Cobbold Gorge

 

Cobbold Gorge can be found on Robin Hood Station which is 48km SE of Forsayth in Queensland.  Robin Hood Station is a 1284 square kilometre property which is currently running 15,000 head of Brahman and Brahman/cross cattle.  It is located in the Newcastle Ranges.

 

Cobbold Gorge Village pond
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pond reflections at Cobbold Gorge Village
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A 4720ha Nature Refuge was declared on 5 June 2009 which protects rare and vulnerable plant species such as Solanum carduiforme, Gilbert River Ghost gum (Corymbia gilbertensis) and Leptospermum pallidum.  The refuge also connects several wildlife corridors.

 

Melaleuca leucodendron Cobbold Gorge
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Calythrix sp. Cobbold Gorge
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Cobbold Gorge is around 6km long but only the last 500m is accessible by flat bottom boat.  It has 30m high vertical walls and is only 2m wide in places.  It is fed by several springs which keep the water level constant during the dry winter period of the year.  It becomes a raging torrent during the summer wet.

 

Cobbold Gorge
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quietly cruising down Cobbold Gorge
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Johnson River crocodiles basked in the sun on flat rocky ledges, mostly oblivious to us.  A couple of them took umbrage at our presence and slipped off into the water to insidiously sink below the surface.  They have never been known to kill a human.  Nonetheless, they don’t endear themselves to me under any circumstance, no matter how nice they maybe.

 

Johnstone River (Freshwater) Crocodile, Cobbld Gorge
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There was quite a lot of bird life including a snake bird, parrots and whistling kites and a wedge-tailed eagle flying overhead.  There were a couple of wattles in flower along with a red-flowered grevillea.  It was a most interesting morning on the water after first of all walking around the top of the gorge.

 

Whistling kite, Cobbold Gorge
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In the afternoon there was a tour of the workings of the Robin Hood Station, which I declined, instead choosing to go for a walk around the settlement.  There were a couple of walking tracks which produced more birds including a wren, red-tailed black cockatoos, pale-headed and rainbow lorikeets and some unidentifiable honey-eaters.  A better option, I thought, to seeing another cattle station, a few of which I’ve toured around before.

Back at the camp and after a cleansing shower, I sat on a chair outside my cabin upon which no sooner had I settled onto my chair than a couple of butcher birds turned up on my roof.  They looked hungry, so, having some of those cashews I bought in Cairns left, and with me, I crushed one up and sprinkled it on the far corner of the small table.  I hadn’t got my hand back to pick up my whisky than the first bird was on the table enjoying my offering.  Soon joined by his mate I was having a better bird experience than that gained on the earlier walk.   Not to be outdone, a couple of noisy minor birds turned up closely followed by a flock of grey apostle birds.  I was in heaven, although the butcher birds were too busy eating to sing for me.  They must have listened to my mother who always said you shouldn’t talk with your mouth full, or sing for that matter either!

 

Pied Butcherbird, Cobbold Gorge Village
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Noisy Miner, Cobbold Gorge Village
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Normanton to Croydon on RM93

 

The present ‘Gulflander’ (RM 93) has a 102hp Gardner diesel motor.  It was built in the Ipswich Railway Workshops in 1950 and arrived in Normanton in 1982 having served on other parts of the Queensland Railways network for the intervening 32 years.

 

up the front grill of RM93 P1080285 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

 

The ‘Gulflander’ leaves Normanton at 8.30am every Wednesday and has done so ever since it began running all the way to Croydon on the 20th July 1891. It returns from Croydon on Thursday after an overnight stop.  The train consisted of the rail motor itself and two carriages, each a bit younger than the rail motor.  Each of these coaches was refurbished a couple of years ago and were quite comfortable to travel in – if the condition of the track is taken out of the equation.

