially ones that are accustomed to being an only child, can only take limited amounts of time together before they start pushing each others' buttons.  There was a lot of attention seeking behavior whenever Caz and I tried to chat.

A last wheelbarrow ride

We returned to Brisbane on Saturday afternoon.  Caz and I drove to Stanthorpe so I could see that town and the boys would have another venue in which to play.  Both Max and Baxter fell asleep during the 25 minute car ride there...and it was only 9.45 am!  We played along the stream that runs through town then headed the a playground and the library.  Max and I parted company from Caz and Baxter at 12.30ish.  I stopped at a fruit and veg shop on the way out of town since the area is known for its apples.  Max did a great job on the car ride, but he did not sleep a wink!  Tonight he happily cut our bedtime routine short so he could sleep.

Model Trains at the Ipswich Rail Museum

We made another trip to the Workshops Rail Museum in Ipswich for the model railway show. 

Max had a ball, as always.  I still have not figured out how to convince him to leave without duress.  We always have lots of tears.

Max and Tim riding a miniature train

I told Max that, if he wanted to leave the toy train table, he could only take one train with him.  He had a difficult time choosing.

Getting an aerial view of the model trains

As we entered the room with the model railways, there was a stack of step stools provided for the kids.  That was such a sweet idea.

Mt. Barney

We took a hike with some new friends (Madeleine and Volker with their son, Joschka, and Madeleine's friend, Debbie: I met Volker and Joschka at the Indooroopilly HS playgroup) last weekend in Mt Barney National Park.  Bushwalking with a map and a compass is the norm there (I think there were only 4 or 5 actual trails on the map of the park), but we took Max on a proper trail to an area called Lower Portals.  He was able to walk most of the way to our campsite (3.7 km) but he crashed in the backpack the last 15 minutes and stayed asleep for another 30 minutes after we arrived.

These pics are not in order:

Max ready to hike back to the car on Sunday morning.

Last shot before leaving the campsite

Another last picture before we left.

Eating dinner: Max ate some of Debbie's extra pasta

Cooking dinner: Debbie, Rachel, Max, and Madeleine

Wading at the Lower Portals swimming hole: Madeleine and Joschka are in the foreground

Throwing rocks in the stream

Max had a pretty cush ride when he wanted it (he has his baya in his mouth and kiki is peaking out just below the neck pillow).

Rachel's poor packing (Tim managed to stuff everything inside the pack on our return trip).  We were told numerous times that bushwalkers never strap things to the outside of their packs unless they want to risk losing or destroying them.  That makes sense when you are not on a trail.  Fortunately, we walked on a nice wide one so there weren't any mishaps despite my lousy packing job.  The purple thermarest would not stay inflated but I think it has a hole from another occasion (Tim might disagree with me).

Most of the trail was through eucalyptus forest like this one.

We had a great time.  We arrived at the trailhead by 9am on Saturday morning and made it to the campsite by 11.30 or so.  Both Max and Joschka napped along the way so they were ready for a play in the stream soon thereafter.  We returned to the campsite for a late lunch then walked to the Lower Portals swimming hole in the late afternoon.  Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of the little rock climbing we had to do on the last bit of the trail.  We climbed through a hole between some giant boulders.  Max actually did a bit of the climbing himself but he was too short for the last little bit.  I climbed ahead while Tim stayed on the ground.  Then Tim lifted the Max over his head while I reached from the top of the hole to pull him up.  It sounds scarier than it actually was.

After playing at the swimming hole for a bit, we headed back to camp for dinner.  The kids had an early bedtime since their naps were so short.  I think they were in bed before 7pm.  Tim, Madeleine and I didn't stay up much later.  Volker and Debbie both decided to sleep under the stars.  The night began pretty warm but Tim, Max and I had to snuggle together under a sleeping bag in the middle of the night.  Max wasn't wearing anything beyond a diaper in his warm sleep sack so he needed the extra warmth eventually.

We rose by 5am Sunday morning.  Max and I had a play at the stream before breakfast.  We were packed and ready to go by 8.30ish.  Max and Joscka both rode in their backpacks during most of the walk.  I think we tuckered them out.

Tim and I agreed that this sort of camping is the type we like best (there were only three campsites in the area).  We also were exhausted Sunday afternoon.  My conclusion was that we needed to go on overnights more often to build up our endurance.  I'm not sure that Tim agreed with me on that one.