Wagga Wagga to Worcestershire & back again
When Adam and I decided to move to the UK, one of the first things we did is brainstorm everything we could think of that would need to be done before we left. I’ve always been a list maker, and Adam is too. We went out and bought a notepad and a big folder – which became known as the England folder.
At the start of the week Adam and I visited a wildlife park, to the north of Mackay.
The 175 acre property, run by the Bredl family, is surrounded by coastal bushland and in its centre is a beautiful dam teaming with turtles, eels, fish, birds and the occasional guest…
As we were driving in, we spotted a small crocodile in the water – our host for the day Zeb told us, it wasn’t one of the park’s crocs and must of ‘washed in’ during the last lot of heavy rain!
The Bredl family are well known in Queensland for their work with crocodiles, which was the main reason we decided to visit – Adam was yet to see one in the flesh.
Uncle Rob Bredl was recently bitten on the hand by one of the crocs, but we were told he’s recovering well.
The family says what makes its park experience different, is the ability to get hands on with the animals.
We started our tour hand feeding a rather cantankerous cassowary. She liked to eat whole tomatoes (and even mangoes!), as well as the crusts of bread, strawberries and watermelon.
It was then onto a large, grassy enclosure that backed onto the dam to feed Eastern Grey kangaroos, a pair of emus, a deer called Bubbles and dozens of chickens and geese.
Afterwards we went onto the crocodile pens, where we saw four of the reptiles – all between 3.5-4.5 metres long. People call crocs modern day dinosaurs and when you look at them, you can see just how prehistoric looking they are.
After the crocs, we learnt about pythons and lizards like the blue-tongue, shingle-back, and a beautiful little monitor with scales that must be the inspiration for some of the Indigenous art found in Australia.
One of the highlights for me was getting to cuddle a koala. I even managed to get a curious kiss!
We finished the day by holding some of the baby crocodiles that get farmed on site.
Adam and I had a great day out, and loved how interactive the tour was. The small group of tourists on site also meant you never had to wait too long to get up close with the critters!
Over the weekend Adam and I ventured into the mountains west of Mackay for a day of bushwalking and animal spotting.
The rainforests of Eungella National Park have been a favourite of my family for many years – we’ve had an annual holiday there for as long I can remember.
After stopping for a quick coffee at our new favourite coffee shop in the Pioneer Valley (see here!), we headed into Finch Hatton Gorge.
We walked up the track until it met the Finch Hatton Creek at Callistemon Crossing. You have to rock-hop across the creek to finish the final section of the walk, but my lack of proper walking shoes and a few rather sinister looking black clouds meant we didn’t quite make it to the top. I had visions of us getting across the creek, a huge downpour happening and then getting stuck in the rainforest with no phone reception! Adam’s idea of a great day – me, not so much!
We spent a good 20 minutes taking in the view at the Araluen Cascades – which is a popular swimming spot, especially in the humid summers the region’s well known for.
We then made our way up the Clarke Range to the township of Eungella, which is basically the end point of the Pioneer Valley.
Broken River is world famous for its platypus population, and while we’d spotted more than a dozen when we visited with my family earlier this year, Adam and I couldn’t help going to have a look again.
We saw three platypus in the hour or so we stayed at the three areas along the river they’re known to live in. It doesn’t matter how many times you see a platypus, it’s always magic. There’s a quiet reverence in sitting, silently listening to the water and the rainforest. Then you spot bubbles coming to the surface of the river and you know within a few moments, a billed, webbed footed little creature will soon pop up.
We finished the day with a homemade tub of ice-cream (the hills around Eungella are home to dairy farms… there isn’t too many left now, so I like to support the farmers that are still making a go of it) at a little cafe surrounded by trees.
We’ve got a week and a half left in Mackay before we fly to the UK – so still time for a few more adventures!
Bowen, about two hours to the north of Mackay, is famous for mangos, windy weather and having some of the cutest little beaches in the region.
Dad, mum, Adam and I piled into the car this week for a run up the Bruce Highway for a day in Bowen.
On our way we stopped by a coffee plantation near Proserpine for quick break and to say hello to resident cockatoo, Boss.
Once in Bowen itself (the town stood in as Darwin in the film, Australia), we had lunch in a cafe overlooking the marina, then headed up Flagstaff Hill to take in the view.
It was then around to Horseshoe Bay – a pretty tree lined cove, protected from rough seas and surrounded by rocks. The water was beautifully warm and Adam and I poked around the rocky edges of the bay for a good half an hour, while mum and dad took refuge under some large palms.
A storm was starting to build in the west, so we decided it was time to head home – but not before a stop at the Big Mango for a gelato (made entirely of mango… delicious!)
We managed to avoid the worst of the heavy rain on the drive home, but it made for some spectacular viewing.
While we’re in Mackay, Adam and I are trying to fit in as many little trips as possible.
When we fly into the UK in a few weeks time, we’ll essentially be going in to our second winter this year, so we’re trying to make the most of Queensland’s warm spring.
Earlier this week Adam, myself and my parents ventured westward from Mackay, into the Pioneer Valley – a lush green swathe of cane farms and creeks.
At the little town of Pinnacle is an old church, which has recently been bought by two Sicilian men, who’ve turned it into the aptly named Church Cafe.
