We got to travel a bit this month, not too much, but enough to get a good dose of relaxation and also managed to get some “working bee” done..

 As mentioned in the latest Gigi Log Book, I had a few issue with Gigi cooling system this past month..

There was a bit of back and forth between the top and bottom of the Toowoomba range.. Then the workshop got really busy, so while waiting for a spot, I decided to test out a nice place mentioned several times by PAL (Paul & Alison from here) and not far from Toowoomba..

I got to admit that Clifton is a very nice little place, and as a matter of fact I had the entire place for myself.. Well there was another Camper in the showground but I didn’t see anyone while there…

Nice large space, with plenty of grass, fresh water and power.. I was able to park on the tarmac, and even there I experience the most serenity (watch “The Castle” to know what I mean), and I managed to get plenty of good sleep.. That, did turned up to be a good thing as I got no sleep at all in Toowoomba the week after…

I was also able to get plenty of exercise around the horse track and even managed to play with the drone for a day, without having to worry about anything.. A bit windy at times and some good rain one night, but overall a great little spot where you can easily unwind and relax..

You have fuel and food available in the middle of the town, and while I didn’t try it, the pub does come highly recommended.. There is also a nice spot next to the Pub where you can park your caravan in case your ‘back teeth start to float’ and you need to rest for the night..

Got back to Toowoomba where I find out the bad news that my radiator was not fixable.. So while the new one was getting made, I spend another few days in the industrial area.. That is when the lack of sleep got to me really badly… Sleep depravation is not something nice to deal with while you have also have to work on your vehicle..

Got everything back together and then headed towards Crows Nest. The idea was to stay there for few days, maybe a week and then move again.. I’m not new to Crows Nest as I visit the town several times in the past 25 years, but I never had a stop at the showground.. I was also running low on water, so I decided to test the place…

Upon getting there an Asian lady (presumably the caretaker’s wife) welcomed me. I asked if I could get some water and without an hint of  hesitation she said “$10 dolla”. I then gently pointed out to her that the council only charge a dollar per 100 litres, so perhaps it wasn’t a good deal..

She quickly reply “$5 dolla den”.. (I love that accent).. I really needed a bit of water just to top up the tanks as my next stop would have no power or water available, so I agreed.. I ended up taking around 500 litres, so in the end I got the correct price anyway.. While filling up the husband did show up and while he was very nice to explain to me a bit about the parking situation in the showground, he also managed to mention that they don’t offer the usual six day for seven when you pay for the whole week, “It is too confusing”, and then he added “and it is cash only.. a lot easier” he said..

There are several places these days, where cash is still the only option, as bank do charge a bit for the use of a portable EFTPOS.. The showground looks very  nice, with plenty of options of where to park.. It is also very close to the town centre, so you don’t need to take your car all the times…

There are plenty of things too do/see in town as well: Museum, soft drink factory, vineyard, art gallery… There is also an antique shop that has plenty of interested items to see…

I actually have a funny story about this antique store… One day back in the 90′ I drove past the shop while my father was in the car with me.. He noticed a very old lady sitting on a rocking chair in front of the shop…He then quickly realised that the shop was selling antiques as in Italian the word is very similar (antiche).. It looked at me and said “That in Italy would be illegal! You can’t just sell old people like that! To this day, I still laugh  every time I drive past the shop..

After filling the tanks it was time to continue towards Nanango, where some friends were waiting for me with some catch up to do… I have been knowing Spyro  and Krystal for ever, and to these days, I think they are some of the nicest people I know..

I had a few days to spares, so we decided to do some work around the garden…

They previously had some clearing done, so there was plenty of mulch that needed to be spreaded around the garden… That’s wasn’t so bad beside the fact that it was needed at the top of the propriety..

Now that turned up to be a great fitness exercise as well.. I got my heart up to 175bpm quite a few times in those days, but it was fun and it needed to be done…

You can see in the picture where the mulch was taken and at the bottom of the hill where the pile was sitting waiting..

The weather was good and with a nice breeze throughout the day and Krystal did take care of providing plenty of refreshment.. But she did a lot more than that.. She also decided to feed me every day with great food and plenty of it.. I was really spoiled with choices… I also managed to meet some of their new neighbours at what they called “Friday happy hour”.. Let me tell you what “Friday happy hour” really mean..

At the showground, we too, have the “Happy hour”, but that simply mean one beer on the hottest part of the afternoon and let’s it…

Apparently, in Nanango it mean a large group of good friends, getting together for a massive meal and plenty of drinks, until everybody feels good… I loved it… It did remind me so much, of what we often do in Italy.. That’s what socialising and strong community it is all about.. Eventually, that night, we got back home, and I was happy to see how well, my old friends, had settle in within the new community..

After the mulch, it was time for the gravel path…We had a bit of a mishap here as the gravel was very heavy and the car did struggle to get the trailer were it was need it, but in the end we eventually got there and managed a few loads of gravel as well.. Again,in the picture you can see another part of the garden and the actual gravel slowly getting around where it need to be.. On a different note, while I was there, my coffee machine decided to cark it.. I wanted the same machine again as this one did last me 7 years of intensive use, and so Spyro offered to drive me to Kingaroy where Hardly Normal had them in stock and at a very good price I may add..

I still remember when they bought the block of land and I cannot believe the transformation they managed to achieve.. It was just dirt and rocks and now it looks so good that they got so much variety of wild life and an amazing number of bird nesting almost on anything they can to stay in the garden..

As I’m watching out of the window you got little Wrens claiming the fly screen unafraid of people and very happy of their surrounding.. The one in the picture are a male and female of the Superb Fairy Wren family.. Unfortunately the picture came out dark, so you can’t really see the beautiful blue color of their plumage.. I think you can tell, you have done a good job, when your garden is full of little birds and plenty of different coloured flowers..Then you have the different garden compositions between different areas, the variety of ornaments, water fountains, trees, mosaics, large rocks.. You could honestly spend a week in that garden and not seeing everything there is to see… It is a lot of hard work, but the rewards is also extremely pleasant… One evening I got asked if I was interested to play trivia at the local RSL. I said sure, how hard can it be?… I had a great evening with plenty of laugh (I got one question right) and even managed to squeeze in a beautiful slice of chocolate cheesecake… If you ever pass Nanango give the local RSL a try. Great food and plenty of entertainment…

Well done Krystal and Spyro, your garden is a testament of your deep connection with nature..

Safe Journey…