Bribie Island visit

We visited Bribie Island and while there we contacted Fred and Mary Witsenhuysen who retired there 20 years ago. They are well and we had a game of bridge with them and took the above photo. Fred asked to be remembered to everyone at the Canberra Bridge Club.

Bribie Island is a pleasant place but we were disappointed that in order to go on the beaches in a 4WD one had to get a permit which would have been fine but Cooboltra Council would only allow an annual or a weekly permit which costs $35. We only wanted it for a day or two at the most. So, we decided to wait until Fraser Island. We contented ourselves with doing ordinary touristy things instead and following Fred and Mary's suggestion, had a very nice Indian meal at the Indian Brothers restaurant near the Visitors Information Centre.

The Polish Place at Mount Tamborine

These delightful shots are taken at the Polish Cafe at Mount Tamborine. The lorikeets are on the lookout for anything edible and drinkable. They first grab the packets of sugar and would eat the lovely cakes to be found at this cafe. After the patrons finish they clear the plates of all edible remnants and drink anything, leaving milk froth on their beaks. While a nuisance, they are also very delightful and they add to the a charming atmosphere of the place. The menu of the mains is quite extensive and very authentically Polish. Inside are Polish artefacts and jewellery.

Mount Tamborine has some nice walks and lots of national parks.

Lamington National Park

These photos capture the interesting flora at the Lamington National Park. One is the vines around the big rock and the other is a giant beech tree. We are staying at the Green Mountains section of the park at the camp ground and we are getting wonderful reception on our wireless broadband, including a few conversations on Skype with people. But no reception on our mobiles via Optus or Vodafone . Telstra shows its muscles once again :-). We have had wonderful radio reception on ABC FM wherever we went so far. Thank you ABC.

We now have to put in a few words of praise for the Qld National Parks and Wildlife Service. The charge for staying at this campsite is $4.85 per person per night and for that we get free hot showers and drinking water. In NSW we paid $10 per person per night (occasionally $7) and for that we had no drinking water or showers. A few campsites had cold showers and gas barbecues. There was additional entry for the vehicle but as we obtained an annual national parks pass we did not have to pay that. There is no additional fee for a vehicle in Qld.

We did a 8km walk yesterday and a 10 km one today and it started raining half way through the walk today. It was wonderful to get back to Priscilla and a hot cup of tea after the drenching and the exercise. Now I am indulging in a little e-mail therapy and updating this blog. Waterfalls and rainforests are the features of the park. In fine weather the walks are nice.

A seriously good meat pie - found in Qld

The previous much coveted Riszko award for the best meat pie was awarded to the Lady Featherston Cafe in Featherston, New Zealand. Featherston is on the way the Martinborough over the Rimutaka Range from Wellington.

I think this award now has to go to the Outpost Cafe at Canungra on the way to the Lamington National Park just across the Qld border from NSW. Andrew and I had a pie each there, his was a steak, bacon and cheese and mine was curried steak and I have to say these pies are delicious. At $5.20 they are very good value, meaty, tasty with a wonderful crust

**Must see** - Natural Bridge

These three photos show the Natural Bridge which is a marvellous natural phenomenon just across the border crossing from NSW into Qld northwest of Murwillumbah. It is one of the loveliest and most impressive sights we have seen. Originally a waterfall hollowed out a cave beneath itself. Later, the stream broke through the roof of the cave and left the natural bridge rock formation standing. That is what exists today. It is incredibly impressive.

Border Ranges National Park

After Mt Warning we went into the Border Ranges national park where we recommend the Pinnacle and the Blackbutts lookouts and some nice rainforest walks. The photo shows Brindle Creek.

Mount Warning

The photo shows Mount Warning (Wollumbin) which is the central plug of a huge, shield shaped volcano that 20 million years ago stretched from Mt Tamborine in the north to Lismore in the south. It is a popular climb, of 4.4 km from the car park. Andrew did it 3 hours return, inlcuding the rock scramble at the top while Nikki read in the sunshine.