Rob 'n BOB on the BNT
Stanthorpe,
QLD - 26
January 2004
G'day Mates!
Rob 'n BOB have arrived in New South
Wales, having crossed the border the day before yesterday, but we are
temporarily back in Queensland, in Stanthorpe, a 15 km detour off the
trail, to take in a few wineries! A little more about that later
- first things first. My last update was from Toowoomba, where I
ended up staying six days! It rained and
rained and
rained, and I
kept waiting for the weather to improve so I could attempt to bicycle
the Ma Ma Creek section of the trail, which has some serious areas of
the dreaded "black soil", which I know I cannot pass through in wet (=
MUDDY!) conditions. It wasn't meant to be, however, every time
when I had half a day of dry weather it would be followed by more
rain. I grew tired of waiting and headed out anyway, only to find
that even before descending down the valley I was already getting stuck
in mud. So I had to detour 50 kms to reach the same spot as where
I would have ended up along Ma Ma Creek. This darn creek had
defeated me in 1998 and I really had wanted to do this section again,
but alas! The following couple of days it rained, no, it POURED,
and I tried to wait it out, partly hidden away in my tent, partly by
going into Gatton, and I ended up skipping the next couple of days of
trail altogether and instead detoured along mostly little paved roads,
which had so little traffic that it was actually quite enjoyable.
This update I really want to get
into
the generosity and helpfulness of many of the people I keep meeting
along my journey. Toowoomba is the halfway point of the trail,
and Jenny Rushbrook is the BNT Director for Queensland - the ONLY BNT
director for Qld I should add, all the others are from NSW and
Victoria. A little odd, since more than HALF of the trail runs
through Queensland! Jenny was an absolute angel! From the
day I arrived in Australia, and more intensely from the day we met at
the Preston Peak Winery in Toowoomba, she has been there for me -
helping out where she could, investigating things, driving me around,
and generally helping me cope with the difficult time of waiting,
waiting for the rain to stop. Of course, I am thrilled for
everybody here that there finally is rain! But it did seriously
impede my progress. Another person in the Toowoomba area, who has
been more than fantastic, is Lynne Anderson. I didn't know Lynne
at all - she runs a B&B just north of Toowoomba in Murphy's Creek,
but she handed a care package to Jenny to give to me. The package
contained some delicious homemade dried meals, as well as some
scrumptious fruitcake and fresh fruit as well. I was floored
by the generosity from somebody I'd never even met before! While
in
Toowoomba I've met with Lynne a few times. We went to a jazz
concert together one evening, and for coffee a few times since.
She reproached me, however, for being the first BNT traveller who
hasn't stayed at her place! Next time Lynne! 
At the end of
my Ma Ma Creek detour I ended up at the home of John and Bev Sutton,
who were there also in 1998, to help Gwen cope with my very late
arrival late at night, after I got stuck in sticky mud that time, as
well as caught in thick lantana bush, a prickly shrub, noxious weed
that grows prolific around here. I camped in the paddock across
the road from them, and they invited me over for tea (which is the
common term here for evening meal). We had a great visit, and it
was great to see them again after more than five years! The next,
equally rainy, morning they drove me to Peter and Bev Ryan's, who were
also part of the worried party in 1998. I had breakfast with
them, and Jenny showed a bit later as well, and took me into Gatton for
some errands and to get a road map to get me through the next section
of detours, since the next section of trail (Laidley Gap) would be
impossible to get through anyway. While in Gatton she ran into
the editor of the Gatton newspaper, who decided they wanted to do an
article on me. We met the reporter, Rebecca, later at my
campsite, where she interviewed me and took pictures for about a half
hour. 
Next day, on my
detour, the road took me right by the
prestigious Peppers Hidden Vale - Lockyer Valley
(peppers.com.au), a five star
homestead of individual cottages. The
owner of the resort is Graham (Skroo) Turner, who is the owner of
the Flight Centre, which now has branches all over the world.