 

RM93 with its stable mate RM60 at Normanton Station
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The track is quite interesting as it was laid using metal sleepers, some sourced from Australia and some from the UK.  They were designed by QR’s Inspecting Surveyor, George Phillips, as he understood the difficulties of constructing a railway line through the monsoon flood plains of the district.  He envisaged a line that would offer as little resistance as possible to the masses of water which result from the torrential rainfall the area gets during the monsoon season.  His metal sleepers were “U” shaped in construction and were filled with mud and laid directly onto the soil the line traversed.  There was to be no embankment or ballast.  As this line is still 98% intact after 124 years attests to the vision of this early engineer. The first track of the Normanton to Croydon railway line was laid on 2nd July in 1888.  Metal was used for two main reasons: firstly because there were no suitable timber trees growing in the area for wooden sleepers and secondly: because termites would have eaten out the wooden sleepers which would have needed replacing every couple of years.

 

Metal sleepers P1080314 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

 

Mind you, the track has deteriorated a bit over time and is not as smooth or straight as it was when built.  The train manages around 40k/h for most of the journey.

 

The track is not always in the best of condition
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The carriages RM93 pulled along
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There is a half way stop at Black Bull Siding where the train stops and morning tea is served.  Enamel billy mugs of tea and a muffin were enjoyed by all on board.  After a thirty minute stop it is ‘all aboard’ for the rest of the journey.

 

RM93 at Black Bull Siding
P1080354

 

A hot cup of tea and a muffin at Black Bull Siding
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We were 15 minutes late arriving in Croydon, nonetheless, lunch was ready for us at the local pub.  The choice of cold meats and salad may have something to do with the unpredictable arrival of the train.

After lunch it was onto a bus which took us the 238km to Cobbold Gorge via Georgetown and Forsayth.  It was a late arrival at 6.30pm, dinner being served almost immediately and bed.  It was a long day.

It is interesting to note that the ‘Gulflander’ has not turned a profit since 1907.  This shaky situation is why I wanted to do this trip, and although the train and its infrastructure are heritage listed, I can’t see it continuing for ever.  It is only going to take an extra big storm or fire to destroy some of the quite significant wooden bridges, and the powers to be will most likely decide to pull the plug.

Mt Isa to Normanton – Dash 8 flight

 

A Dash 8, 100 series plane, built in 1987, took us from Mt Isa to Normanton.  Although only 380km, a relatively short distance for these parts of outback Queensland, it took us four hours to reach our destination.  We landed at three other places before arriving in Normanton as we were on the twice weekly ‘milk run’.

 

Dash 8 aircraft belonging to Skytrans P1080226 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

Firstly we landed at Doomadgee, an aboriginal settlement, then Burketown before flying across the north coast and over the Gulf of Carpentaria for a short distance to Mornington Island and its main centre of Gununa.  Apart from exchanging a few passengers and some AustPost mailbags, not a lot happened at these stops.  As the flight was booked many months ago, our tour company requested window seats for us all.  Skytrans obliged so we all had wonderful views of the everchanging patterns and colours below.

We were running 50 minutes behind time so were only allowed off the aircraft in Burketown.  Wandering around the outside of the terminal (a small tin shed) we did see some black-faced wood swallows, zebra finches, a couple of brolga who obligingly took off to join some black kites already soaring on the wind currents.

Burketown is an acknowledged centre for burramundi fishing.

 

The Welcome sign P1080227 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

 

Black-faced Wood Swallows P1080238 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

 

Flying in this area of Australia presents some wonderful patterns on the ground.  The flight bookings had been made many months ago with window seats being requested for us all.  This request was met so everybody had a good view.

 

Wonderful patterns of the Gulf Country P1080246 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

 

We eventually arrived in Normanton where we had a late lunch at the Albion Hotel. Our tour leader generally had the lunch menu so we made our choice from this before he phoned ahead.  This gave the limited staff at these places a chance of serving us in a reasonable time. The menu generally had things like pies, sandwiches and wraps to choose from.  This pub was built in the late 1880’s in Croydon and relocated to its present location in Normanton during the early 1900’s.

 

The Albion Pub, Normanton P1080268 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

There were some interesting signs in the pub P1080267 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

 

After lunch we boarded our specially chartered Rail Motor (RM 60) for the four mile run to the first turning triangle out of Normanton.  This length of track is all part of the Normanton yards, if we had wanted to go any further east, we would have had to get permission from ‘Control’ in Townsville.  The driver could loose his job without this approval.

