On Monday 22 Sept a group of Waves residents ventured to Toowoomba on a bus tour. The day was organised by Lena Nizeti. Many thanks to Lena for organising the day out.
On the tour were Lena, Candace, Jill, John, Kathy and Lynne. Midge and Mike had planned on joining in but had to cancel at last minute.
After an early 7:00am start, followed by several pick-ups between Redcliffe and Taigum, we were finally on our way. Coach driver Mark made a stop in Marburg, right at the edge of the Black Snake Creek where some morning teas and cakes were enjoyed. Luckily no one saw any black snakes.
B S Creek, Marburg, QLD
I estimate that several months of planning and research found this underwhelming location for a Morning Tea. It was just a short stroll across the local Skate Park to the toilets, shown in the background.
Then it was off to Picnic Point, Toowoomba for the first “Flower” stop. On a clear day there you can see for miles. Luckily it was a clear day.
After Picnic Point, the tour stopped at the home of the winner of the Festival home garden competition.
The front garden area of the home on Burke St had every square cm filled with different flowering plants. It was very colourful. A plea from the Owner for some regular volunteer gardeners did not elicit any takers.
Next stop was at Queens Gardens where we parked near the Botanic Gardens.
There were many very colourful garden beds around the Botanical Gardens area.
Many garden beds had carefully placed plants with attractive designs.
Next Stop- Lunch
Ten minutes back on the bus and we were at the “Blue Mountain Hotel” for our included lunch.
Lunch was served “alternate-drop” and you got either a chicken schnitzel and chips, or a few slices of roast pork with vegies.
Those with the Chicken Schnitzel mostly managed to stretch the meal to three mouthfuls. Those with the roast pork were able to separate the pork to show three slices.
After Lunch
The next and final “flower” stop was at Laurel Bank Park. Here many more flowering attractions than were at the Botanic Gardens. We had an hour here to explore the many garden beds and attractive grounds. In the south-west corner of the park were some garden beds with several different coloured tulips.
There was a wide variety of plantings at the Laurel Bank Park. An hour here passed quickly as there was a lot to see, and it is a large area. Luckily it was not very crowded and there were many shaded seating spaces.
Back on the Coach
Now as 3:15pm approached, it was time to get back on the coach and head home. we managed to hit the City area right on 5pm so traffic was considerable. We had several drop-off stops starting in Aspley, then Taigum, Sandgate, Brighton, Clontarf, Margate and finally to the Redcliffe stop at 6:10pm. It had been a longgg day and most were exhausted.
The tour was provided by Red and White Tours, Sandgate. Our driver was Mark and he was assisted by Abigail.