Dragon boat racing

 Early visit to Bribie Island and the dragon boats were out in force.

As my daughter exclaimed that they were vintage rowers, she said she didnt didnt want to use the word old.

We saw a mens team as well as the womens, ten on the mens, twelve on the womens, rowing in pairs, with one at the end beating the drum and one person at the other end with the steering oar.

Berthing the boat, then they picked it up and carried across the road to the enclosed boat lock up. Dont know when they started but they were out of the water by 7am.

Easter bunnies

 We did our grocery shopping on Wednesday as I knew Thursday was going to be busy, after all the shops would close for Good Friday. People do go a bit nuts before a public holiday.

I had a couple of things to do at a nearby suburb so we combined those, shopping and the usual morning tea.

These were our coffees, complete with Easter bunnies!

I did look at Easter chocolate eggs but Warren said we didnt any. Hot cross buns, love them but store only had fruit free ones so they were left there.

A fall from above

 Monday we were sitting quietly in the lounge while the floors were drying. Lucy was asleep and there was a mighty crash coming from the kitchen.  

The exhaust fan had fallen out!

The plastic cover was on the floor and the rest of it was resting on the stove top with the electric cord dangling. A gaping hole in the ceiling.

I was hoping there wasnt sets of eyes looking down at us. Possums and or snakes have been known to reside in ceilings.

On further investigations, there appears to have had three plastic clips holding it in place by screws, two were broken.

Warren got out the ladder and was able to screw it back into place using the outer rim.

Thank goodness we didnt have to put up with the hole in the ceiling for long. I guess after holding on upside down for twenty four years, it felt intitled to let go. Hopefully the repair will last a few more years.

Tenterfield

 Last motel stop, only 320ks from home. As we are maybe coming back here next month for an event, we didnt linger long. However I did see a famous tree not far away in town that was worth a quick visit.

It is a cork tree.

Believed to be the oldest and largest cork tree in Australia bought out in a jam jar in 1861.

Some people or something has prised some cork off it in places.

I went up the street to take this photo to try to get the size of it.

Moonbi and Uralla

 

Next stop was Uralla fir another walk around for an ad lab, first one 2as zcross from a school and we had to find what 6d would buy. The area was a very old unused swimming pool, the surrounds were almost completly overgrown. We had to resort to a location photo that was supplied, 6d or sixpence got the use of a locker. Then we walked the town for the rest. The sign Uralla was at the end if start of the town, in the top of the A is a sticker of a pair of undies. Someones sense of humour I guess. It rained most of the day, except when we walked the town and when I drove (usually if its going to rain it will do so when I am driving. Although I did have several kilometers of cattle to drive through yesterday.

We stopped at Moonbi to fill up with petrol, eckk $110 and the tank wasnt even near empty.  Fuel has increased in price from $2.04 to $2.49, luckily we wont need any more before getting home tomorrow. We moved on to a nearby park to have our morning tea and there was the chook about six feet off the ground. No explantation for it all.

Henty and The Rock

 Following adventure labs, we did four on this day. Coffee at a vintage cafe. The tables and chairs were older than fifty years. Our first table and chairs were similar but upmarket orange. Apparently when the woman decided to open the cafe, she put out a call for the old tables and chairs and got several offers, some had been used in shearing sheds but no longer needed. 

The Henty man carved out of a tree stump at a rest stop a few kilometres out of Henty.

The Henty showgrounds.

These were in a circular garden, the poppies are made from sheet metal and then painted.

Painted water tank.

Nagambie and Benalla

 Nagambie was a very small town with not a lot going for it wgen we lived there. That was over 50 years ago!

Warren did his clerical training at Puckap7nyal and the boys and I with our dog Reuben lived in the carzvan at the caravan park. We only stayed for about eight weeks, it was the muddle of winter and very cold. I remember that the shower block had no ceiling, it was cement blocks. With two small boys, one two and a half, the other ten months old and me pregnant, it was decided to relocate to Mum and Dads for the rest of his training.

Fifty years on and it is very upmarket, the laje is used for water sports and there were about eight cafes/coffee shops.

We were walking the town checking out the churches.

We sat out on the balcony overlooking the lake.

We were at the Black Cavier cafe, I assume the horse or trainer was from Nagambie.

A statue overlooi8ng the lake.

Then we travelling east across to Benalla.

Wow, what a contrast. Several shop fronts were empty, the place looked run down.

They did have an art gallery with a painting of Ned Kelly on the wall.

The art gallery in the background.

This was a virual and the requirements were to take a foot selfie with the gallery.

Also needed to write something in Dr Seuss vein.

This was mine.

Here us my foot

Without a boot

We are on a road trip

And stopped at this strip

Is it art or not

Maybe but good for a rest spot.