 

RM60 at 4 mile turning triangle P1080297 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

 

RM 60 is a unique vehicle.  It is powered by a 45hp AEC motor and was built in the Ipswich Railway Workshops in 1931.

 

RM60 in Normanton Station 1080279 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

 

It’s a rough ride over rough lightly constructed track, but a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

 

view from observor’s seat RM60 P1080297  DY of ‘jtdytravels’

 

Townsville to Mt Isa on the ‘Inlander’

‘Townsville’ is the third name this settlement has had.  It was originally called Cleveland Bay, then Castle Town, after Castle Hill which dominates the central part of town, and now Townsville.

Castle Hill fro CBD P1080173 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

The first settlement, in the late 1850’s, came about as a port was needed to ship in the needs required by the first settlers and of course ship out their produce.  It is now a city of over 130,000 residents, not the least of which are 17,000 military, mostly army, personnel.

A quick tour of town took us past some majestic old buildings including the old railway station; the foreshore and its Strand and a climb up Castle Hill for an overall view of the city and surrounds.

Magnetic Island from Castle Hill lookout P1080177

Pandorea pandorana (Wonga-wonga Vine) P1080187 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

Old Colonial Building in CBD P1080175 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

Old Townsville Station P1080164 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

Great Northern Railway facade P1080189 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

We ended our quick tour of Townsville at a very derelict set of sheds which housed the North Queensland Branch of the Australian Railway Historical Society.  Their collection of bits and pieces was most uninspiring but they put on a good morning tea, which in most cases, doubled up as lunch.  Medium sized home-made pies, cakes, scones with jam and cream, various cakes and a good cup of tea.

Warning sign in railway museum P1080195 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

It was then off to the station which was just around the corner to await the arrival of the ‘Inlander’ from the marshalling yards.  The ‘Inlander’ was to be our home for the night.

The ‘Inlander’ at the new Townsville Station P1080199 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

There was a technical hitch with the locomotive which resulted in us not leaving until some 50 minutes late.

The ‘Inlander’ consists of 6 carriages and a single diesel loco.  The Queensland Railways runs on track which is 3 foot 6 inch gauge.  I have a single berth cabin which is quite cosy but manageable.  All the couples have three berth cabins but there is nobody allocated to the upper berth!  I’m very lucky having drawn the straw that put me in the last cabin in the carriage – the one closest to the opening doors, shower and right on top of the squeaking bogie and carriage buffers.  What more could I possibly want.

QR, like British Rail, is not known for good food.  Whilst waiting on the station to board our train, we saw dinner go past.  It consisted of moulded food shapes that contained our dinner in separate depressions.  Talk about depression!  We found out after leaving that these ‘nasty’ shapes contained chicken and veg or corned beef and veg or bangers and mash.  Which one would you choose?  If we’d known what they contained we may not have boarded.  The other horrible thought is, was it the microwave to heat our dinners that was the technical problem which caused our delay?!  Hope they fixed it properly.

The road journey from Townsville to Mt Isa is a distance of 906km.  The railway line parallels the road for all but the last 120 or so kilometres into The Isa.  Instead of continuing pretty much due west from Cloncurry, the line dips SW for 180km to a mining area called Duchess before heading NW to its destination.  This adds an extra 75 kilometres to the journey which takes around 20 hours all up.

There is quite a bit of road traffic on the highway which parallels the tracks.  The roadway must be all of 100 metres from the track for many kilometres at a time, and dead straight.  Many cattle trains use this road.  Most are a semi-trailer prime mover with two semi-trailer sized ‘dogs’ behind.  Overtaking must be a formidable task for all but the most powerful of cars.

Since leaving Townsville we have slowed to 25km/h many times to traverse passing loops with the odd complete stop for reasons totally unknown to the train’s passengers but obviously for good railway reasons.  (From people on the left hand side of the train I later heard that we passed trains carry ore to the coast.)  That works out to be an average speed for the complete journey of a bit under 60km/h.  Not bad for QR!