Both Adam and I ordered the penne alfredo. It was simple, but delicious – that true Italian style alfredo, where the cream sauce doesn’t dominate, it just coats beautifully cooked al-dente pasta. I paired mine with a very Australian flat white coffee which again was just perfect.
There were four dishes to choose from for dessert. We each picked something different, so were able to sample a little of everything. I selected a panna cotta with blueberries, Adam had the tiramisu, mum a cannoli and dad a dark chocolate and almond cake. We left Pinnacle very satisfied, and think return visit could be in order!
The church was decorated with simple timber furniture, brocade table runners and window furnishings and modern artworks.
The view over the cane paddocks wasn’t bad either.
To the finish off the day (and work off a little of that lunch!) mum and I decided to take a walk on Mackay’s Harbour Beach in the afternoon.
We didn’t spot any whales, crocodiles or sharks – but sand underfoot, waves lazily rolling in and sunshine on your back was still a pretty good tonic.
After five days and almost 2400 kilometres, we’ve made it to my parent’s house in Mackay, QLD.
To break the journey up, Adam and I decided to spend a day and a half in Lightning Ridge, in the north-west of NSW.
Adam had done some opal fossicking around White Cliffs when he’d worked on cattle stations in the area and was keen to check out the Ridge, which is world famous for its black opals.
It’s about six kilometres off the Castlereagh Highway, and surrounding the town are numerous mining camps, where people live and base themselves while they search for opals.
The mining camps fascinated me – the landscape was almost lunar; the shacks were creatively built using bits of old tin, parts of caravans and what ever else could be found and the plants were desert like – lots of tiny succulents and hardy bushes.
There were bits of mining equipment lying around and a great collection of rusty old cars.
In one mining area we came across an old open-cut opal mine. We visited in the late afternoon and the light bouncing off the sandstone walls of the mine gave it an almost dusty pink glow.
We took the time to visit a mine, and do an underground tour. It’s amazing to think there are these tunnels and ‘rooms’ all underneath Lightning Ridge. Delightfully cool too, particularly on a very warm October day. The temperature underground remains at a steady 20-22 degrees year round.
We tried our hand at fossicking through some of the mullock heaps, but didn’t strike it lucky, instead opting to purchase a few souvenirs for ourselves and family.
We ended our trip to Lightning Ridge with a visit to the town’s bore baths. At 40-50 degrees, the weather was probably a little too warm for us to enjoy the full therapeutic benefits of the water, but they were still lovely to soak in before heading off to bed. I can imagine in the middle of the winter, they’d be just wonderful.
We’ve got around two and half weeks in Mackay now before we fly out to the UK. There are bags that need to be re-packed (and probably slimmed down!), friends to catch up with a few day-trips to be had. Adam and I will have back to back winters this year, so we’re looking forward to making the most of the beautiful sunny, warm weather and beach while we’re here.
Kilometres travelled: 1042
We’ve had two full days on the road, and now almost at the New South Wales-Queensland border.
There was one heck of a storm on our last day in Wagga Wagga, but we’ve been blessed with beautiful sunny skies and warm temperatures so far.
Our trusty steed for this journey is Adam’s beloved Camry, Mr Bishop. He encountered some floodwaters from the Murrumbidgee River, just east of Narrandera but handled them beautifully. I’ve since learnt the road’s been closed to all traffic, so we were lucky to get through when we did.
From there, we made our way north-west heading through Leeton, Griffith and Hillston, before stopping overnight in mining town of Cobar. We’ve been amazed at how green western NSW is. It’s amazing to see land, associated with dust and tough times, flourishing with tall grass, wildflowers as far as the eye can see and healthy looking stock.
We then shot up to Bourke, which was Adam’s ‘home town’ for part of 2015 when he was jackarooing on stations to the north-west, near the border town of Hungerford. We stopped by Morrall’s Bakery for a breakfast meat pie and coffee, and then strolled around town.
Down by the Darling River we ran into a man, who lived on a property near Brewarrina. With him was a kangaroo joey called George. He told us George’s mum had been shot, and he was now rearing her young. Adam couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a cuddle.
We then started to trek eastward, passing through Brewarrina and Walgett before finishing for the day in Lightning Ridge – famous for its black opals.
We’ve booked into a ‘fossicker’s cottage’ for a couple of nights, and plan on taking in a mine tour, and maybe trying our luck at trying to search for some opals ourselves!
Today’s the day.
After months of list making and weeks of slowly packing up, our departure from Wagga Wagga is upon us.
At the start of the year, my English boyfriend Adam and I decided we’d move to his home county of Worcestershire when his Australian visa ran out. We’d lived life together as a couple in Wagga Wagga, it was time to give life in the UK a go.
I’ve lived in Wagga (as the locals call it) for almost a decade. It what was only meant to be 12 months, but career opportunities came up, friends became family, a house was built and home it became.
It’s been a bittersweet last few days. The excitement of our upcoming adventure beckons, but saying good-bye to the people we love and the community we care about has been really hard. I’ve lost count of the number of teary moments I’ve had.
We don’t fly out of Australia until the end of the month, so over the next few weeks we plan to road-trip through western New South Wales and Queensland as we make our way north to my parent’s place in Mackay for a final good-bye.
Much of inland Australia has had one its wettest winters in recent history. It could make for some interesting driving conditions!
Wattle and Ash 