BEER 2022

BREW BOYS CELEBRATION of OKTOBERFEST

Gympie's Home Brewers'  - group of guys sitting in Dave's shed drinking German beer, listening to German music and eating German food, obviously in October.  

Jean marked the occasion by taking photos AND trying some Apple editing of shots to extend my skills and also to try and make the photos a bit more interesting.

Admittedly the editing is a bit basic but with practise down the track ….

In case you can't read the red print "happy lads, talking recipes, style of beers, which hops are best … They are Joel, Mike, Graham, Dave the host, Rob, Doug and Stuart'.

Doug and Stuart wearing some fun T-shirts (about beer)

There was a lot of talk about when they were in Berlin, place to buy squealers etc. etc   but it was all friendly memories and chatter.

Mike, the voice of experience in the group, relating how you make sauerkraut and German pretzels.  He also baked some nice sausage rolls.

They drank and (praised) each others beer and ate Dave's Kransky sausages all afternoon.  In the early evening,  their lovely womenfolk collected them and drove them home safely.

 

The Pokes Family Funtime - April 2022

 A family visit ...

We were lucky to have our Darwin family (Jodes, Van and Kai) visit for a short while recently.  They were wanting to have a break from Darwin’s awful humidity which occurs at the end of the monsoon season.  Anyway, good old Queensland weather didn’t disappoint - lovely cool temperatures in the evenings, overnight and early mornings followed by dazzling warm days.

It had been a long time since they’d been down so it was no wonder they had ‘shot up’.  I believe Van is over the 6 foot mark

The menfolk, Kai 11 years, Vance 14 years and Pops Peters.

Silly photographer had subjects looking into the sun.  It's positive evidence of clear blue skies in Qld tho'.

We had limited time but we managed to cram in a whole lot of activities ...

Our first outing was Kai's choice of adventure and that was the Tree Top Challenge down at Nambour, near the Big Pineapple.

Van, Kai and Mum waiting excitedly for the place to open. 

As the name, tree top challenge suggests, the activity takes place up in the tall timber of the park.  A series of ropes, cables, netting, pulleys, carabiner and wooden platforms etc. are set up in such a fashion to give the climbers a bit of fun and challenge.  It requires a lot of upper body strength, confidence and sense of adventure.  The climbs are rated for beginners through to advanced, starting with a 30 minute safety talk and then climbers are free to use the equipment at their own pace.

It's a great set-up even for observers as there are paths to wander and watch the climbers in the shade of the bush.

Which one first?

Mum strutting her stuff

Van making the climb

Kai negotiating the carbine

Kai with a bit of a wobble happening ...

From all accounts it was a lot of fun but also pretty tiring.  It was Kai's idea for the outing so he got a terrific amount of enjoyment out of it, Van went along with it cause it was something different and Jodes was the biggest kid of all! 

Pops and Nana got weary from just watching.  Kids slept heavily that night.

Some home time ...

Boys having a bit of fun, careering down the driveway in Pops gorilla cart - steering but no brakes.  Van being the stronger one pulled the cart up the hill … photos do lie, not to mention Nana's finger in the way!

On an off day, we stayed locally and we took the visitors to the bone museum.  It was a small exhibition but the kids got to see a horse skeleton and there were several skulls of different animals and many small creature skeletons like frogs, toads and parts of larger creatures as well.  It was one of those places where everyone 'oohed' a lot, but extremely interesting as well.

We also managed to get some time kayaking at Tin Can Bay.  Jodes and the boys kayaked around Snapper Creek, nosing around the Marina and different boats moored in the creek.  After I finished paddling training we had a snack and drink at the Yacht Club before heading home.  A nice relaxing time to find Pops had tea cooked when we arrived home, very nice.

Jodi being the crafty weaver couldn't resist making something out of the palm seeds.  Over a couple of hours she had weaved various useful containers for us and a decorative hanging.  She leaves a mark and impression wherever she goes that girl.

A big day, Wednesday we hit the Theme Park.   Down to Aussie World at Palmview which features a range of rides and attractions and suited to families.  The only disappointing comment is that I can't convert the videos of all the rides into a format the blog will accept.  So folks there is no evidence of any of the fun, screams of delight and terror had by anyone.  

Jodes and I were the only ones that 'rode' the SX360, a thriller of a ride.  It's a 360 - degree pendulum, reaches speeds of up to 80km/h while launching 32 metres into the air and completing 360 degree inversions with up to 5G's of force.  Amazing fun ???? I did only travel it once!

Another one of the scarier rides was the Redback, a Disk'O ride.  Van joined Jodes and I for that thrill, we got up to 70 km/h and to a height of 13 metres.  

However words can not do justice to these rides, if only the videos would work!  Anyway the day was filled with lots of fun and entertainment and proved to be excellent value (you could ride multiple times as there was an entry fee only).