Passing ore train at Duchess P1080204 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

The whole area traversed so far is through relatively flat savannah grasslands with eucalypts and wattles.  There is the odd chain of little hills and rocky outcrops scattered across the broad landscape.  It is very good grazing country for Brahman and Brahman/cross cattle.

It is half 5, the sun is about to drop below the horizon so it must be time to break out the cashews and wash them down with some of that ‘medicinal’ whisky I’m carrying around.  Anything to lighten the load, and to mask the thought of dinner.  I’m foregoing the strawberry cheesecake or Black Forest cake for dessert.

Mt Isa – a mining town

Mt Isa – a mining town

Mt Isa mines, which is owned by Xtrata, is a huge operation.  The main mine and processing infrastructure sits on the western edge of town.  The metals extracted from the area include silver, lead, zinc and copper

Mt Isa Mine from look-out hill

As big as the mine is, the whole infrastructure is to be demolished over the next 3-4 years as the ore bodies beneath this part of the mine are worth many more millions of dollars than the buildings.  The removal of these buildings will allow for the creation of a super pit which will be over 5km long and provide ore for the next 70+ years.

At present the mine is working at a depth of 2800m.  The lift that gets the miners to the workings has two decks, each of which carries 92 people.  The lift descends at a speed of 63km/h to level 22 which is at a depth of about 1000m.  From there the workers are taken to their worksites in Toyota vehicles.  These vehicles only last two to three years because of the very difficult conditions under which they operate.  Once no longer serviceable they are crushed, presumably by some vehicle larger than themselves, and pushed into a worked out stope which is then back-filled.  Why does the mine keep using Toyotas, when they only last a few years?  They outperform and outlast any other comparable vehicle.  Apparently there is billions of dollars worth of equipment that has been dealt with in this manner, buried underground.

The mine produces its own pollution which is expelled from four large chimney stacks but as the prevailing wind is westerly, this pollution is blown away from the town and out into the dessert.  It is said that the copper content of this smoke is the reason why the Western Red Kangaroos out in the Simpson Desert are a coppery colour!?

There is a small mine which was abandoned many years ago a little further into town.  Xtrata has set this old working up as their training centre for new workers and as a visitor experience.  Called the ‘Hard Times Mine’, it was not given that name for the obvious reason but because it was the name of the dog that belonged to the prospector who discovered the mine!

‘Hard Times’ poppet head, winding house to left P1080213 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

Visitors are taken underground where all facets of a day in the life of a miner are experienced.  We had to don safety gear which included a bright orange set of coveralls, a helmet with light and gum boots.  We really looked as though we meant business.

A miners safety gear – we mean business P1080217 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

 

We were ushered into a cage which lowered us into the mine, down a distance of only about 20 metres, and certainly not at the speed of the real thing.  It was a rather sedate descent, with of course, the obligatory ‘power failure’ and therefore unscheduled stop.  This all fell a bit flat as most of us had been underground before and were up with the tricks the lift operators get up to.

Underground there were all the usual things from reo bolted to the walls and ceiling to prevent cave-ins, to vehicles and various drilling apparatus.  The miners don’t like the reo bolted into the rock as they preferred the old wooden props which they say ‘talked’ to them.  This gave the experienced miner a warning of trouble ahead.  The metal doesn’t talk until it fails; then it is all a bit too late!  It was a great tour with the two and three quarter hour experience coming to an end all too quickly.  It is, however, as close to being a miner I want to get.

We were not permitted to take any cameras below ground.

One comment that has to be made is about the size of the meals served around town.  They are huge and rightfully so for a workforce which expends so much energy all day, every day.  But, for us poor pensioners, the thought of having to wade through the colossal plate full of food is all a bit daunting.  Mind you, most of us manage, but I think it is mainly because we were brought up to eat what was put in front of you and not waste food.  Please, more buffets, where portion control is our business.

Two of our group have lived in The Isa in the past.  B.. was an R and D manager and lived in the town for 8 years, the other, S…, was the wife of a mine worker.  They decided that they wanted to reminiscence and have a look at their old homes so we jumped in a taxi and ventured into the suburbs.  This took us off the beaten tourist track and gave a pretty good idea of the real Mt Isa.  This turned out to be a worthwhile exercise for us all, as they found their respective houses in equal or better condition than they remembered them.

