10 July 2017
On Sunday, we enjoyed our last day at Bonus Downs, our farm
stay. Kathi and Marian had signed up for
a tour. I thought about it, but wanted a
low-key day. The tour started just
before 11 and I think they returned home around 4. Madonna began by sharing the history of the
property up to present day. Then she
showed them around the farm yard and their house and shared what they had
needed to do to get where they are. Then
she and Lyle took them out and showed them all of the paddocks and the Ooline
Trees. They had a meal at a sort of
picnic area they have out there: sausages,
damper (bread), salad, billy tea and billy beer. Billy tea is made by boiling water in a pail,
then adding tea leaves. It is then swung
in circles to mix and steep it (like when you perform arm circles as an
exercise), then it is ready. They said that
it was very good just mixed with a little sugar. When we were at the wildlife park, the man at
the farm show showed us how it was made.
Lyle made it for them. The two
women had an awesome time—they really enjoyed everything and shared what they
had learned with us the rest of the night.
They said that they were too full for dinner but we tempted them with
some inexpensive frozen pizzas we heated up, and they had a few pieces. Madonna brought us some damper to try. It was dense, like a quick bread or soda
bread, but not very sweet. It tasted
good, but would have been even better with some honey or fresh butter. Randy and I went for a walk while Kathi and Marian were gone. After dinner, Joshua showed Kathi how to play chess
and they played that until after I went to bed!
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| Randy tried out the didgeridoo. |
I asked everyone last night what their favorite thing was on
the vacation: Joshua said the beach and
Caversham wildlife park, Kathi liked the farm stay, Marian said that she liked
everything, and Randy said that his was the beach by the Pinnacles—unexpected,
but very enjoyable with its warm water. I was torn between the Skyrail cable car ride through
the rainforest and the farm stay.
This morning we left early—pulling out at 7:30 with hugs
from Madonna and handshakes from Lyle. We saw a kangaroo through the window very nearby as we ate breakfast and the cows all came close to the fence as we were leaving. They were all saying good-bye as well. I
had to get cash to pay for the farm stay and accidentally was a bit overenthusiastic
and got out too much, so we are paying for everything with cash—including
things for Kathi and Marian and will add it to their final accounting bill
(which includes things we split such as groceries for meals, gas, etc.). We drove and drove, stopping only for gas and
a quick lunch at McDonalds—those doubled as our bathroom breaks.
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| Marian and Kathi |
As we drove away from Bonus Downs, we saw a lot of kangaroos and even a wallaby. Madonna said that the area is overpopulated by Blue and Grey Kangaroos and Wallabies. She and Lyle were beginning to pull out some of the invasive non-native trees from their property (33,000 acres), but when they still had 1/3 of it left, the government passed a bill limiting what property owners can cut down on their land. Madonna and Lyle were replacing the trees they were taking out with native trees and grasses. The government won't let them cull the kangaroo population, but the kangaroos won't go in the areas with the non-native trees because there is nothing for them to eat. So Madonna and Lyle are caught--they can't cut down the trees and plant native plants that the kangaroos will eat (mostly planted for their cows) and they can't cull the herd of kangaroos that are overtaxing the vegetation in the cleared areas.
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| Downtown Brisbane |
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| Walking around Brisbane |
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| The Brisbane skyline from the Story Bridge |
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