Skroo wasn't there, but he's a keen mountain biker himself and they
organised mountain bike race this past October, from Preston Peak
Winery to Hidden Vale. It will be an annual event, but will be
held in August in the future. It is called the Peppers Hidden Vale
Cycle Epic. When I phoned the resort before I got
there, I spoke
with David Jeffrey, the new manager, and they have been aware of my
trek for months already (Jenny Rushbrook's actions). He offered I
could stay there for just their cost of food, a mere $30 instead of the
normal rate of $200-ish! A deal I couldn't refuse! They
have a fantastic outdoor pool, seemingly overflowing and plunging into
the valley below, very impressive. I stayed in this marvellous
little cottage overlooking the valley, what luxury! I enjoyed a
great BBQ mixed grill dinner that evening and a fantastic buffet
breakfast the following morning. Buffet meals and hungry bike
riders are a dangerous combination! I had a number of very
generous helpings - it really is astounding how much I am able to eat,
just to keep up my weight without shrivelling away!
The following day I ended up at the
Rosevale Retreat Hotel, a little gem in the middle of farming
country. It is quite a historic place, having been there since
1902. I was first going to stay in their party hall, in my tent,
out of the weather, but Frank McCann, the publican, upgraded me to a
room later in the evening. No charge! Jenny and her friend
Sue, who is the trail coordinator for the section through Cunningham
Gap, dropped in for a surprise visit too! The evening just flew
by. 
Next morning
Frank prepared a delicious breakfast for me,
again, no charge! After Rosevale I stayed at the Moogerah Lake caravan
park, where Colleen charged me about half the regular rate, and
ended up driving me to Boonah the next morning, because on my ride to
Moogerah I had blow the sidewall of my rear tire. Since I won't
get my next set of tires until I get to Glen Innis, more than a week
away, I had to buy a tire here. Also, I had managed to forget my
prescription glasses at the Rosevale Hotel (that's a first!) and Frank
dropped them off at the post office in Boonah the next morning, so I
was able to collect them there. The lengths that all these
wonderful people go through to make my trip a success is absolutely
heartwarming. This is just a sample of generosities I've enjoyed
over the past week or so. There have been many more before that,
but these recent ones really stand out! Thank you all, I hope
that one day I'll be able to return the favours!!!
From Lake Moogerah the trail
followed
Teviot Brook up the Main Range, a stiff climb, which I remembered from
1998, However, this time I did it with BOB in tow, and it didn't
seem any tougher than last time! I must be in pretty good
shape. Once over the range, I followed the Condamine River
through Condamine Gorge to Killarney. This was a very enjoyable
ride on a DRY road, as opposed to 1998 when it had been mud, mud,
mud! The creek was quite high though and the road was officially
closed, but BOB "floated" through the river crossings without taking in
too much water. I crossed the border after Killarney, but as I
mentioned earlier, made a detour to Stanthorpe to be able to visit a
few wineries. Stanthorpe has a climate not unlike that in the
Okanagan, with average winter lows of -5C. Verdelho is an
increasingly popular varietal grown around here, and I tasted a few of
them today, as well as the necessary Shiraz and Cabernet
Sauvignon. I took a little organized tour, although I was the
only passenger, so I received top attention. 
We visited
Kominos,
Jester Hill, Felsberg, Rumbalara, Granite Ridge, and Ballandean Estate,
as well as as the Bramble Patch, more a fruit winery. I was
impressed with the quality of the red wines, the Shiraz from here is
probably more spicy and peppery than anywhere else in Australia, and in
general, the reds were lush and full bodied. Their harvest is a
much more drawn out procedure than ours: February through May!
The internet cafe here is about to
close, so I'm having to call it quits. Still have to a bit of
grocery shopping, because I am starting out on a number of river
sections, where I won't be able to buy food for a week or more at a
time! It requires very careful purchasing, not too much (too
heavy), but certainly not too little either (hungry)! I am not
sure when I'll be able to send an update next, since I won't be going
into Glen Innis after all - my care package there will be delivered to
me on the trail. It might not be until I get to Aberdeen, almost
a month from now.
So, hooroo again Mates! See ya
later!
Rob 'n BOB