Northern Ireland – some memories

I’ve been looking back at some of my photos of the trip around Northern Ireland and have selected a few to share with you all.      J

Rowallane Garden near Downpatrick, County Down

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The kitchen garden area of Rowallane Walled Garden.

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The delicacy of a peony in a shower of rain.

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The rain may have bowed this Nepalese Poppy but it could not spoil its beauty.

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In the damp parklands at Rowallane there were plenty of fungi.

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This little robin was totally unafraid of us – a special treat.

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Mount Stewart Gardens – lake and park area with family mausoleum on hill side.

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Swans and cygnets by the lake at Mount Stewart.

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Abstract of raindrops on water and green algae at lakes edge.

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A lovely iris by the water’s edge.

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Even in a park of large trees, the delicate hand of nature can still be found.

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Formal gardens at Mount Stewart House.

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There are many small boat harbours – this one at Carnlough

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Views across green farms on our narrow country road explorations.

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Hedges of fuchsias line many small country roads.

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Coastal views of farm country from the very narrow, twisting, winding, steep hilly road to Torr Head. It was an experience!

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Views from B&Bs like this one by the sea at Glenariff.

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Bumblebees in geraniums – they were everywhere – a delight.

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Wildflowers on cliff paths by the ocean.

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Looking down on rocky cliffs along the north coast.

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Old ruins of castles like Deluce Castle.

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Small sailing craft lay at anchor in quiet bays – this one called Isobel.

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Families enjoyed the quiet places along the coast despite the weather – here at Portballintrae.

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Beautiful hedge roses grow alongside many small country roads.

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Tiny villages are tucked into safe bays along the north coast.

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Very occasionally, a sandy beach is protected by a rocky outcrop – this one at Ballintoy.

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A tiny pied wagtail chases insects at Ballintoy beach.

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Small cottage cafes abound like The Red Door on a farm at Ballintoy.W

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White Park Bay

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All rugged up against wind, rain and cold (in summer) at Giant’s Causeway.

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We watched from a safe vantage point as others cross the infamous rope bridge.

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Small fishing boats seem far too fragile to take on the seas out from these northern bays.

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Interesting skies always hailed the end of each day.

And that ends this small roundup of photos from our wonderful time in Northern Ireland.

J and A

Northern Ireland, Benvarden Garden

Benvarden Garden has won this year’s Northern Ireland’s top award for a privately owned garden. That doesn’t mean that it’s your average home garden. Far from it. This garden and park belonging to a large property near Coleraine on the north coast. It was a pity that in the past week there has been torrential rain in the area and many of the plants have suffered. The large rose garden  was particularly hard hit and the park area was very boggy. But the vegetable garden was the best we have ever seen. Oh to have been able to enjoy the veggies and fruits from this garden.  So herewith a few photos to give some idea of this special garden.

Old building at the entrance to the kitchen garden.

In days gone by the kitchen garden ‘boy’ slept in a tiny room at the end of this building. Now it houses the gardener’s tools.

A magnificent rooster

Chooks range freely round the grounds with this fellow as master of the lot.

Vegetable beds in the kitchen garden with espaliered fruit trees on the walls

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Cabbages with not a white butterfly to be seen – they were perfect.

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A sheltering bank of trees and shrubs behind the kitchen garden.

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Attention was paid to combining plants with a variety of textures and a variety of greens with a contrasting coloured plant to give some oomph..

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Raindrops on Lady’s Mantle – always a delight.

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Large bumble bees were everywhere enjoying a summer feed.

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Strong coloured flowers were used judiciously to give relief to what is basically a green garden. But as there are something like 700 greens, a green garden is not at all boring especially when there are so many textures of leaves to use.

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Foxgloves made a statement against the old wall of the garden.

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Peonies were hard hit by the rain but this one was in a more sheltered spot.

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The rose garden was decimated but a few survived in sheltered places.

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A surviving rose!

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Another rose surviving in a sheltered spot.

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This clematis was hidden behind a tree – it survived without a blemish.

