Showgrounds... a never-ending experience!

Like paper boats on a river current we have once again been taken to another unexpected destination.  Still, my stubborn self urges me to plan a journey that I know will change at the last minute...

After Lightning Ridge we had planned to do a bit more free camping, next stop, a pub in the middle of nowhere called Nindigully Pub. But before reaching this pub we drove across the border and just like that, after two months in NSW we were in QLD.  Following our Silo trail, we came across a silo in a town called Thallon, very different to the one in Weethalle but just as spectacular.

Nindigully

Nindigully Pub is not only known for the free camp but we had heard a lot about a supersize burger and of course, Carlos was ready and keen to take up the challenge.  On arrival, the camp looked alright, by a river, lots of space, ground was a little dusty, that’s ok but it was when we got out of the car that we realised the population was10 people to10 million flies. Like a race for survival, we managed to set up camp in record time and get inside before breathing in flies through our nostrils, we went to check out the pub to find out what the big fuss about this burger was all about. 

The pub was as beautiful as a pub can be, decorated with country hats, memorabilia, nice garden, newspaper clippings about the famous burger, lots of character.  The “Road Train Burger” is a giant hamburger that will feed 1-4 people and cost $36, the meat patty alone is 1.2kg!  I could see carlos’ smile slowly dissipating, with a family mainly of vegetarians there was no way we could justify spending that money or for him to possibly eat 1.2 kg of meat by himself.  “I’ll have to come again with my brothers” he said and we walked off.

As dinner time approached Raf started complaining of sore tummy, he had been complaining for the past 2 weeks, first I took him to a GP in Coonabarabran, diagnosed with possible "h.pylori" bug, prescribed anti-acids, didn’t work, second GP supported previous GP diagnosis and suggested anti-acid before food not after but regardless of what he did, the pain just kept getting worse.  That night at the pub it hit its peak, Raf crouched over the carpet and started crying, his pain had become unbearable.  I did not sleep much that night thinking of all possible causes of tummy ache but what was worse was our location, we were literally in the middle of no where, was I ready to perform appendectomy with Carlos’s pocket knife? that was it, we decided the next morning to leg it all the way to the nearest biggest town, skip all the smaller towns and free camps we had originally planned to visit and find out once for all what was wrong with Raf.  Toowoomba was going to be our next destination.

Toowoomba 

Showgrounds are a great compromise when camping, not as rough as free camping and not as expensive as a caravan park, the Showgrounds in Toowoomba were great, by a lake, spacious (kids had great time flying kites) and quite affordable at $25 a night with electricity, water and even washing machine, we set up camp and rested, next morning a visit to the hospital.

Fortunately after spending most of the day at Toowoomba Hospital the only positive findings were swollen lymph nodes in his gut and traces of two bacteria, no longer active though, so, only thing to do was to wait.

Next day, just as I though the worse was over my dog Lola started limping, vet diagnosed her with torn cruciate and recommended  X-rays followed by surgery all together costing $3000...definitely not in the budget.  Once I calmed down I remembered my encounter with Garry Christou, equine and dog osteo in Bathurst, I gave him a call and he said something that I’m surprised I didn’t think of before, he said “if your knee hurts, do you go straight for surgery?”  Of course not, so I’ve been massaging her leg and resting her and it is actually getting better, praying that she can make a full recovery.

On the last day, to score 3/3,  Carlos hurt his back and could not move, so I not only had to treat him but also pack the van myself! So, our visit to Toowoomba was very medically orientated, but here is the good; we met a lovely couple, Sharon and Peter who we hope to come across again, Toowoomba has beautiful gardens, amazing library and Toowoomba was the first city (second largest inland city following Canberra) that Carlos and I agreed we could actually live in.  With stunning houses at half the price you would pay in Melbourne, the though of not having much of a mortgage or none at all is very attractive.

Lowood

Our next showground was meant to be Ipswich but of course we met Barnie who recommended Lowood, so off we went.  Lowood is a small town north west of Ipswich nestled amongst hills, very green and lovely people.

We arrived on Thursday (Easter week) and of course on Good Friday, we had some fish and reflected on the true meaning of Easter with the boys. On Sunday we decided to visit church, the closest was a Christian church. We attended the morning service which was followed by a morning tea, that is where we met Steve, Amy and Bella.

Back at the Showgrounds we met Rowan and Yui from Mareeba, near Cairns. Another beautiful couple who not only shared their wisdom (they have three grown children) but also invited us to leave the van in their property when we go North to Cape York and if not enough, they took us for a sail in the "Zin"! Rowan had come down to Lowood to pick a small sail boat he had just purchased.  We went to a nearby dam and absolutely loved it, kids had a great swim, and Carlos  had a turn in piloting the vessel.

We spent a week at the Lowood Showgrounds and could have spent a lot longer after all we needed to kill sometime as my next locum in the Gold Coast only started on the 17th and we still had one more week to go, there was no way we could stay closer to the Gold Coast as prices were ridiculous, mainly because of the Commonwealth Games and school holidays.

But after a week we had to leave because on that weekend there was going to be a Studs and Spuds ball, an18+ event with lots of hormonal young adults and alcohol. We stayed until Friday and even then we did not sleep because apparently its traditional for the party to start a day early. I could not wait to leave, but where? Well, blessings came through the young family we met at church.  Steve and Amy not only offered their house as they have plenty of space for the van but they also cooked amazing meals for us, made sure we were OK and comfortable and treated us which such great love even though we had just met.  Their daughter Bella loved playing with the boys and we just never went back to the Showgrounds.

On the Friday before we left Steve and Amy, I took the boys to the Commonwealth Games, how could we not, we were right there! We saw the track and field events and absolutely loved it, the atmosphere was just electric and I nearly lost my voice. I got to see one of my friend from Melbourne and that really made my day. 

To finish the day we went to Surfers Paradise which was definitely the place to be, it was like a big party! The kids loved the beach, had an amazing time and fell asleep on the way back.

And just like that two weeks at Lowood had ended, we went back to say goodbye to Graham and Yvonne (caretakers at the Showground) who we had become good friends with, they actually offered for us to stay free of charge as they were grateful to Carlos for fixing their computer and to me treating them for their back pain.  Consistent with country people who we have met, they are humble and honest and happy to help whenever they can.  

I nearly forgot to mention one more thing, two more things, first we had pies from a bakery in Fernvale, not far from Lowood.  This bakery has been voted the best bakery in Australia, so there you go, we had a very delicious, award winning pie.

And second, while in Lowood, we managed to catch up with our long time friends Lyn and Mark, who we met on our first trip around Australia and yes, they are still travelling, 3 years later.

Long blog, but we just had so much to share...a month's worth!