It is hard to believe that we still find new surprises around this beautiful city. Today the suburb of Springhill sprung some surprises on us. The summer heat is still upon us so we met early at Roma Street and enjoyed a walk through the parkland in the cool of the morning. As always, the gardens were in pristine appearance. We decided to try out some new poses . . . After all this walking it was time for a hearty breakfast at The Treasury Kitchen and the special of the month did not disappoint. The eggs Benedict were delicious. Afterwards some of us viewed the "Into the Woods" fairytale themed art display at G.O.M.A. before heading home. The exhibition brings together contemporary art, breathtaking costumes, immersive installations and stunning cinema from visual storytellers around the world to untangle themes of bravery and justice, loyalty and humility, cunning and aspiration. This was a varied and very pleasant morning easily notching up 10 kilometres.
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Work to build the gardens at the foot of Mt Coot-tha began in 1970 and in 1976, Brisbane Botanic Gardens was officially opened. The now well-established 56 hectare gardens feature more than 200,000 plants representing approximately 5000 species from around the world. Plants are displayed in subtly changing thematic and geographic communities. This time of year, the gardens offer a spectacle of colour and we enjoyed a leisurely day exploring their beauty. But of course, first their was cake. Colour splashed our paths at every turn. The gardens are enhanced by sculptures throughout. We completed our walk with a leisurely picnic lunch and more bubbles. Some days are just meant for this.
We always look forward to the annual Swell Sculpture Festival held at Currumbin Beach. It is Queensland's largest outdoor sculpture exhibition, and it is on until 18 September 2022. This year's sculptures are particularly impressive with over 70 awe-inspiring and thought-provoking pieces by local, national and international artists. The following photos are of some of our favourites. Letter boxes were in abundance . . .
A punny thing happened on our way to hike last week. We went to Kalbar and enjoyed the many fabulous hay bale sculptures as the town prepared for their annual Country Day festival. This fun family event kicks off with a free bush poetry breakfast, Kalbar's main street is transformed into a buzzing hive of activity with markets, games, fashion parades, entertainment, vintage cars and scrumptious country fare. The giant hay bales that have been transformed into colourful works of art are cleverly punny. Locals have creative control, but their entries must adhere to one key rule - the title of the work must include the word 'hay' or 'bale'. Hay-loween scene . . . After a long morning of hay bale hunting, we were starving, so enjoyed a late lunch at Flavours Cafe in Boonah. This cafe never disappoints. If you miss the Country Day on October 16, the hay bales should still be on display for another week. Then, there's always next year.
Some kind firemen, who were on a break, stopped by to wish Joc a happy day. When the fire engine pulled up, we told her they had come to extinguish the fire because they heard how many candles were being lit. She had been hopeful that we had organised a stripper. Her disappointment was soon forgotten when she tasted the delicious gingerbread birthday cake Leanne had made. After a long leisurely morning tea, we put on our walking shoes and began walking. We took some side streets to enjoy the homes around canals of Raby Bay. We then wove our way around to GJ Walter Park and were lucky enough to spot a koala. A main aim of today was to make a stop at the Grand View Hotel to see a display of local imagery from Darren C Manning Photography. The Grand View Hotel’s Art Gallery has a history of exhibiting fine art and creative work from award winning and local Redlands artists. We enjoyed a nice cold beer as we strolled around the gallery. On the way back to the Point we enjoyed some more art work at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery, then enjoyed a late lunch of fish and chips by the bay before heading home. Nine kilometres wasn't a bad effort, considering all the eating and art admiring we had done along the way.
Our plan this week was to take in some art in the city. We began at the Art Gallery on the Southbank and enjoyed an exhibition of William Yang’s work. Yang is a Queensland-born, Sydney-based photographer who integrates a photographic practice with writing, video and performance. The exhibition traces his career from documentary photography through to explorations of cultural and sexual identities and his depictions of landscape. As we left the Southbank and crossed the bridge to the city the sky turned dark with storm clouds. The heavens opened before we reached the City Gardens where we planned to see Botanica - Contemporary Art Outside. We retreated to sit out the storm over dinner and a drink. The rain left, and so had the crowds, chased home by the wet. We were fortunate to have the whole Botanica display mostly to ourselves. And the timing was perfect as the lights were full on against the dark night. Botanica is a free event and part of Brisbane Art Design 2021. The City Botanic Gardens come to life with large-scale projections, installations and interactive artworks. With few people around, we were able to enjoy the interactive installations hassle-free.