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The rain had no effect on the lily pond in the centre of the rose garden!

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A rose bower on the path to the tennis court. The court itself was neglected. A Pity.

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A honeysuckle bower led to the large park area beyond the walled garden.

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Most of the honeysuckle had survived the rain.

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A large section of the park lands was reserved ‘private’ for the manor house.

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The pond area was available to the visitor – but much of the park was too boggy.

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to enjoy the reflections in the pond was worth the walk on a very muddy path.

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The only dry path lead us back to the farmyard buildings and cobbled courtyard.

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Unsafe stairs on old buildings were used for pot plant displays.

And back in the car park, a rambling rose.

We hope you have enjoyed this visit to Benvarden Garden – even on a showery day after a stormy week, it’s still a delight.

J and A

Northern Ireland, Giant’s Causeway

First stop on the north coast of Northern Ireland for us, as it for 700,00 other tourists a year, was The Giant’s Causeway where basalt columns form “stepping stones”, leading from the cliff foot and disappearing into the sea.

Giant’s Causeway Basalt Columns

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Giant’s Causeway Headland

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There are many more stacks of rocks are still buried under the hillside at Giant’s Causeway.

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Northern Ireland, Castle Ward

By the time we had finished wandering in and photographing Rowallane’s gardens we were in much need of a hot ‘cuppa’ but… the garden cafe was closed. It was about to be moved from the stables to the newly renovated house.  So we headed south to find the nearby Butterfly Sanctuary and its cafe.

Male Peacock on a mission!

We were greeted by a couple of peacocks. “Get out of my way”, he seemed to say.  He was a bird on a mission.

Pea hen

And yes, he was in pursuit of this beautiful lady – a pea hen.

Peacock feathers

The peacock’s feathers made for a lovely piece of natural abstract art.  Who said blue with green should never be seen?   My art lecturer when I was at Teachers College, that’s who!  Maybe she’d never seen a peacock.

Hot Chocolate – Irish Style

Tearing ourselves away from our fascination with the peacocks, we found the small cafe.  It was run by a very friendly young lady who enjoys the ‘craic’, the Irish version of enjoying a conversation. We ordered tea and scones… cherry scones were the offering of the day. They were awful! Made with glace cherries. Do not try.

I had changed my tea order to a small hot chocolate. Imagine my surprise when this work of art was delivered! As I sat stunned, staring at this vision of sugar gone crazy, she said, “This is how we like our hot chocolate in Ireland. You can either drink it or climb it.”  Lesson learned re hot chocolate!

It had begun to rain again by the time we extricated ourselves from the lady and her cafe. The butterflies would have gone into hiding and we didn’t particularly like the thought of wandering in gardens in the rain again.  So we drove on through DownPatrick.  All roads in County Down lead to DownPatrick, the main centre. We could have stopped to see St Patrick’s grave, or the Cathedral, or a steam railway museum. But none of those were on our list of things we most wanted to do after our wonderful morning at Rowallane.  So we drove on back towards Strangford Lough.

A road sign caught our attention just as the sun emerged from behind a curtain of clouds.  It pointed the way to Castle Ward, another National Trust property. A visit to a castle could be just the thing to do on a wet day.  So we turned down a long drive through this 332 hectare (820 acre) property with its promise of walks and views over Strangford Lough, and its eccentric Manor House which is open to the public much of the time, but, as we were to learn, not all of the time.

View over Strangford Lough from Castle Ward

Yes – the sun came out as we began to walk up towards the house. What a lovely view looking down over the waters with blue sky above.

Front view of Castle Ward – the Classic Palladian style side.

Castle Ward was built in the 1760s by the first Lord Bangor, Bernhard Ward, and his wife Anne. It was built of Bath stone brought to Ireland in one of Lord Bangor’s own ships. The big problem for their architect was that this Lord and Lady couldn’t agree on the style for this building.  Lord Bangor wanted classical Palladian style. Lady Bangor wanted the newly fashionable style, neo-Gothick. There was no compromise so, with semi-octagonal bays at each end joining the two ‘faces of the house’, this most eccentric house was a built.