 Boys did their own thing at times, had Mum with them in the Mayhem Maze in the Asylum, I was going to thrash everyone in the mini golf so we stopped playing that after a few holes, yummy ice cream and beautiful Qld weather to make everything even more enjoyable.

Go Karting was another thing on the 'to do ' list.  As it turned out it was the only event that was operating on Good Friday so it was a good idea.

Before the race

We're all Winners!

Anyway it was a week of go-go with many fun activities and pretty flat out for everyone.  

Upon saying farewells, Dave related the tale of his Step Grandfather, Pop Hougham, taking a white hanky from his pocket when the family were getting into the car and leaving after an hour of visiting, dabbing his eyes (pretend tears) and waving goodbye.  I guess he was able to relate to how Pop felt.

Lovely visit Jodes, Van and Kai.

SEVENTY YEARS young! March 2022.

My annual birthday present is a  ‘golf play and stay’(my choice) compliments of my beloved.  However this year regardless of being a 70th, birthday plans were thwarted by the "good old" weather god.  Not the original rain bomb that affected the south east coast of Queensland and New South Wales but another couple of days of rain and storms on top of ground that was already saturated.  

The plan was to travel up to Elliot Heads, about 2 hours drive north from Gympie and play golf at the Coral Cove club.  This course apart from lining the coast for stunning views from tees, also boasted a course consisting of two par 6 holes so a bit special, in my opinion.

 

 We booked a lovely bnb beside the ocean for 3 days.  A lovely Bali setting in the front yard and it was pet friendly so even Norman could enjoy the little holiday break.  Well, that was as far as all the activity went … it rained morning and night. There were short periods of fine weather but the golf courses were closed because of all the excess water lying around.  Trees had been uprooted, bunkers became ponds, fairways were too wet for any traffic and heavens only knows what would happen to your handicap if you tried to hit a ball in those conditions.  

Flowers compliments of KG and Deb

A lot of relaxing was done and a little bit of drinking.  We had friends over in Burnett Heads so spent time with them.  However an incident that nearly spoiled the occasion, Norman went missing.  Each time we went away from the bnb, the rule, was for the dog to accompany us.  On the last night we were there we went into Bundaberg to one of the Craft Brewery eateries for a meal.  We secured Norman beside the vehicle with water as was the practice every time we left him.  Lo and behold, he was not there when we returned.  Complete disbelief, there was no way he could have escaped and besides he always felt secure around the car cause he knew we'd always go back to the car and he wasn't going to be abandoned.

Anyway we patrolled the streets to see if he was loose in town, rang the police and eventually returned to our accommodation very teary-eyed.  In the morning, the day we were scheduled to go home our hosts suggested we call into the dog pound as it was in the area.  As soon as we pulled up, we heard Norman's bark.  Some meddling do-gooder was the cause of it all.  In retrospect, it was a time when things did not go to plan, but all’s well that ends well.  In future, Norman will be going into a kennel when we go away from home.  Maybe I’ll get to play at Coral Cove at a later date.

Our dragonboat club always celebrates significant birthdays.  Barbie and I qualified and decided  to have a combined party.  Barb is the baby by 3 days, she’s quiet and cute and usually one of the stroke paddlers.  I am part of the powerhouse, won the Whinger Award but we both love paddling.   We probably have about 20 years of paddling between us.

Birthday birds.

Some Dragon friends

Another paddler had her Mum, who turned 91 on the night of our gathering, so she joined in as well.  She was a lovely lady and we learnt she immigrated from the UK 15 years ago, an amazing adventurous person in her latter years.

Barb, Joan and Jean.

Some beautiful bouquets, birthday cake, restaurant dining vouchers and plenty of pizzas.  It was a lovely night.  Thanks paddlers.

 

Carnarvon Gorge ,Central Queensland, 18 - 22 October 2021

Ten of our Dragon Boat Club members made the road trip, 8 hours drive NW of Gympie.   Two of the girls went with spouses by caravan but it was definitely a girls getaway, with lots of giggles and many hilarious happenings along the way.   Obviously 2 days were allotted to travelling there and back and we had 3 BIG  days of walking tracks in the gorge.

One of the roast nights at the Bush Bar.  Everyone together at the one time.

At the beginning of the first day, before the soreness set in…

The first day wasn’t a good start after discovering our communication skills were so lousy we met at different places and times.  Thereafter it became apparent, we would tee up arrangements with individuals otherwise we’d end up doing very little.  However on our first walk we got a good feel for what the heat and terrain were going to be like for the following days. 

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Beautiful clear sky and gorgeous palms in front of the sandstone cliffs

From the track looking down into the creek.  It was as peaceful as it looks.

“Picture says a thousand words” but this picture needs some clarification.  Billie at the back of photo has hips and all sorts of foreign pieces and Sylvie in the front goes close to rivalling what Billie has had done to him.  Helen in the middle is there to prod and pull them along.  Seriously they made a terrific effort, well done guys.

