Carnival of Flowers in Toowoomba

Its Carnival time again but this year with plenty of rain so the floral displays are a little awry. We did a tour on Friday morning early when the council workers were busy preparing for the tourists. I think our Hardenbergia comptoniana is more vibrant than the rather washed out wisterias around town.

After Laurel Bank and the Botanic Gardens we wandered around the Boyce Garden which is easier to relate to although we prefer our northerly aspect. The highlights were the orchids.

Redwood creek crossing

Yesterday we did an alternate descent into Redwood Park. Once again it was a wet morning but only occasional light showers so we took raincoats. We really enjoyed the walk down to the creek and found the bridges in good order.


We then joined the Eagles Nest track and went down to the junction with Grass Tree track back up to the bridle trail, returning in reverse to our previous walk a couple of weeks ago.
Total distance was 5.9 km and we enjoyed it more than the climb up from Gatton Creek to Prince Henry Drive.
We were back in time for the Davis Cup on TV due to start at 11 but with rain delays in Cairns we only got a brief bit of tennis around 5pm.

Ben Lomond Park

Our Sunday walk yesterday turned out to be short but we did manage some good descent and ascent according to our new GPS. The track down is closed by a gate to private property and we are not looking for scrambling on the steep slopes as we prepare for our trek. It was a lovely morning out on the edge of the escarpment and we also tried a short walk nearby as suggested in Neil and Ian's walks book.
We made up the km by doing this twice both ways as well as the drive across town as Dick "lost" his glasses on the bridle path but fortunately we were shown to have looked well, as they later proved to be not there.
Another pile of mulch was dispatched and we also concluded that our patch is preferable to the other side of town.
Georgina climbed on the rock beside the lime tree while we had a cup of coffee outside. On Friday it was Georgette entertaining us on the grass near the kitchen, and earlier in the week Georgie came right onto the concrete.

Redwood Park

We did not get started on our walk in Redwood Park until after 10 am on Sunday as the weather was wet. However we enjoyed the descent on the bridle trail and Eagles Nest spur despite the layer of mud on our boots. The vegetation was fresh and washed and the little birds were very active. There was also the sound of water flowing in the creek.
We had a brief stop and nibble at the picnic ground then headed up the track to Prince Henry Heights. It began to rain and we got quite wet but still enjoyed it and were finished around midday and home to make pizzas.
The GPS shows similar grades down and slightly steeper up. We plan to return in coming weeks to do it in reverse with some variation. Its quite a good training place for Nepal.