The side that faces the driveway (above) was built in the classic Palladian style with columns supporting a triangular pediment… his half.

The Georgian Gothick side of the house   (Photo courtesy Wikepedia)

The side that faces Strangford Lough, and that view, was built in Georgian Gothick style with pointed windows, battlements and finials…. her half.

The difference in style continues throughout the interior of the house with the divide down the centre. Although the house has stood the test of time, the marriage of Lord and Lady Bangor did not. The couple separated, not surprisingly perhaps!  By 1827 all the furnishings had been dispersed. In 1950, the house was presented to the National Trust, in lieu of death duties after the death of the 6th Viscount Bangor. It has been restored and refurnished in both styles. Unfortunately for us, on the day of our visit, the house was closed and so we did not experience the inside of this eccentric mansion.

A footnote to the Castle Ward story: On 10 February 1973 – Leonard O’Hanlon (23) and Vivienne Fitzsimmons (17), both members of theProvisional IRA,  were killed in a premature bomb explosion in the grounds of Castle Ward estate. Thankfully those times appear to be over and Northern Ireland is enjoying a time of relative peace from ‘the troubles.’

The sunken garden at Castle Ward

The sun shone, briefly, so although we missed out on seeing inside the house, we were able to walk in the garden, at least until the rain returned.  We read that back in 1902, this Sunken Garden had been a formal ‘parterre’, an elaborate design of 61 garden beds filled with flowers – colourful floral artistry. There was little or no grass at all then. Now it’s  a simple design, mainly lawn, in the centre of which is a circular ‘lily pond’ with a statue of Neptune brandishing his trident.

Alstroemeria

Castle Ward has nothing like the walled gardens at Rowallane, but there were a few interesting plants such as this Alstromeria to brighten an otherwise ‘green garden’.  Known as the Princess Lily or the Peruvian Lily, these flowers are delightful with their streaked petals and compact growth. They can grow to 2 feet tall and there are dwarf cultivars as well. We have a dwarf  Alstroemeria in this colour in our garden in Canberra. I made a mental note to add some more varieties this summer… there are so many colours available now.

Alstroemeria

These cheerful yellow Alstroemeria would bring a splash of sunshine to any garden, no matter what the weather. I do know that these larger forms can ‘get away’ in the garden and become rather weed like. But we’ve had no problem with the dwarf variety and they grow well in pots.

Blue flower

And if the  yellow Alstroemeria brought the feeling of sunshine, theses lovely blue flowers brought the blue of a clear summer’s sky. I don’t know the name of this flower. Any suggestions?

Fuchsia

Fuchsias are a familiar sight in Irish gardens and along country roadsides. In this garden, fuchsia is grown as a hedge along the path from the house down to some out-buildings. They hide the buildings and provide colour at the same time.  They are such beautiful ‘ballerinas’.

Herb Robert

The tiny flowers of the common, weedy wildflower, Herb Robert, can be found almost anywhere there is a stone wall in Ireland.  It always fascinates me to take a close-up look into flowers and these flowers, not much bigger than my little fingernail, deserved a closer look – exquisite in their simplicity of form!

Beautifully ‘sculptured’ mushroom caps

Mushrooms and fungi usually reward a closer look, also.  I had to splash through very soggy grass to photograph these beauties.

Portaferry seen across the Lough from Castle Ward

Portaferry is the village on the other side of Strangford Lough. We would get a closer look at that on our way to our next garden, Mount Stewart. But before that , with rain falling once more, we made our way back to the village of Strangford.  There, at The Cuan Inn (our home away from home) we had a much needed hot shower and a rest before enjoying a wonderful birthday lobster dinner in the company of new found friends.

On the ferry

Next morning, again in drizzle, we took the ferry across Strangford Lough from Strangford to Portaferry… our hire car the middle one.

The house on the point at Strangford

You really have to be out on the water to see homes like this one.

Looking back at Strangford village

It was pleasant looking back at Strangford from the water – a very different view of this lovely village.

Portaferry – from the ferry.

Portaferry has a mixture of architecture.  It would be a good place to explore more. Perhaps next time I’m in Northern Ireland!