The Moss Garden was the destination for many that day, 7 km return along winding, sandy-pathed tracks, uphill and down dale, surrounded by cycads and palm trees and through dappled sunlight.  Despite an absence of rain in the area for weeks, there was a small amount of water dripping from the sandstone walls, supporting a lush carpet of mosses, ferns and liverworts.  Truly nature can be amazing!

Some of us felt our stamina would hold up if we ventured a little further along the track so we continued along the track for a look at the Amphitheatre.  It was truly worth the trudge as we came to a massive chamber 60-metre-deep hidden inside the walls of the gorge.  Access was up some ladder steps and through an incredibly cool ‘air condition-like gap in the gorge rocks to be greeted by a solemn-like chamber.  Awesome is an accurate description of the feeling of being inside.  It was very cool and a  feeling of being minuscule in amongst nature’s wonders.

A would-be yachtie correctly informed us we must descend the ladder facing inwards.

A pity the photo is dark but part of the inside of the amphitheatre.

Some of the first day heroes, Helen, Gwyn, Jean and Sylvie. Helen cause it’s one of the few social occasions she has gone away with us, Gwyn cause she’s 70 something and Sylvie cause she has nearly had her entire skeleton ‘fitted out’.  

We had varying degrees of fitness, confidence and robustness within the group, so on the 2nd day we decided to split into those with aspirations and those who felt their capabilities were not so great.

Day 2 - Gwyn, Barb and Jean set off on the walk to the Big Bend which was a 19.4 km return trip taking about 7-8 hours.

 

Some of the 13 creek crossings we made, they caused a great deal of focus!  The Cathedral cave we passed on the way, a massive wind-eroded overhang which apparently the Aboriginal people used as shelters for thousands of years.

Part of The Art Gallery, many engravings, ochre stencils and freehand paintings adorn the 62 metre long sandstone walls of the indigenous site.

Barb and Gwyn guarding the entrance!

Pleased to be resting for a couple of minutes

Barb displaying her balance skills.

After endless but pretty scenery, many loose stones trying to twist ankles, much sweating and few grumbles we reached the Big Bend.  Personally I didn’t think the area itself was worth the walk but good to have achieved a long trek, no blisters or dehydration, just 3 very chuffed ‘old girls’

Yaaay, we made it!

It was a long hot walk back with everyone encouraging one another.  Gwyn suggested a long dip in the creek back at camp would be just the medicine required and she was dead right.  We slept like good babies that night and barely a drop of wine passed our lips..

Day 2 - Boolimba Bluff Walk

A 2-3 hour return trip covering 6.4 kms with a very steep climb!  Barb was still on a ‘high’ from the previous walk so she joined Gwyn and I.  We were up a bit earlier than usual to beat the heat.  Luckily it was a little overcast so the heat did not become an issue.

As you can see there were formed steps so the climb was really only an exhausting aerobic exercise.

Some rough terrain

One of our rewards!

A special view

The girls improving my panorama

The rooftop of Queensland

We were ecstatic to say the least to have accomplished the climb without mishap.  I was particularly impressed with Gwyn’s effort and I always knew Barb had it in her, she’s just one of the lazy ones that need pushing.

We discovered this small cool overhang-cave on our descent.  We obviously were so focussed on the way up we missed it.

It took us about 45 minutes to reach the summit and we probably spent the same amount of time making up stories that we were going to attempt to make the others to feel lousy about not making the effort but stopped feeling mean halfway down.  However we felt  sufficiently elated to accompany Barb on a walk back to the Amphitheatre which she had missed seeing on the first day.  We had energy to spare!

Such beautiful bush

The other (slack) group of girls spent the last day being a bit more adventurous  and wandering up country.  Apparently one of the girls, Jan has a very melodic voice and entertained them all with a rendition of “How great thou art” whilst in the amphitheatre.  It’s a pity someone didn’t record it.

Our quarters for the time we glamped.   Each tent had facilities for 4, a bit cramped but okay for 4 days.  A bar fridge was provided and a set of shelves, table and chairs out on the deck.  The tank next door was the toilet and shower, a bit hot at this time of the year but better than walking to camp facilities in the middle of the night.

Anyway the trip had to come to an end and we learnt how fortunate we were because the National Park closed on our last day there.  A wildfire had entered the gorge from a private property, the winds were quite strong while we were there and the gorge had to be evacuated, so we were so lucky not to have had our trip cut short.  All in all, it was a wonderful time together - the caravanners made our situation a lot more comfortable than it would have been cause Norma wouldn’t allow all the mod cons to go along.

Really it was a lot of fun and laughs.  Billie and Chris (two husbands) were really good troopers and just went along with all the festivities and silliness that occurred from time to time.

At Eistvodt, halfway home and still good friends!

This type of photo goes close to typifying the gorge - really pretty stepping stones

A marvellous place to have visited and there are a couple of side gorges we didn’t have the time or energy to get to - Boowinda, wards Canyon and closer to camp, Mickey Creek gorge, so I do have an excuse to go back.