Rain, Rain Go Away

Woodswallows keeping warm

Today has been wet, cold and uneventful.  This is the first time we have experienced “bad” weather at Nairana.  The max temp has barely reached 15 degrees and it has been drizzle rain all day.

Despite the early morning cold and threatening rain Mrs R. chose to tackle the weekly wash in the not-so-modern twin tub machine – philosophy being that tomorrow will be sunny and not going to waste any time washing whilst the sun shines!!  Besides, it’s Monday – wash day!

Isn't this meant to be Central Queensland?

Mrs K. and her Da went for a “fun-run” in the Kubota – just to fill in time – but ‘it was exciting, except for getting wet and cold’ was the general verdict on their return.

Great day for stitching, cooking, reading, and a glass of Winter gluwein. Cheers one and all!

Letter of Introduction

Hi everyone:  been a very busy week at Nairana with the park rangers staying at the homestead all week and we have been out and about in the park every day.  Our youngest daughter, Kristen, and hubby, Ben, arrived on Friday.  Ben returned to Dysart this morning but Kristen will be with us all week.  We shall have fun trekking around the park with her this week and celebrating her birthday on Wednesday.

I’m sure that many of you are wondering about our “loo-dwellers” mentioned in my last post, so I thought it appropriate to post the following letter of introduction that was composed by a previous caretaker  - he was Irish would you believe, but I am sure he would not mind me sharing the introduction with you. Enjoy, as we did when we first arrived.

Hello! My name is Graham – I’m a Green Tree Frog.

Graham - the Loo Dweller

Unlike those ugly toads who live in a bog

I live in these toilets, and I must confess

On odd occasions I make a little mess!

These toilets are moist, and they keep me cool,

But sometimes I still sneak a swim in the pool!

Please don’t be frightened cos I won’t bite

If you happen to wake me late at night.

I’ve lived in this building since it was new,

My brothers and sisters reside in here too!

You won’t hurt me by just using the “throne”,

I’m happy here, just leave me alone.

Determination and fortitude!

Many times I’m moved and sent on my way,

But I’m usually back by the end of the day,

So removing me from my home in the loo,

Is a waste of your time, and a pain to me too!

So don’t worry about me,

I won’t get in your way.

When you visit my home

You have a nice day!

Graham and his family are happily ensconced in the ‘throne room’ but since our arrival 10 days ago they have also endured the occasional ‘fun-park’ rollercoaster rapids ride!!

Week 1 in Paradise

Hard to believe that it is only one week ago that we left home to begin our adventure to Nairana.

Not much has changed at the Homestead – a little cooler at night at this time of year – only 2 degrees on our first night but much warmer this past two nights – 6 degrees!  The days are beautiful with temps ranging from 24 to 28 over the last five days – t-shirt and shorts weather.

After taking a couple of days to settle in – park induction, vehicle instructions, unpacking, washing, cob-webbing – and getting accustomed once again with our “loo-dwellers” – we settled into a very simple routine – weather recording, bird watching and recording, short trips around the park, and a glass of wine on the verandah late afternoon.

Despite being winter, the birdlife around the park is amazing – although we were a little disappointed today to find very few water birds at our favourite dam area, Saltwater Dam.

Over the weekend we took the little Kubota side-by-side vehicle out to Lake Eliza and Mistake Creek.  At the Lake I missed an amazing photo opportunity as a huge Jabiru flew over and I had left my camera behind when I went exploring along the lake edge.  That was a hard lesson to learn – always, always take the camera regardless of how short a distance I expect to walk!  Oh, well at least we know there is a Jabiru somewhere in the Park.

On the way to Mistake Creek we espied a couple of emus (which I did get a photo of) and about eight wild pigs on the track.  The pigs do a lot of damage to park tracks and there are a number of traps placed strategically around by the rangers.  We shall no doubt be asked to fill the troughs with “pre-feed” in the next couple of weeks after spying so many.

At Mistake Creek we also set our yabbie trap but only caught two red-claw over two days, so guess it must be out of season for red-claw (the previous caretakers recorded two catches – one of 60+ and one of 20+).  The Creek is extremely high after all the rain and floods in this area between March and May, so maybe we’ll have better luck with a spot of fishing next week.

PS:  With a bit of luck and lots of patience, there may be some photos in the Gallery – depending on the “dial-up” time it takes.

Travellin' Light

Early days – 

Our adventure has begun with our first stopover at Lake Murphy.  Despite the wet, windy, and cold start to our road trip our enthusiasm was not dampened.  It was a rather slippery and muddy arrival at Lake Murphy and it rained all night – it stopped just long enough on our arrival for us to erect the tent without getting wet.  Didn’t last long though and the Rambling Retirees slept under a tarp the first night due to a few “leaks” in their humble abode.  No worries though as the sun shone bright and warm on Monday and we enjoyed a 4km walk around the park after a shorter walk to the lake.  Our second night was much drier and no tarp required!

Lake Murphy is a very unusual water area as it only contains water when the nearby Robinson Creek floods – and as there had been quite a bit of flooding in the area over the past few months, the lake was full and the birdlife was amazing.  There were large numbers of pelicans and black swans but the highlights were the sightings of a Little Eagle in the trees above us and three Kingfishers in a dead log on the lake.

We met a lovely couple at the campsite – Anne and David – who happen to have a daughter living in Toowoomba – such a small world when travelling light.

The journey from Lake Murphy to Capella on Tuesday was made under glorious clear skies. Our stopover was some pretty average accommodation at the Capella Hotel Motel in what they called an “arcade room”. It was an expensive bed but the meal at the pub was very good and it was wonderful to enjoy a hot shower. 

After a “late” start from Capella (8am), and a stop at Clermont for induction and grocery shopping, we finally arrived at Nairana at about 2pm.  How wonderful to be “home” – one can almost embrace the peace and quiet with little to disturb it but the sound of birds – not a breeze to be felt only the warmth of the afternoon sun on your skin – a wonderful, wonderful beginning to our 9 weeks in paradise.

AFTERTHOUGHT:  There is a “downside” to Nairana – we only have a very, very, very, slow dial-up internet access – so no photos in our blog and not sure how often I will be able to update – will try my best to update every two or three days – maybe short entries might work the best.  Stay tuned for more news in a couple of days.

The Adventure Begins - Tomorrow!

The journey begins in Toowoomba - 10th June 2012

    Only one more sleep and we'll be on our way to Nairana.  After more than a week of cleaning and preparations tomorrow can't come soon enough.  The Rambling Retirees are both very excited about the planned trip - Roc has everything in place in The Truck and Lallee has everything in order in and around the house ready for our house-sitters, Pat and Barrie.

Phantom has, of course, detected there is something going on - how often does the mistress clean from top to bottom? - only when they are going away for any length of time - oh my, another lot of "temporary visitors" to deal with.


May was a month full of lovely surprises and a lot of expenses.  June will be full of lovely travels - and hopefully not so many expenses!  

 
We wonder what, if any, changes have been made at Nairana in the past 12 months.  We do know there will be a funny little vehicle for us to drive around the Park - a Kubota side-by-side - looks very interesting and very much another "boys toy" - although I'm sure Kristen will want to have a drive to check it out, and I'm game to try it.

The road from Clermont to Nairana - 168km

As we are normally at Nairana at the end of Spring, it will be interesting to see the Park in a different season.  Maybe even get a little fishing in this time as there has been quite a lot of recent rainfall in the area.  



Well, we have three days travel before we get to Nairana when all will be revealed.