(There are more notes on Strangford and Portaferry in an earlier journal entry.)

Portaferry with the old look-out tower on the hill behind

Safely across the turbulent waters of the mouth of Strangford Lough, we disembarked at Portaferry for the drive to our next destination, another National Trust property, Mount Stewart House and Gardens… and that will be the subject of my next journal entry.   J

Photography  © JT of jtdytravels

Townsville to Mt Isa on the ‘Inlander’

TOWNSVILLE TO MT ISA ON THE ‘INLANDER’

‘Townsville’ is the third name this settlement has had.  It was originally called Cleveland Bay, then Castle Town, after Castle Hill which dominates the central part of town, and now Townsville.

Many Colonial buildings survive in the CBD   P1080175    DY  of  ‘jtdytravels’

We drove along the foreshore and its Strand and a climb up Castle Hill for an overall view of the city and surrounds, ended up at a very derelict set of sheds which housed the North Queensland Branch of the Australian Railway Historical Society.  Their collection of bits and pieces was most uninspiring but they put on a good morning tea, which in most cases, doubled up as lunch.  Medium sized home-made pies, cakes, scones with jam and cream, various cakes and a good cup of tea.  It was then off to the station which was just around the corner to await the arrival of the ‘Inlander’ from the marshalling yards.

The old Great Northern Railway station in Townsville    P1080189     DY  of  ‘jtdytravels’

‘Inlander’ at the new Townsville Station    P1080199    DY   of  ‘jtdytravels’

There was a technical hitch with the locomotive which resulted in us not leaving until some 50 minutes late.

The ‘Inlander’ consists of 6 carriages and a single diesel loco.  The Queensland Railways (QR) runs on track which is 3 foot 6 inch gauge.  I have a single berth cabin which is quite cosy but manageable.  All the couples have three berth cabins but there is nobody allocated to the upper berth!  I’m very lucky having drawn the straw that put me in the last cabin in the carriage – the one closest to the opening doors, the shower and right on top of the squeaking bogie and carriage buffers.  What more could I possibly want.

QR, like British Rail, is not known for good food.  Whilst waiting on the station to board our train, we saw dinner go past.  It consisted of aluminium food trays with shapes that contained our dinner in separate depressions.  Talk about depression!  We found out after leaving that these ‘nasty’ shapes contained chicken and veg, corned beef and veg or bangers and mash.  Which one would you choose?  If we’d known what they contained we may not have boarded.  The other horrible thought is, was it the microwave to heat our dinners that was the technical problem which caused our delay?!

The road journey from Townsville to Mt Isa is a distance of 906km.  The railway line parallels the road for all but the last 120 or so kilometres into The Isa.  At that point, instead of continuing pretty much due west from Cloncurry, the line dips SW for 180km to a mining area called Duchess before heading NW to its destination.  This adds an extra 75 kilometres to the journey which takes 22 hours all up.

There is quite a bit of road traffic on the highway which parallels the tracks.  The roadway must be all of 100 metres from the track for many kilometres at a time, and dead straight.  Many cattle ‘road-trains’ use this road.  Most are a semi-trailer prime mover with two semi-trailer sized ‘dogs’ behind.  Overtaking must be a formidable task for all but the most powerful of cars.

Since leaving Townsville we have slowed to 25km/h many times to traverse passing loops with the odd complete stop for reasons totally unknown to the train’s passengers but obviously for good railway reasons.  That works out to be an average speed for the complete journey of a bit under 60km/h.  Not bad for QR!

Passing freight train at Duchess   P1080204 DY of ‘jtdytravels’

The whole area traversed so far is through relatively flat savannah grasslands with eucalypts and wattles.  There is the odd chain of little hills and rocky outcrops scattered across the broad landscape.  It is very good grazing country for Brahman and Brahman/cross cattle.

It is half past 5, the sun is about to drop below the horizon so it must be time to break out the cashews and wash them down with some of that ‘medicinal’ whisky I’m carrying around.  Anything to lighten the load, and to mask the thought of dinner.  I’m foregoing the strawberry or mango cheesecake or Black Forest cake for dessert.

More anon   D