After our walk we visited the Logan City Art Gallery and got a sneak peak preview of the International Wildlife in Art exhibition now on. Local wildlife was captured well, especially after having seen the real deal only moments before.
This week we decided to take a trip down memory lane for a couple of the Hungry Hikers. Jenny and I met when we started walking in this group, but after a few years in a chance conversation, we discovered that we had both been at Kilcoy State School in 1968 and taken part in the school musical together. We had been in different classes, so didn't really know each other then, but we discovered we knew many of the same people. In fact, Jenny helped me reconnect with a few people from this time and on this outing I got to meet up with the person who had been my best friend at that time. Reluctantly, we left Woodford, but were not disappointed by Kilcoy, another gorgeous country town that shows great pride in its heritage. Before exploring, we stopped at the tranquil Yowie Park and set up our morning tea by the lake. After morning tea it was time to ditch the fascinators and don the sun hats. There is an excellent tourist information building in the park. Here we learnt more about the area and also picked up some information on possible future hikes.
Kilcoy is very proud of its yowie statue and it is a great tourist draw card. A yowie is a strange, mythical creature, believed by many to inhabit the rugged mountain ranges surrounding Kilcoy. The Somerset website lists the following Yowie facts: Yowies are large humanoid mammals ranging from 2.1 to 3.6 metres tall Fur colour ranges from rusty red to dark brown and black They are reported to have a strong odour similar to rotten eggs They are nocturnal Their manner varies from shy to overly aggressive They are thought to be very intelligent creatures Yowie is believed to be an adaptation of the Aboriginal names ‘Yuuri’ and ‘Yown’ There have been thousands of Yowie sightings reported The last reported Yowie sighting in Kilcoy was in 2007. Leaving Kilcoy, we drove out to Woongooroo Estate Vineyard and Cellar Door for lunch, enjoying more lovely, though very dry countryside and Somerset Lake views along the way. Along Neurum Road we passed a most interesting outdoor gallery of wooden sculptures along the fence line of one property. The roughly hewn sculptures are cleverly done in all shapes and sizes.
30 minutes on from Beaudesert is Boonah, another lovely, laid back, country town. We drove to nearby Mt French and followed two different walking tracks that took us to lookouts with stunning views of the surrounding countryside. The North Cliff leads to Logan’s lookout with views over the Fassifern Valley, with the Main Range escarpment to the west and Flinders Peak and beyond to the east. The Mee-bor-rum circuit passes through heathland and features the East Cliff lookout with views of Tamborine, Lamington and Mount Barney. Further along the track a circular platform with seating provides views of the heathland and southern section of Mount French Both tracks are quite easy to walk, but we were surprised by the number of vehicles parked there belonging to walkers and campers. Although no strenuous hiking had been done, we were still hungry hikers, so back to Boonah we went in search of a good meal. This we found at Flavours, a cafe in an iconic building that was built in 1916 and was originally the offices for the Boonah Butter Factory. A stroll around Boonah was followed by a quick stop at nearby Obum Obum (oh yes, oh yes, it's a real place). The origin of the name is not known, but we had a bit of fun here before heading home via a stop at the Wyaralong Dam.
White Rock is one of our favourite walks, and it always looks spectacular under a blue sunny sky. We are becoming used to early morning starts and picnic breakfasts, so we chased the late setting full moon to Spring Mountain Conservation Park and dined on one of the many picnic tables there. Walking trails vary in length and difficulty. We chose the six kilometre circuit which is a relatively easy walk on a wide well-cleared track. Some parts needed a little rock scrambling as we chose to climb and follow a ridge that gave us excellent views of the surrounding countryside with the skyscrapers of Brisbane looming in the distance. It is now well signposted thank goodness, as we have been known to get a little lost in the past. In fact one of our group (not mentioning any names) once turned the two hour walk into a five hour one because she was lost. Part one of our day successfully fulfilled our hunger for food and hiking, but the day was yet young, so we headed into Ipswich to explore the landscape through art. Arthur Boyd (1920–1999) is considered one of Australia’s most significant modern artists and the Ipswich Art Gallery's exhibition "Landscape of the Soul" is open until 18 August. We spent a bit of time wandering here before ending the morning with a delicious Indian banquet and a fine glass of wine. All in all, another great day of retirement.
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