28 May 2011 - Boonah Showgrounds, Queensland

Here we are again settled in to another showground, this time in Boonah; carrot country. Apparently 95% of Queensland’s carrots are grown here and they can’t get enough labour. Perhaps we shall decide to give them a hand? Or maybe we will simply store the knowledge in the memory banks for another time when we have a burning desire to work.

Another cold morning and company in our little camp next to the go-cart track. There had been late arrivals during the night, and one lot left even before we raised our blinds. Soon after eight thirty, the boys (and maybe some girls; who would know inside those suits?) warmed up their machines on the track. I came out soon after to find Chris leaning over the fence deep in conversation with one of the track marshals. There were three age groups racing, roughly from seven to eleven, twelve to seventeen, eighteen and over for the seniors. The weekend was a qualifying trial run for the national finals to be held in the same location in a couple of weeks. Apparently the carts get up to speeds of 100 kph. That must feel quite something sitting so low on the ground. I had thought it might be a bit of a trial to tear Chris away from the action, however not so. We headed off toward Warwick, found the Information Centre and parked up.

Warwick, otherwise known as the Rose and Rodeo City, is the administrative centre for the Southern Downs Regional Council, with a population of over 11,000 people, growing at an alarming rate. Last year housing stock increased by 5%. The town is situated on the banks of the Condamine River, which is famous for a song, so I am told.

Warwick, Rose City

We had a look around the Art Gallery adjacent to the Information Centre, found the Super Cheap Auto where we purchased a replacement fuse, then walked up and down the main street of the town. It was a while since we had seen exotic trees shedding their golden leaves, and rose bushes in bloom even if rather stressed by the cold. Warwick is a very pleasant rural town however by lunch time we felt we had seen it. After lunch was enjoyed on the banks of the river, we headed north east, still on the Cunningham Highway.

 

We travelled on through rolling country, both grazed and cropped, heading toward the peaks of the Great Divide. The road did not climb much, contrary to our expectations, but passed on through the Main Range National Park, through the Cunningham Gap, and descended down very steeply toward the coastal region. The road was undergoing significant repair, and because of that and the incline, I was reminded of our descent from Toowoomba further north, taken some months back.

We had, over lunch, decided to head for Boonah, ten kilometres off the main route, and base ourselves there for a couple of days, from where to discover the Border Ranges. We called into the Information Centre and spent some time chatting with the two women there, soon convinced that we should spent three and not two nights here. In fact it might even take longer.