Ellen’s parents live near Warwick. The area is beef country and in other areas its arable. Their home is on a hill in open Eucalyptus woodland and a really beautiful spot. I know it’s not anything like Scotland but, it reminded me so much of where my mum and dad used to live in Aberdeenshire, even down to leasing out pasture ( I use the term pasture loosely here) to a neighbouring farm.
Ellens parents are birdwatchers and they encourage quite a variety into their lovely garden, Scaly breasted lorikeets and corellas to name a few. They also have a young magpie that comes in to be hand fed. I imagine it’s something of a haven to birds in an arable area.
Ellen’s mum is a keen gardener and has begun an Eremophila collection. I had never heard of this plant but, it’s endemic to Australia and covers a huge range of habitats, ranging from carpet like ground cover to small trees. All have pretty flowers and I wonder if I could grow one at home as some are frost hardy.
We had a lovely couple of days visiting Goonberah Valley Camp ground (where we had a picnic) in the Main Range National park and Queen Mary’s Falls. Ellen’s parents took us to watch the birds at Warwick water treatment plant too. I know that sounds funny but it’s a big expanse of water. My dad used to take me to a sewage outflow at Peterhead for much the same thing, so this was definitely a step up!
Walking, Birdwatching, chatting and drinking Gin and tonic in the evenings, bliss!
On our way home to Brisbane we came via some spectacular scenery.
There is a scene in one of the chronicles of Narnia where the characters look out over Narnia from a great height. I have experienced this overwhelming feeling of wonder when the world is revealed at your feet before, oddly enough in the Negev desert in Israel. This view was emotionally on a par with that!
The Travelling Bee 