Bob and Marilyn’s Place, Ninderry

When you are on the road you meet some amazing people. We were lucky enough to meet up with Bob and Marilyn at Camooweal just after we had crossed from the Northern Territory into Queensland. Some people you just click with and I would like to think we clicked with Bob and Marilyn.

We were getting close to their home town and debated whether to call in to see them or not. When you are on the road you give our your name and address to a lot of people but that doesn’t mean you really want them to rock up on your door step. At the time we were debating whether to do just that, they sent us a message asking if we wanted to catch up with them. What great timing.

As I’m behind with my blogging they had thought we were further up north than we were. They contacted us wanting to know if we would like to join them at the Birdsville Races and were surprised to learn we were almost in their neighbourhood. We were given the order “come on down.” We arrived on the Tuesday, made it just in time as they were leaving on the Thursday for their 6-week break. We would have liked to go with them but we are on our way down to Maitland to catch up with my brother for his birthday.

Our new friends have a lovely big garden with plenty of room for us.

They also had some guinea fowl, which wander, freely through the garden. They are better that having chickens as they like to eat all the bugs and they don’t dig holes in your garden, well not normally.   It also looked like they had a pet Willy-wag-tale. Everywhere you looked it was either the fowl or the willy.

Marilyn was working at the Gingerbread Factory so almost as soon as we arrived Bob threw us into his car and off we went. I had thought we were going to a factory that made ginger bread bickies. I had thought maybe I would get some free samples (forget the diet) but I was wrong. The factory is more of a day out with a selection of different shops and activities. Marilyn worked in one of the shops and our first stop what to drop in to see her. She was busy with customers so we quickly said “hi” then went to have a look round.

There is a factory in the premises and you can take tours of it, or ride the Gingerbread train. There is a little rainforest you can walk through and some of the shops have tastings, not of gingerbread (well I didn’t see any) but of ginger itself. We tried a little bit and moved on.

When we went back to the shop Marilyn was free so there was a fast conversation as we tried to catch up before the next customer came in. For Adrian the shop was filled with stuff that the nannies would like. For me it was filled with lots of wonders that I wanted to take home with me. It is a good thing I am in a van and don’t have room otherwise it would have been very expensive for Adrian. The shop sells packets of herbs and Marilyn had been busy in the day with making the packs up. Lucky for me there were some herbs left over so I walked away with my samples after all and these were better than ginger bread, I think. I don’t think the herbs would stay forever on my hips.

We went out to dinner at one of the local pubs and the conversation flowed more than the wine (we are responsible drivers.) Such a great night.

Eumundi

Although we were going to leave the next day we left the van and drove to the markets at Eumundi. The markets are said to be the largest in Queensland. My mother in law recommended them to us if we were ever in the area. (They started traveling about 20 years ago for 7 years and had visited the markets.) We had to go for two reasons. One because I love markets and that in itself makes going to the markets compulsory. Secondly I was still looking for a present for my brother.

There were a lot of new items I hadn’t seen before and one particular item I had seen. After my in laws arrived back from their big lap they gave us a Lazy-Susan. My mother in law had picked it up at a market on their travels. I now know at what markets they picked it up from as nothing had changed. (Still the same after 20 year they must be doing something right.)

I found a present for my brother. It was a clock made out of an old record with the numbers being cut in it. My brother has a thing with clocks and watches. Well more watches than clocks but the clock is still up there so it was the perfect present, I hope.

We were also lucky to pick up part of a present for one of the weddings we will be going to in the new year. Wedding and birthday presents are so hard to buy for people nowadays as most people already have everything they need so it is great to find something different.

 

While we were at the markets we tried some Crispy Hungarian Bread for the first time. So nice. There were quite a few birds waiting for people to take a bite of the bread. As I eat my bread I watched them move in when a new person arrived at the store. I love tasting different products at the markets. There always seems to be something different. I think I should be a food critic.

We made our way back to Bob and Marilyn’s house to pick up our van and to say goodbye. It was a pity we had to cut the visit so short but we were both under a time schedule.   As they promised to come to see Western Australia our next adventure together will be longer.