Our September Rally had the usual ups and downs but on the whole people had new experiences, saw interesting sites, ate too much, drank to much and laughed a lot.

Our first night at Boorowa was an old favourite and we had 6 vans comprising Chris & JJ, Allan & Alanah, Jan & Ray, Max & Susan, Michael & Mary and our new members Di and Rod.

Day 2 saw us at Parkes where we were joined by John and Helen, and as the weather looked inclement, we went in search of a watering hole for happy hour.

Day 3 was on to Dubbo for 3 nights. Sight-seeing was done both individually and as groups. I particularly enjoyed the Royal Flying Doctor Service. On Dubbo’s second day we had a very interesting visit to Dundullimal Homestead (built in 1840) followed by their Devonshire tea. Vicki and Jim joined us at Dubbo in time to celebrate Mary’s Birthday.

Day 6 saw us head to Narrabri for my out of box location, Narrabri Fish Farm. The farm was out along a dirt road (great for our brand new shiny black car), where we were staying in a paddock with no power, no water, one toilet and a “donkey” shower. I think everyone was ready to lynch me. And then we met the Aussie Larrikin Owner.
Ricco’s hospitality, enthusiasm and knowledge of the land and breeding fish won us all over. He turned up the first day with enough wood to last a month, and the campfire that night was amazing and under a sky that was a carpet of stars.

Narrabri Fish Farm was an experience we will be talking about for many years.

While at Narrabri we visited Sawn Rocks where we met for morning tea and then walked out to this amazing place.

From Narrabri we moved on to Toowoomba (or as I like to call it Tumbarumba) and the reason for our trip.

There we were joined by John and Helen’s friends Dorothy and Jim. Some thought a week in Toowoomba would be too much, but most of us found plenty to fill our time and it also gave time catch up on washing or just sitting and relaxing. Unfortunately poor Max and Susan had to deal with major car issues, although they still got time to see the sites and enjoy the Happy Hours.

Highlights included the amazing floral displays both public and private, dinner at a very nice Italian Restaurant where the waitress went out of her way to create a table for us even though they were booked out, Grand Central Floral Parade, a quilt show (Vicki and I), a game of golf and I enjoyed a couple of hours wandering around the historic cemetery

One of the most amazing displays was at Laurel Bank Gardens.

We finished our stay in Toowoomba with a group BBQ at the caravan park to farewell Jim and Dorothy and Max and Susan.
Next, on to Stanthorpe and a nice little park on the lake. Here we did day trips throughout the Granite Belt including a particularly long trip to a waterfall for the Jim, Vicki, Michael and Mary that resulted in them leaving early in morning and not getting back till after Happy Hour. (Ask the navigator about the shortcut).
Meanwhile the rest us enjoyed a game of golf (ask John, Helen, Ray and Jan about their Slow Play Penalty)

Then on to the Granite Belt Brewery for lunch and beer tasting. (John had heard that the place was for sale, so we thought we’d check it out). At Stanthorpe we also visited Donnely’s Castle and had a Ploughman’s Lunch at the Jersey Girls Café and tasted cider and apple pie at the apple factory. Next on to Glen Innes where we visited the Australian Standing Stones.

In Armidale we visited several waterfalls and most people visited Saumarez Mansion, an old Edwardian Mansion.

Next on to Tamworth where we had dinner and watched the NRL Grand Final at a very busy club, as we were in town the weekend of the Koori Knockout. We also celebrated Vicki’s Birthday.

On to Mussellbrook where we stayed at the Showground, the boys played golf, and we all got together to cook pizzas on the second night. On to Mudgee for 3 nights where we did more sightseeing. More eating and drinking, we celebrated Michael’s birthday and farewelled Allan and Alanah at with dinner at the pub.

The Jim, Vicki, Chris and Jimmy also had a very nice lunch at Burrundulla Winery where Jim caught up with an old school friend he hadn’t seen in seventy years.

Saturday saw us at Crookwell where we did something different and went to the Crookwell Pub for Happy Hour followed by dinner. Both the hotel and the restaurant have been done up. They brought hot snacks around in the bar at Happy Hour and we had a very nice meal in the restaurant.

It was windy and cold in Crookwell but there was an open fire in the restaurant and lap rugs on your chair to cover your legs.
They also suggested we go to the bottle shop next door to buy our wine and they didn’t charge corkage. And now home.