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se queensland: general info
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Date: May 2005
Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Australia
Toowoomba on Queensland's Darling Downs is a haven for drive enthusiasts,
romantics and foodies. A stay in the region's stately Bed & Breakfast guest houses
provides the perfect escape from the bustle of city life, and a chance to unwind
and indulge in life's little pleasures.
Enough is enough. I just have to escape. Without a firm plan I tell the office
I won't be in until Friday and head for the hills - well the Range anyway. I'm
on a mission of discovery to Toowoomba on Queensland's Darling Downs.
Just over an hour from Brisbane's bumper to bumper traffic, I reach the top of
the Great Dividing Range and cruise down camphor laurel-lined streets into
downtown Toowoomba. The bustle is minimal, exactly what I am after, but I do spy
coffee houses, book stores, antique galleries and restaurants.
Booking into Vacy Hall, a stately guesthouse recommended to me as one of
the best in town, I feel a sense of the old world that Toowoomba would have been
in the 1800s.
My room is so comfortable I might never leave - a fireplace, antique furniture and rugs and a heavenly bed are at my disposal. Wide verandahs beckon and I spend a couple of hours devouring a landscape gardening volume plucked from Vacy's bookshelves. I couldn't have picked a better topic given Toowoomba's enviable tag of Queensland's Garden City.
A short stroll from Vacy to the Botanical Gardens and Queens Park
proves it to be a well deserved moniker. Perfectly manicured lawns and vibrant
garden beds combine with crisp fresh air and faultless blue sky to create a serenity
seldom found in the city. Toowoomba's Carnival of Flowers each September
celebrates the fertile region in a burst of colour.
And the examples of Queenslander architecture would make you cry. Mary and Campbell Streets were two shining lights found in my travels - no doubt there are others.
I had heard of a country pub well worth a visit so set off on a 20 minute drive
south to a town called Nobby. In Nobby rests Rudd's Pub, named after the
famous author Steele Rudd, who penned the classic Dad 'n Dave yarns there early
this century. I was not disappointed. What I found was a memorabilia crammed little
pub serving the biggest lunch imaginable to a congregation of wide-eyed patrons
whose attention was focused on one man - Brian Hodgkinson - a storyteller reciting
with much gusto a comical yarn from On Our Selection.
This experience was a gem not to be missed. It was one of the funniest and most refreshing times I'd had in ages - and exactly what I needed.
After two days sampling the fine restaurants, galleries and shopping of Toowoomba
City, I move out of town and visit the Farmers' Arms Hotel, a quaint little
pub offering delicious country fare, a fine selection of wine and an open fire
in the winter.
Other attractions to explore are the Rimfire Winery and Jondaryan Woolshed.
Rimfire is a modern boutique winery offering tours, tastings and cellar door sales.
It's a real find and will change your perception of Queensland wines.
The Jondaryan Woolshed is a short drive from Rimfire, and is keeping the history
of the bush alive. Demonstrations of sheering, blacksmithing, and working horses
are rare these days and well appreciated by onlookers. Damper and billy tea add
to the rural atmosphere and make me long for a country cousin to visit when city
life becomes too much.
My time on the Downs draws to a close and it's been the most relaxing few days I can remember. I have eaten some of the best meals of my life, met some interesting characters, and taken time out to truly unwind. I am sad to leave but reality calls.
I'll be back.
- By Jane Hodges
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